"You must be Agent Tyler. Hi, Captain Jack Harkness." Jack walked across the hub to shake her hand. Rose smiled politely.

"It's nice to meet you." She had missed Jack and was happy to see him but it was weird seeing him and him not kn

her at all.

"It's a pleasure to have you on the team. Torchwood London doesn't usually talk to us. It's nice to finally meet you in person. You're as pretty as I was warned." he added flashing a charming smile

"Jack." Ianto leaned back in his chair to look at him. He scowled and Jack shrugged.

"So Agent Tyler…"

"Please, Rose."

"Okay Rose. I was told you were bringing a recruit with you."

"Oh, yes, he's upstairs admiring your invisible lift. Though it's actually a perception field, yeah?"

"How did you know?" Jack asked shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I didn't. He told me. He's a specialist." Rose turned around as the door clanged open. The Doctor stood there in his tight blue suit, red shirt, and spiky hair, looking sexy as ever. Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Hi, Captain Jack Harkness." Jack put out his hand, smirking sexilily.

"Stop it." The Doctor scolded shaking Jack's hand.

"What?" Jack said taking his hand away. Rose looked at The Doctor irritatedly. He rolled his eyes. Rose smiled.

"This is The Doctor."

"Pleasure to meet you but we already have a doctor." Jack said gesturing to Owen who was working across the room.

"I'm not usually a medical doctor, though I do have my moments. I'm a doctor of everything."

"That doesn't sound like an ego."

"You should talk." The Doctor said shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off. Rose looked at Jack and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. He's a bit of a twat."

"An attractive twat." Jack said watching The Doctor as he wandered around the room.

"Don't I know it." Rose said. Jack smiled at her.

"I feel like I've met you before." Jack said looking her up and down. Her ruffled white blouse, tight black pants, and high red heels somehow felt wrong to him. Like she should be wearing something else.

"I've got a face like that." Rose said.

"Oh!" The Doctor said looking at the glass next to Jack's office. Jack and Rose walked up next to him.

"You've got circular gallifreyan on your wall!" The Doctor said excitedly.

"You can read circular gallifreyan?" Jack asked looking at him.

"I can write and read gallifreyan. Hell, I am gallifreyan."

"That's impossible."

"Nothings impossible Jack. You're a time traveler you should know that." The Doctor said leaning forward to look closer at the writing.

"How did you know that?"

"I can recognise a time agent. Also you're wearing a vortex manipulator as a watch. You know you spelled 'time' wrong."

"What?"

"'They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.' That's Andy Warhol yes?"

"Yeah. We dated a bit." Jack said smugly. The Doctor looked at him.

"I met him a while back. Nice guy. Anyway, you spelled 'time' like 'tyme' the herb. You put a big intersecting circle at the bottom when you should have put a line and small circle."

"Then maybe you can spell check my gallifreyan for me. First you two should meet the team. Everyone!" The team turned to look at them. "We've got new members." The team got up and walked over to them.

"This is Gwen Cooper, Dr Open Harper, Toshiko Sato, and Ianto Jones. Guys this is Rose Tyler and The Doctor." People shook hands.
"Why are we getting a new doctor?" Owen asked crossing his arms. The Doctor smiled.

"I'm not a medical doctor. It's all good. I'm not here to replace you." The Doctor said shaking Owen's hand. Jack watched The Doctor and Rose as they introduced themselves to the team. Rose and Gwen immediately struck up a conversation. Jack watched them with crossed arms.

"Who are they Jack?" Ianto asked, standing next to him.

"Transfers from Torchwood London."

"What do you think of them?"

"She seems nice. He's a bit of a twat."

"So are you Jack." The Doctor said looking at him.

"Doctor, play nice." Rose said crossing her arms. He raised his eyebrows at her. Gwen, Owen, and Tosh finished introducing themselves and walked off.

"The Oncoming Twat." Jack muttered. The Doctor and Rose both turned to stare at him wide eyed.

"What?" He asked.

"Did you just call me The Oncoming Twat?"

"So?" Jack asked. Rose and The Doctor looked at each other.

"Why?" The Doctor asked taking a step toward him.

"Because you're acting like a twat."

"But why 'The Oncoming Twat?'" Jack blinked a couple times.

"I… I don't know. Just sounded right. I don't-"

"You use to call me that."

"What? I just met you." Jack scoffed. He smiled at The Doctor for a moment before realizing The Doctor wasn't joking. His smiled dropped.

"How did you meet me?" The Doctor said looking intently at Jack. Jack cocked his head.

"Rose introduced us." Jack said.

"When?"

"World… No I met you a couple minutes ago. Why would I say…"

"World War Two." The Doctor finished his sentence for him. Jack stared at him, blank and confused.

"He can remember." Rose said covering her mouth. She stared at The Doctor.

"Seems he can." The Doctor said looking Jack up and down.

"But I've talked to him before. He didn't remember me then." Rose said. The Doctor looked at Jack closely.

"I must be throwing off his timeline."

"Who are you!?" Jack said pulling out his gun and pointing it at The Doctor. The Doctor backed up.

"God I hate guns." He said rolling his eyes.

"Then you shouldn't have joined Torchwood." Jack said backing The Doctor up.

"Put it down, Jack." The Doctor warned.

"Who are you?" Jack said fiercely. The Doctor looked at Jack skeptically. Ianto stared at Jack in shock and confusion.

"You wouldn't shoot me, Jack."

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"You're Captain Jack Harkness (though that's not your birth name). Born on the Beauchene Peninsula in the fifty first century. Time agent, poster boy, and conman. You worked for the time agency until they stole a year of your memories. To retaliate you started conning time agents. Your preferred locations where London blitz and pompa."

"How the hell do you know that!?" Jack yelled, stepping toward The Doctor. Rose looked around. The team had started to take notice. They stopped what they were doing to watch.

"I know you Jack. You know I know you." The Doctor said. Jack squinted at him as he tried to ignore the new random memories he didn't recognise that were appearing in his head. The Doctor looked at Jack for a moment then smiled.

"Do me a favor, Jack. Close your eyes. I want to help you remember."

"I don't owe you any favors." Jack said flatly.

"Then do her a favor." The Doctor pointed at Rose. Jack blinked and looked at Rose.

"What?" Rose said taken aback.

"I know I've been a twat, Jack, and I'm sorry. I'm used to you not caring. But Rose hasn't done anything to you. She's been nothing but kind. Do her a favor." Jack watched Rose for a moment.

"How do I know you won't attack me or something." Jack said looking back at The Doctor. Even if he liked Rose he didn't trust The Doctor.

"What's your name again?" The Doctor said turning to Ianto.

"Ianto Jones." Ianto said looking confused.

"Jack clearly trusts you. Stand in between us and make sure I don't do anything weird. Jack, you alright with this?" Jack looked at Ianto before nodding. Ianto stood in front of Jack and looked at The Doctor. He drew his gun and pointed it at the floor.

"Jack, clear your mind. I want you to just zone out. Don't focus on anything. Just clear your mind. What's my name?"

"The Doctor." Jack scoffed.

"I said clear you mind. What's my companion's name?"

"Which one?" Jack asked. Ianto turned to look at Jack, surprised.

"Wait… Why did I ask that?" Jack asked opening his eyes.

"Close your eyes Jack. Don't question your answers. Just zone out." Jack closed his eyes again. The Doctor thought for a moment.

"How'd you meet Rose?"

"Over the phone when she applied for Torchwood three."

"What is a TARDIS."

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Timelords used them to travel through time."

"Do you know anyone who owns one?"

"I... I don't think so." Jack said. Jack was struggling to remember.

"How'd you meet Rose?" The Doctor repeated.

"Barrage balloon. She was going to fall." Things were starting to become clearer in Jack's mind.

"What does the TARDIS you've seen look like?"

"Police box." He muttered.

"You know me." The Doctor said. Jack opened his eyes and stared at The Doctor with shock and confusion.

"Why did I know all of that?" He asked.

"We know each other! In a parallel world we are friends." The Doctor said beaming at Jack.

"How?"

"Just think about it Jack." The Doctor said stepping toward him.

"I don't…." Suddenly Jack's eyes rolled up in his head and he blacked out. He fell back and Ianto had to catch him before he smacked his head into the floor. Ianto lifted Jack's head onto his lap. He looked up at The Doctor.

"The fuck was that!?" He asked holding Jack's head. The Doctor blinked.

"He's remembering a life he never had. Sorry I didn't realize. It's not going to be very comfortable."

"What?" Ianto stared at him. Jack's eyes fluttered open. Ianto looked down at him with concern. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I was immortal." Jack whispered.

"What?"
"I was immortal. I died then I was back and I… I couldn't die."

"You're not immortal in this reality?" The Doctor asked looking down at him. He put out his hand and helped Jack to his feet.

"Neither are you. You're the metacrisis aren't you?" Jack asked.

"Yeah I am."

"You have his mind but you're human."

"Yeah. Last time I checked you were rather excited at the idea." The Doctor said smirking. Jack laughed.

"God my head hurts." Jack muttered, rubbing his temple.

"Sorry about that." The Doctor apologized. Jack turned to smile at Rose.

"He left you two here. So you could be together." Jack said. Rose smiled awkwardly and looked at The Doctor. Jack's smile faded.

"That other life. The life from your universe. I… I was immortal and miserable. I was still me. Sleeping my way through time and space," Ianto, still sitting on the floor, looked down at his lap, "but I had lost so much. Owen and Tosh…" Jack trailed off. He looked down at Ianto and put out his hand. He helped Ianto to his feet then turned to look at The Doctor and Rose again.

"If I ever take what I have for granted, please hit me with something."

"It would be my pleasure." The Doctor grinned.

"The old team." Jack said fondly.

"Plus the new team." The Doctor said motioning around them. Jack beamed.

"Well," Jack said beaming, "I guess I have to reintroduce you. Hey guys!" Owen, Gwen, and Tosh trailed over.

"Come over here. I got some facts wrong about the newbies."

"Doctor this is ridiculous!" Rose said crossing her arms. The two of them stood in Jack's office bickering. Jack was beaming. Ianto sat on Jack's desk trying to hide his smile. It had been two weeks since they arrived and The Doctor was still getting used to Torchwood.

"You have to carry a gun!" Rose said holding out the offending item.

"I hate guns. It's bad enough seeing Jack carry one but you too!" The Doctor ranted. Ianto and Jack stifled their laughter.

"Oh don't start. I know you don't like them but you're in Torchwood now, and sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. You're stuck here, you can't just go running off in the TARDIS and expect other people to make sure nothing else goes wrong, you have to enforce your good." Rose looked at him pleadingly. "Take the gun, Doctor"

"No."

"Take. The. Gun."

"No." The Doctor repeated stubbornly.

"Can we finish with the domestic? You fight like an old married couple." Jack said looking between them. The Doctor turned to look at him.

"Like you two don't." He said looking at Jack. Jack glanced at Ianto who decided to look at the ceiling.

"Doctor you need to take a gun." Rose sighed, exasperated "You don't even have a sonic anymore."

"Then I'll make one. Besides it's not a weapon."

"Don't we know it. Mr. 'Looks at a screwdriver and thinks it should be more sonic.'" Jack smirked at them.

"Doctor you're not going into the field without a weapon." Rose looked serious

"Rose, I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me. I'm brilliant, remember?" The Doctor flashed a toothy grin. Rose stared at him for a minute before pulling up the edge of her shirt to reveal a long scar along the left side of her abdomen. The Doctor's smile faded from his face. Jack looked away realizing he was intruding on an intimate moment.

"This is what happens when you don't carry a gun in Torchwood" she said forcefully, "It was supposed to be a routine operation." She continued, softly "Just a simple recon. They told me to bring a gun, just in case it turned violent but I refused. I had been working at Torchwood for about a year then but I'd only been doing field work for a couple of months. I was still trying to fight like you did, with brains rather than violence." She glanced up at the pained look on the Doctor's face. "The aliens turned out to be hostile," she continued "One came up behind me, I turned but I didn't have a weapon and it fired on me. They found me in a pool of blood ten minutes later and said I would have died if they had been a few minutes late. I almost died, Doctor. I know you want to see the world as good, but it isn't always," she sighed, meeting his eyes "Sometimes you have to be able to fight back. You're mortal now, not a god, and I'm not going to lose you, because you're too damn stubborn to carry a gun. You have to take a weapon." she said, her voice strengthening. The Doctor looked at her, not quite sure what to say. He wanted to reach out to her but wasn't sure how she'd react. It had been three months since the metacrisis and they were as much in love as ever but their relationship could still be somewhat tenuous at times. There were so many problems to solve. He still had to convince her he was the same man. He had hoped the non violence would help her see that, but it looked like it had just made her angrier at him. He couldn't carry a gun. Not after Gallifrey. He killed people since then, sure, but never in cold blood the way you do with a gun. He couldn't do it. He couldn't look out over the cold steel barrel and end a life. Not even for Rose.

"I'm not going to carry a gun, Rose, I can't." He spoke softly. Her eyes flashed angrily. "But I promise to have a weapon. Jack," Jack turned back to the Doctor, somewhat unsure what to do about the sudden tension in the room, "you said you have stun-guns. Give me one of those."

"You can only use them in you're right in front of someone. You're going to need something that you can fire." Jack said. The Doctor turned to look at Rose before turning back to Jack.

"Give me five car batteries, two ounces of dubnium, a pistol, and darts that will fit inside it." Jack turned to glance at Rose who looked exasperated.

"How long will it take?"

"Well I also need quarter ounces of thorium, terbium, and neon for my sonic. I also need four one centimeter wide diamonds, an aluminium tube, a small light bulb (preferably a colored lightbulb), and a normal screwdriver and small drill in order to make it."

"Your sonic needs a tube and a colored light bulb?"

"It wasn't made out of fairy dust."

"How long is it going to take?" Jack asked leaning back in his chair.

"Two weeks on the sonic and a week on the stun gun."

"Give Tosh a list and she'll get you the supplies. I think that's everything for today. You guys can go home if you like." Rose walked swiftly out the door. The Doctor stood there for a moment.

"Better run, Doctor," Jack motioned to Rose, "or she'll kick you out of bed."

"We don't-"

"Just follow her." The Doctor looked at Jack for a moment the jogged after Rose.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked walking beside her. She pressed the button for the lift. She stood silently, not answering his question. The lift arrived and they stepped inside.

"Rose I'm sorry I-"

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just…" She sighed, leaning against the side of the lift. "I worry about you." she continued "You could be more careful, y' know."

"I promised to spend my life with you, Rose Tyler. If you want me too." he said seriously. "I plan on keeping that promise."

"Good." She said firmly but he could tell she had relaxed. "You're so stubborn." She said, smiling at him.

"I am not!" He replied indignantly. But he couldn't help smiling when she burst out laughing. "It's weird having Jack in charge of me." he said.

"I think you're experiencing captain envy." She said looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I am not."

"Yes you are." She sang.

"I just don't like him giving me orders."

"Sorry, Timelord, you don't have a TARDIS, a sonic, or a second heart. You no longer get to control us lowly humans. And because this is your job you actually have a boss." She teased, flicking her hair out of her eyes. He turned and smiled at her. She continued to face the doors of the lift but she looked at him out of the corner of her eye and noticed his loving look. She looked back at the door.

"Rose."

"What?" She turned to smile at him. Her tongue peeking out with her little grin. The smile suddenly made him feel flustered.

"What even are taxes?" He stammered. She rolled her eyes but continued smiling.

"Am I going to have to teach you everything about being a human?"

"Jack said we'll get a 'paycheck' next week. What's a paycheck?"

"How do you not know what a paycheck is!?" Rose laughed at him.

"What?" He shrugged. The doors of the lifted opened up and they stepped out into the fake shop. They walked out the shop and were ambushed by the cold night air. Rose shivered. The Doctor looked at her awkwardly for a moment then put his arm around her. She looked up at him in surprise then started walking toward the hotel.

"Seriously though. What's a paycheck?"

"It's money. You're given a amount of money once a month for the work you do. Seeing as we're new we won't be making as much as everyone else until we start being more useful."

"But I don't need money."

"Yes you do." Rose answered quickly.

"For what?" He asked, stepping up onto the curb and pushing the button for the cross walk.

"Clothes, food, a car, a house."

"Clothes? I've got this suit."

"Well seeing as you're not in the TARDIS with it's fancy cleaning system that cleans your clothes just by putting it on. You will have to have more than two outfits. Plus we're going to have to move out of the stupid hotel."

"I like the hotel."

"You're going to need to get a flat or something." She said. He looked down at her.

"Are we going to share one?" He asked awkwardly. She pulled herself out from under his arm and stared at him. He suddenly regretted saying it.

"You… You want to live with me?" She said quietly.

"Um… Yes?" He held his breath.

"Of course we can share one." She beamed at him. He smiled. He leaned forward and kissed her. Her lips pressed softly against his. He wrapped his arms around her waist. They stood there for a moment lit by the street lamps. Rose drew her lips away and smiled, her tongue poking out cutely.

"You know we should probably share a hotel room first." It was an innocent enough statement but the smile she was giving him told him that sleep wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

"We have work tomorrow." The Doctor said awkwardly. He suddenly realized that that didn't seem cool so he smiled, raising his eyebrows at her. Her smile grew.

"Then you better figure out how to buy a condom by friday." She said turning on her heel and walking off. He smiled to himself and followed her back to the hotel.

The Doctor sat at his new desk working on his sonic. He was lining up the diamonds inside the aluminum tubing. Jack smiled. It was weird seeing The Doctor in a new clothes. It was tight blue suit (in a color close to that of the tardis), a grey tie, and white sneakers. Jack scanned his eyes across the room to where Tosh was teaching Rose how to use the computer software. Jack sat in his office as Ianto went through The Doctor's personnel file.

"We're missing some facts on The Doctor. We need his date and place of birth. And he hasn't done his physical yet."

"Place of birth: Gallifrey. No clue the date, probably millennia ago." Ianto picked up a pen and wrote the place of birth in. He looked over at Jack.

"They've been for a month or so and you still haven't really explained who they are." Ianto said closing The Doctor's file.

"I told you. In an alternate reality those two were some of my best friends."

"In an alternate reality? Is that why you couldn't remember them when they first showed up?"

"Yeah. It's strange. I can remember two versions of my life. The second one is a little fuzzy but there was some really painful stuff in it." Ianto's face softened as he looked down at Jack's worried face.

"What happened in that alternate life?" Ianto asked. He sat down on Jack's desk and looked at him sympathetically. Jack took a deep breath.

"I was immortal. Every time I died I would be dragged back into consciousness. Like over broken glass. And the number of people who had died. An infinite number of friends and partners, my dad, and pretty much anyone I had ever cared about. Owen and Tosh they…" Jack trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Ianto looked at Jack sadly.

"How?" Ianto asked.

"It's all wrong and creepy." Jack took a deep breath, "I can see their deaths. It's one of the few things from that life that I can see vividly. Owen was drowned in radiation. He's already dead but it destroyed his body, making him unsavable. Tosh… she was shot. Bleeding to death on the floor trying her best to save the rest of us. God…" Jack's voice turned to a whisper, "I got everyone killed." Jack stared into space as his mind raced with all the death's he had caused. Ianto placed his hand softly on Jack's shoulder. Ianto's touch pulled Jack back to reality. He sniffed and wiped his face. He forced a smile.

"I guess I've got a lot to be grateful for." Jack said looking up at Ianto. Ianto smiled at him affectionately. He leaned down and kissed Jack's forehead.

"I'll get you a cup of coffee." Ianto said standing up and walking from the room. Jack smiled sadly. He had lost so much in that other life and yet somehow he kept going. There was a few things he saved but they just barely made up for the tragedies he caused. He watched Ianto as he made coffee. His eyes drifted away from Ianto and onto Tosh and Rose working on the computers. He continued to survey the room. His eyes scanned across The Doctor working, Gwen typing at her desk, and Owen working with the singularity scalpel. His smile grew. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to shake off the memories from the other reality. Jack smiled blissfully, his eyes only seeing the light through his eyelids. Suddenly that light changed from the soft yellow of the lamps above him to flashing red. An alarm screamed through the room and Jack's eyes snapped open. He jumped up and ran into the main part of the hub.

"What the hell?!" He shouted. Everyone ran over to where Tosh was staring at her computer screen.

"There was rift activity in seven places simultaneously. That many will trigger an alarm. Oddly it seemed to be a delayed reactions because each of them resulting in three deaths, a small cloud of smoke, and this carved into the ground." She turned her screen towards Jack. The words 'Torchwood will be saved' in all caps were carved into concrete.

"I don't know why it only alerted now. The rift activity was about an hour ago." Tosh explain. The Doctor looked over her shoulder.

"What does that mean: 'saved?' Shouldn't that be a good thing?" He asked.

"If it is. We should go introduce ourselves." Jack said smiling dangerously.

"Seven places and seven of us." Tosh said turning to look at Jack.

"Isn't that a bit too convenient?" Rose said, crossing her arms. "And they are clearly trying to get our attention. This can't be good."

"Rose is right." Jack said turning to the team. He thought for a moment.

"Okay, Ianto and Tosh check out those two," Jack said pointing at two of the sites on the screen, "Gwen and Owen take those two, and Rose and I will take those two. Doctor you pretty much always know what you're doing so you get your own." Everyone nodded. "Go." Jack ordered.

Jack pulled the SUV up in front of a parking lot. He and Rose got out and walked toward the site. Rose bent down and looked at the words.

"The words are lined with tar. It was burnt into the ground. They melted the asphalt." She said as she examined the letters.

"That was probably the cloud of smoke. Let's check out the deaths." Jack said. They walked across the parking lot toward the police officers collecting the bodies.

"What've we got?" Rose asked walking up.

"Who are you?"

"Torchwood. Now who are the victims?"

"Clara Shannon, Max Day, and Jesse Coleman."

"Shit…" Jack muttered to himself.

"Who are they Jack?" Rose asked. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Max Day: number one suspect in a case Torchwood had a while. It wasn't his fault but we still locked him up for a while. Jesse Coleman: ex-cop who helped Torchwood when weevils started attacking police officers. Clara Shannon: worked at the Pharm. These are all people who interacted with Torchwood." He explain.

"Well," Rose said, "They are clearly trying to get our attention. Tell me," she turned to one of the police officers, "did they say anything to their families? Why were they out?"

"Coleman was on the way to the pub, Shannon left her house to get milk according to her boyfriend, and Day was sitting at home. They all left their houses for normal reasons. Apparently they all just walked here."

"Max lives across town doesn't he? Seems unrealistic that he walked."

"There are no cars, no bus tickets, no taxi receipts, and no bikes. There's no other way they could have got here unless somebody randomly gave them a ride."

"It would have taken him quite a while. Unless," Jack looked at the body, "they didn't end up here on accident." He leaned over and pressed his fingers under Max's jawbone.

"Jack he's dead. There's no reason to take a pulse." Rose said looking confused.

"That's not what I'm doing." Jack ran his fingers along his jawbone.

"There! Rose give me your hand." She put her hand out and Jack placed her fingers against Max's throat. She felt a buzzing just beneath the skin.

"Feel it?"

"Yeah. What is that? Is there something inside him?"

"No it's a result of certain types of teleports." Jack explain, "It lasts for a couple hours and makes you all itchy but at least it's not as bad as time travel without a capsule. That's a killer."

"So he was teleported here?"

"Yep. I'm gonna call the rest of the team. Tell them what's up." He picked up his phone and dialed The Doctor's number.

"Jack?" The Doctor's voice ran through the phone.

"Yeah, so the bodies here are all people Torchwood has interacted with and they were teleported here. You got anything?"

"The words were melted into the ground-"

"Yes I know Einstein thanks."

"You didn't let me finish! They were melted into the ground with earth tech."

"No earth tech could do that. Not that quickly or cleanly." Jack said skeptically.

"Not from this time period. Remember home Jack? What did you guys use for carving?" Jack cursed under his breath.

"Precision blades? Shit."

"Expecting a visit from the family?"

"Let's hope not. I'd prefer to fight aliens then my mother." The Doctor snickered.

"Jack, we've got fifty first century humans killing people who knew Torchwood."

"Well this should be fun." Jack muttered.

"Yeah, you and Rose should-" Suddenly The Doctor yelled and was cut off.

"Doctor?" Jack asked. He heard The Doctor shout again and a loud thump. "Doctor!" He yelled into the phone. All Jack heard was scraping on the other end. Rose spun around to look at Jack.
"What's happening?" She asked, noticing the fear on Jack's face.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Jack repeated.

"Hello darling." A voice rang through the phone.

"Who is this?" Jack asked.

"Five years together and you can't recognise my voice?"

"John? What the fuck are you doing here?" Jack asked, angrily. The last thing he wanted to see was Captain John Hart.

"I've missed you too darling."

"Missed you? Ha!" Jack laughed darkly, "Last time I saw you, you tried to push me off a building. And to make it worse I had to save you and detach that bomb from your sorry ass. Why are you here?" Jack asked angrily.
"I'm here to see you." John said with sarcastic sweetness.

"What are you doing here?" Jack repeated.

"I tolds some old friends where you've been hiding. You still owe them a debt."

"Who do I owe a debt to?" Jack scoffed. John smiled and looked down at The Doctor lying unconscious on the ground.

"Who's this one?"

"What?" Jack asked.

"He's new to The Bikini Cops. He's pretty isn't he? What, did Eye Candy dump you?"

"You wish." Jack grumbled.

"Jack what's going on?" Rose asked.

"You're right. I do wish. But I've brought some old friends. You stole a ship from us."

"You said the Time Agency fell apart." Jack said. John scoffed.

"We did. That doesn't mean they don't still carry a grudge. They would really like to see you dead."

"Exactly seven?"

"I told you last time. There's only seven of us left and turns out they really hate you. One of for every member of Torchwood. I saw that your little group expanded."

"Well sorry, darling," Jack smiled angrily, "we're not that stupid. We went in teams of two."

"But not this one." John said, poking The Doctor with his foot, "He must be special. I'm glad I found him. Besides we went in teams too."

"You said there was seven of you. Who?" Jack asked, changing the subject away from The Doctor.

"Me, Natasha, Ginny, Mycroft, Zelda, Castiel, and Cecil."

"Well it's nice to know that they remember me." Jack said. Rose walked over to him.

"Jack tell me what's going on." Rose demanded. Jack shushed her.

"Now you can guess what's going to happen." John said, "We're going to hunt down your pretty little team and pick them off one by one until you give yourself up. Oh," John gave a sadistic laugh, "and I'm starting with Eye Candy." John hung up. Jack swore loudly and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He turned to look at Rose.

"They've captured The Doctor." He said.

"Who did?" Rose asked, clenching her fists.

"The Time Agency. They're gonna hunt us down." He took a deep breath. "I gotta call Ianto."

Tosh stood, talking to the police officers as Ianto kneeled down to look at the letters burnt in the ground. Ianto's phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID.

"Yeah?"

"Ianto!" Jack shouted. Ianto held the phone away from his face.

"Oi. I need these eardrums." He grumbled. Jack took a deep breath.

"Sorry. Sorry. Okay, listen, it's Time Agents."

"What?" Ianto said standing up. Tosh looked over at him.

"Seven ex-Time Agents, including John." Jack explained "They're going to pick us off one by one until I turn myself in."

"Fuck." Ianto swore under his breath.

"And… they're gonna start with you." Jack said quietly.

"John's idea?" Ianto asked, remembering that jealous asshole. "Alright." Ianto took a deep breath.

"Be careful." Jack said as Ianto hung up. He waved Tosh over to him.

"What's happening?" She asked, following him toward her car.

"Seven Time Agents, including John."

"Crap." Tosh said nervously.

"We have to split up. They're going for me first. Go find Gwen and Owen."

"I can't leave you. What if-"

"No." Ianto said firmly, "They want to pick us off one by one, right? Having one target will stall them for a while. And if this is John... I'm the first one he's going for. I can stall for time."

"Ianto-"

"Go find Gwen and Owen." He repeated. Tosh looked at him for a second.

"Okay. You take the car." She said walking off. He took a deep breath to settle his nerves and walked to the car.

_The Doctor groaned and opened his eyes. John glanced into the back seat to watch him as he sat up. His hands and feet were tied together. He looked over at the woman sitting beside him. She wore a long gown, had pointed ears, and stared straight ahead. John and a ginger woman sat in the front seat.

"Zelda," John asked over his shoulder, "how's our guest?"

"He's awake." She replied, watching The Doctor sit up.

"You must be one of our fifty first century visitors." The Doctor said looking at the back of John's head.

"And you must be new to Torchwood." John replied.

"So you're the ones here to save us." The Doctor frowned as he looked out the window. He had no clue where they were.

"We just wanted your attention. We're here visiting. How's Jack doing?" John asked sarcastically.

"Currently he's probably really pissed off."

"I mean in general." John's sarcasm faltered and The Doctor noticed his earnest voice. The ginger woman looked at John angrily.

"Stay focused, Hart." She whispered dangerously. John glared at her.

"Fuck off, Ginny. I'm in charge." The Doctor watched them for a moment then looked at the woman sitting next to him.

"You're from Hyrule, aren't you." She turned her head slowly to glare at him. He looked away from her.

"Where are we going?" He asked, to John.

"Why would I tell you?" John replied.

"Because villains are desperate to look smart. You want to tell me why you're smart." The Doctor said cockily. John smiled as he brought the car to a halt outside a warehouse. Ginny, John, and Zelda got out of the car. John walked around and opened The Doctor's car door.

"Then maybe I'm not a villain." John said smiling at The Doctor. He motioned to Ginny. She pulled a wand out of her sleeve and flicked it, knocking The Doctor unconscious again.

Tosh knocked on the car window. Owen rolled it down.. They were idling in front of the Seven Eleven Tosh where had asked them to meet her.

"Did Jack call you yet?" She asked.

"Yeah. What are you doing here?" Owen asked.

"Me and Ianto had to split up. He's the next target. What did Jack tell you?" She asked climbing in the back seat.

"Seven Time Agents, including John, they're trying to kill Jack. If Jack doesn't turn himself in they'll hunt us down one by one. He said to stay away from the hub in case they find it and to watch out for John. He said once you and Ianto found us we should go meet him."

"Ianto wouldn't let me go with him. He said it was too dangerous"

"Well then, I'm looking forward to the little protective boyfriend show Jack's going to put on aren't you?" Owen said sarcastically to Gwen. She looked at him blankly. Tosh cleared her throat.

"We'd better hurry up."

"Yeah." Owen said starting the car.

Ianto ducked behind a pub and leaned against the wall. He had been forced to ditch the car when he noticed the big black car that had been following him. He watched as the car drove past. He took a deep breath and brushed off his coat. He walked down the alley when he heard a car behind him. The black car was pulling into the alley. Ianto stared at it for a moment then sprinted down the alley. The car sped up. Ianto dodged out of the alley and into a small walkway that a car wouldn't be able to squeeze into. He slowed to a jog. Then a man stepped in front of him, blocking the exit to the walking way. He wore a suit, was carrying an umbrella, and stared with a completely deadpan face. Ianto pulled out a gun and pointed it at the man in front of him. The black car pulled up alongside the mouth of walkway, making it impossible to get out of. A young blonde man with a vest, purple tattoos on his arms, and an eye tattooed on his forehead stepped out of the car and pointed a gun at Ianto's back.

"Drop the gun Mr. Jones." The man with the umbrella said walking toward him. The young blonde man pressed his gun against Ianto's back. After a moment Ianto tossed his gun to the ground.

"Cecil," the man pointed his umbrella at the younger guy, "take him with us." Cecil handcuffed Ianto. Ianto glared at the man in front of him as a bag was shoved over his head.

Jack stood, arms crossed and grumbling, in the parking lot of warehouse. Rose stood slightly behind him silently. She stood with stoic determination. Fear of losing The Doctor didn't seem to stop her. It just made her driven as hell. Jack glanced at Rose. He was worried both for The Doctor and her. He had never seen her so dark.

"Are you okay?" He asked turning to look at her. She turned to look at him and her face softened.

"I'm scared."

"I gathered that. But are you okay?" He stepped toward her.

"Like I said: I'm scared. You said that Captain John was dangerous. What if he does something to him."

"He's going to be fine. He's The Doctor."

"He's human."

"But he's still The Doctor. He will be fine. Don't worry, we'll get him back." Jack assured her.

"We'll get him back, and if he's not in one piece I'll kick your ass for sending him off alone."

"Yes ma'am." Jack nodded, knowing that if The Doctor was lost he'd be in worse shape than he had ever been in before. Owen's car pulled up and the three of them got out. Jack watched as each door closed and his face darkened.

"Where's Ianto?" He asked. Owen and Gwen side stepped so that Jack's anger was centered on Tosh.

"He refused to let me go with him. He said that he would endanger us and that he should go alone."

"God damn it. Why the fuck does he have to be so stupidly heroic?" Jack growled in frustration. He turned to look at Rose, their face mirroring each others fear and determination. Jack pulled out his phone and called Ianto. It rang over and over again, each ring making Jack more and more anxious.

"This is Ianto Jones' personal mobile. I can't come to the phone right now but if you leave a message I'll get back to you." Jack swore under his breath.

"Leave your message at the tone." A woman's mechanical voice told him. "When you're finished recording hang up or press one for more options." There was quiet beep.

"Ianto pick up the damn phone! Don't do anything heroic and call me back. You're safer with us." Jack hung up his phone and stared down at it.

"He's probably fine." Rose assured Jack.

"Ianto always picks up his phone."

"No one always picks up their phone, Jack." Rose said, trying to comfort him. "He's probably not paying attention to it. He's trying to hide, remember?"

"Wait," Tosh said pulling out her phone and typing frantically "John called you from The Doctor's number right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then if I track his phone it'll lead us straight to John. What's The Doctor's number?"

"827-3471. He rigged his phone number to be TARDIS 1."

"Of course he did." Jack muttered. Tosh stood working for a moment when Jack's phone rang. He checked the caller ID.

"Ianto?" Jack asked picking up his phone.

"Guess again."

"John, you son of a bitch!" Jack shouted into his phone. "Where's Ianto?" The team turned to look at Jack.

"Eye Candy and the new guy and coming with me. Turn yourself in Jack. Or I shoot them."

"Where? Where do I turn myself in." Jack asked.

"You're not stupid Jack. Track the phone." John hung up. Jack chucked his phone across the parking lot in frustration. Tosh stared at him.

"Where are they?" He demanded.

"In a warehouse just outside of Cardiff. What are we going to do?" She asked.

"Easiest would be to give myself up but I'm not in the mood to die. So I'd prefer a different plan. Any suggestions?"

"Guns blazing." Owen said smiling. Jack rolled his eyes.

"That's a stupid suggestion. Besides, you get shot and you'll have another bullet hole in your chest for the rest of forever. Anyone else?"

"I've got an idea." Rose said smiling darkly.

"Move!" Rose shoved Jack through the door of the warehouse. His face was bruised and his hands were handcuffed together.

"Rose, stop this! We can save them another-"

"Shut up!" She snapped, pressing her gun against his head as she pushed him inside.

"Captain John! I brought you a gift." She said as she knocked Jack to the floor. She looked over as John walked gracefully down a metal staircase.

"Ooh, Bikini Cops finally got a blonde. Thank you for bringing him, sweets." John said walking toward her. She pointed her gun at John.

"Give me The Doctor and Ianto first." John nodded. He waved a Zelda and Cecil toward him.

"Fine. Give gorgeous over there her boys back." Cecil walked over to under the staircase and pulled Ianto and The Doctor out from under it. Both had bags over their heads and ropes holding their wrists together.

"I have a question first." John said looking at Rose skeptically. She raised her eyebrows.

"Ask away."

"Where's the rest of the team?"

"They're a bit tied up right now."

"Meaning?" John asked sassily. Rose scoffed.

"Meaning they didn't want me to turn Jack in so I tied them up. Now give me the hostages."

"Of course." John agreed, admiring Rose's guts, "Here's how it works. They point their weapons at them and you point your gun at him and if either group of hostages do anything stupid we shoot. Deal?"

"Deal." Rose said, nodding.

"Rose! What are you doing!?" The Doctor yelled through the bag on his head.

"Get up, Jack. We have a trade to make."

"Rose, please don't." Jack pleaded.

"The needs of the many outway the needs of the few. Give up one life to save two. Now get up." She dragged Jack up by his collar. She turned him around and pointed her gun at the back of his head. Cecil pointed his gun at the back of Ianto's head as Zelda pointed a bow and arrow at The Doctors back.

"Walk." Rose said darkly. He shuffled forward as The Doctor and Ianto were shoved toward Rose.

"Jack?" Ianto asked. Jack looked at him but didn't respond. John smirked as Jack approached. Rose grabbed The Doctor and Ianto as they reached her. She pulled out a knife and cut off Ianto ropes. She handed him the knife and he pulled off the bag on his head and started slicing through The Doctor's ropes. She continued to point her gun at Jack. Jack slowly walked towards John. He glared at John with a look like he was picturing how to bury him. John smiled at him.

"Hello honey." He said, as Jack reached him. Suddenly Jack lunged and wrapped his handcuffs around John's throat. Rose shot Cecil between the eyes. She turned her gun on Zelda and shot her in the chest. They crumpled to the floor. Jack dragged John through the door of the warehouse by the neck. Across the room a door crashed open. The man with the umbrella and a man with a dirty trench coat burst in.

"Castiel!" John yelled to him. Castiel pointed his hand toward Zelda and she stood up. She smiled and turned herself into a blonde man in a blue suit then disappeared into thin air. There was a thump behind them as he reappeared.

"The knife!" Jack yelled. Ianto flipped the silver blade in his hand and swung at the young man, who dodged as he produced a long chain. He snapped it at Ianto and sent him stumbling back holding his chest. Ianto regained his balance and stood up, stabbing at the man and leaving a large wound in his arm. Turning back into her female self, Zelda stumbled out of the way as Rose, Ianto, and The Doctor ran out. Jack followed them out, still dragging John by his neck. Owen and Tosh pulled up in the SUV and they all climbed inside. Zelda followed them outside and produced her bow again. She fired at them as they drove off.

"Mycroft…" Castiel said walking up behind him. Mycroft turned to glare at him.

"You didn't do your job."

"I was busy saving Cecil." Castiel said as Cecil walked up behind him.

"I don't care. What I do care about is the fact that you didn't do your job. Your were suppose to kill them."

"They had an archangel's blade. If Zelda had died I could revive her. If I died we'd all be dead for good." Castiel reminded him. Mycroft turned away from Castiel and watched the SUV drive off.

"I want them dead."

Jack dragged John inside and opened a cell. John smiled seductively at him as Jack took his vortex manipulator.

"You want mine because it's bigger don't you?" John teased. Jack shoved it in his pocket and kicked John into the cell, sending him toppling to the floor. John sat up and smiled flirtatiously at Jack. Jack glared back.

"Good job. Killing Cecil and Zelda." John said. "Except they're not dead for long. Your weapons are useless as long as we have an angel. Your team can die and mine can't. Mycroft was always a brilliant mind, Cecil's generally useful, and the other three are living weapons."

"Cas was a nice guy. I doubt he actually wants to kill me." Jack said, looking down on John.

"You ditched the Time Agency, stole a ship, ripped off a bunch of Time Agents, and was just generally an asshole. Not to mention your little friends tried to kill Zelda and Cecil."

"That wasn't my idea."

"He doesn't know that. He doesn't like it when people hurt his humans." Jack smiled at John for a moment before turning and walking out of the vault. When he walked into the main room Gwen approached him.

"So what are they? Not all of them are human, right?" She asked.

"Yeah. Hey guys!" Jack shouted. Everyone turned to look at him. He waved them to the meeting room. Everyone sat down as he opened a laptop and pulling a picture up on the main screen.

"I need to give you some advice on how to fight them. This is Zelda." He said pulling up a photo of the pointy eared girl in the gown. "She's an alien. She switches from looking like this to being a guy in a blue suit which she uses for fighting." Jack clicked and a picture of Shiek popped up. "I don't know her planet, she was always very secretive about that, but she's a princess of Hyrule. We fought her already and she can killed like any human."

"Wait a minute," Gwen said looking at the picture, "are these pictures you took?"

"All of them were friends of mine at one point." He said with the deadpan face he used to cover up sadness. Jack clicked again and pulled up a picture of the freckled ginger woman.

"This is Ginny Potter. She's from another galaxy. There is actually numerous copies of earth out there. She's from a version where magic is real. Only a select few have it but it and all sorts of other mythical things are real. Her wand can produce pretty much any spell. If you want to take her down you have to shoot before she sees you or take out her wand."

"She has a wand?" Owen snickered.

"Yeah and she can stun your ass and throw you off a cliff if she liked so she's not producing rabbits out of hats. That shit is dangerous. She is an excellent witch. Now this is Cecil Palmer." Jack clicked and a picture of the young blonde man. "Cecil is from the same galaxy. He's also human. His only special power is that third eye, even though it looks a bit like a doodle it's actually real. He can see you even if his eyes are closed and that third eye helps him aim. He's a perfect shot. He literally cannot miss. But," Jack continued, "he might be persuaded to our side. He used to have a crush on me." Ianto crossed his arms. Jack pulled up another picture.

"Mycroft is the guy with the umbrella. Him and Natasha are from yet another reality. There are quite a few. In their reality book characters are real, we're books, and there's another one that's TV. Mycroft is the older brother of Sherlock Holmes and is equally smart. He's not a fighter but he's a good leader and he'll be in charge now that we're taken John." Jack pulled up the next picture. A curvy red headed woman in a tight black suit appeared on the screen. Owen leaded forward.

"Hold up. I feel like I've seen her before."

"Comic book fan are we? This is Natasha. You haven't met her yet but when you do you'll be in big trouble. Her full name is Natasha Romanoff she's an-."

"Natasha Romanoff?" Owen asked his jaw hanging open.

"Yes."

"Crap. Really?"

"Yes." Jack repeated. Owen took a nervous breath.

"She's a comic book character?" Ianto asked.

"Marvel comic. Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. Russian assassin and member of the Avengers. She can kill you with just her thighs. She's human but she'll be super hard to kill." Everyone stared at her picture.

"We're going to be fighting an Avenger? I've seen the movies. They're good guys." Gwen said looking confused.

"You remember her line about 'red in her ledger?' Well the Natasha you're about to meet is during that point in time. She hasn't joined the Avengers yet so she's still an assassin. Lastly there is Castiel." Jack pulled up a picture of the guy in the tan trenchcoat. Tosh, Gwen, and Rose all raised their eyebrows. None of them had gotten to see his face and it was gorgeous.

"He's from another galaxy where God is real. And I don't mean in a religious way I mean real like a physically real person. In their galaxy myths and monsters are real. Werewolves, demons, vampires, you name it. Castiel is an Angel of the Lord. He's the most dangerous but also the most likely to change sides. He's a good person but if he is truly on their side he's the hardest to kill of all of them. Ianto do you still have that knife Rose gave you?"Jack turned to look at him.

"Yeah." Ianto pulled the silver blade out of his coat. He put it on the table.

"That knife," Jack continued, "is the only thing that can kill him. That's it. That knife can kill anything."

"Then why don't we use it all the time?" Gwen asked picking it up off the table to look at it closer.

"Imagine if a dangerous alien got hold of a blade that can kill anything." Jack looked at her. Gwen placed it on the table again, suddenly nervous. "Now," Jack continued, "Castiel has tons of powers. He can teleport, blind you, bring people back to life, heal any wound, kill you with just one touch, and (depending on where he is in his time stream) he may be able to call a team of angelic dicks to fight with him. Be careful. We cannot lose that blade. It's an archangel's blade and their super rare. Cas will be carrying one too so, if you can, try to snag his. Actually… on second though avoid him until I get a chance to talk to him."

"So do we just wait for them to find us?" Rose asked. Jack thought for a second.

"No." He said, "Ianto take the blade. You guys get anything together that you think may help in a fight. Ianto and I will go talk to Castiel." Ianto picked the blade up off the table and followed Jack out of the room.

"Won't their team notice if he picks up a phone then disappears?" Ianto asked as he followed Jack out to the car.

"He won't be picking up a phone." Jack said getting in the SUV. Ianto looked at him for a moment. He hated when Jack was vague. He rolled his eyes and got in the SUV.

"Where are we going?" Ianto asked.

"We have to get far enough away from the hub so he can't follow us." They drove for a couple more minutes then Jack parked the car in an abandoned lot. The two of them climbed out of the car and walked to the center of the lot.

"How are we-" Jack shushed Ianto and closed his eyes.

"I pray to Castiel for a minute to talk to him. I don't want to fight you Cas. Just come and talk to me." Jack opened his eyes.

"Did you just pray to him?" Ianto asked, smirking.

"Do I have to say Amen or something." Jack asked looking around. There was a quiet flapping noise.

"Very funny." The angel said gruffly from behind Ianto. The two of them spun around to look at him. His hair was messed up and his tie was on backward. He stared at Jack blankly.

"Why do you want to kill me, Cas? I never did anything to any of you."

"You destroyed the Time Agency."

"I didn't mean too. It's just had to get out. They stole my memorise, Cas. I couldn't just sit around and-"

"I know." Cas said, cutting him off. His deadpan face faltered into sympathy. "My whole life gets wiped whenever the angels think I'm… Well, the point is: I understand how you feel."

"Then why are you fighting me?" Jack asked.

"We're not all here to kill you. I just wanted to find you. Ginny, Mycroft, Zelda, and John want revenge. But Cecil, Natasha, and I just wanted to find you."

"Natasha doesn't want to kill me? I thought she'd be first in line."

"Natasha is good at forgiving." Castiel said simply. Jack smiled.

"So are you guys going to join our side?" He asked.
"Under one condition." Castiel said, "You have to give me the angel blade."

"What?" Jack asked.

"The one in Ianto Jones' coat." Castiel clarified.

"Ianto." Jack waved to him. Ianto looked at Jack for a moment then pulled it out of his coat's inside pocket, and handed the blade to Castiel. Jack looked at Castiel for a moment.

"Cas… thank you." Castiel smiled slightly.

"I'll get the other two. Give me a second." Castiel disappeared. Jack turned to look at Ianto. Ianto stared back.

"What?" Jack asked noticing Ianto's face.

"Can we trust him?"

"He could have turned us to ash back in that warehouse. But he chose not to. I trust him." There was a flapping noise and Jack turned to look at Cas, Natasha, and Cecil. Natasha smiled at them. Cecil walked forward and punched Jack hard, in the shoulder.

"Ow. What the hell?"

"That's for letting her shoot me." He said flexing his hand. Jack broke into a grin. Ianto stood, arms crossed, looking at Cecil.

"Having a bag shoved over my head wasn't fun either." He said. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Sorry about that. Wasn't my idea." Cecil said guiltily. Ianto nodded to tell Cecil that it was okay.

"You must be the one John calls Eye Candy." Natasha said, smiling at Ianto. Ianto noticed that all three of them had American accents.

"Ianto Jones." Ianto stuck out his hand. She shook it as she looked him up and down.

"Charmed. Natasha Romanoff."

"Natasha," Jack said as she turned her attention back to him, "where were you earlier?"

"Working on John's plan."

"And that would be?" Jack asked. Natasha tossed some hair out of her eyes.
"Ianto Jones, turn out your pockets." Natasha said. Ianto looked at her for a moment then turned out his pockets. A small disk the size of a button dropped into his hand. It barely had any weight. There was no way of noticing it.

"Shit." He muttered. He handed it to Jack. Jack turned it in his fingers.

"It's a bomb." Jack said with interest. "Huh."

"Then shouldn't we be getting rid of it? How much time does it have?" Ianto asked looking at it.

"Nah. It's not triggered by a clock. It's triggered by a word. John's plan is to say the word in an ordinary sentence so we don't know when to stop him."

"So we should get rid of it." Natasha said looking at Jack. He smiled out of the corner of his mouth.

"I can guess any password and cue word he could ever come up with."

"Then he would have picked one he thought you'd never guess." Natasha said.

"That's why I know exactly which one it is." Jack flipped it in his hand. "There's gonna be one in The Doctor's pocket too." He flipped open his phone and dialed Rose.

"Jack? Is whatshisname on our team?" She asked.

"Yeah. Now, Rose, don't say a word. There's a small button sized bomb in The Doctor's pocket. Take the bomb, put it in a box, and lock it up. Send it to the bottom of the safe and don't say a word until it's down there. Signal to me that you understood that without saying any words."

"Uh-huh." Rose replied.

"Good we'll be there soon." Jack shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked down at the bomb.

"So the word… Can you give us a clue?" Cecil asked.

"Um…." Jack tried to think of a clue for it, "Okay, old movie reference. There's a famou movie from the sixties set in World War Two. The title of the movie is: The Great blank. Do not say the last word of the title or any synonyms for it." Ianto, Cecil, and Natasha all nodded, knowing the name.

"The great…?" Castiel asked.

"I forget, you're not good at culture references. Um…" Jack pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket, "anyone got a pen?" Cecil pulled one out of his vest pocket. Jack put the paper on his thigh as he covered it in odd symbols.

"Can't you write it so we can all read it?" Ianto asked looking over his shoulder.

"Nah. It's scanning everything around it. But it can't read Enochian or Circular Gallifreyan. Both are untranslatable."

"Then why can you write in them?" Ianto asked.

"I've had good tutors." He handed the paper to Castiel. He nodded.

"No synonyms for it either. Natasha," he turned to her, "what was John's plan. You weren't there slipping bombs in their pockets."

"No I wasn't. I was planting four bombs under the streets of Cardiff. The bombs in your pockets aren't that powerful. They'd kill a ten foot radius but their point isn't to kill you. They go off very specifically. They're not technically bombs. They shoot down and up. It's a disk for a reason. If it went off in your pocket it would take your legs with it. They're main point is to cause a seismic disturbance to set off the bombs under the city."

"And you set these up?" Jack said horrified.

"Yeah. But I changed something. Instead of going off as soon as they get hit, I added a timer. After they get hit there is fifteen minutes before they go off. It's not as much time as I wish I could give you but it will give us time to disarm them." She explained. Jack nodded.

"Now, we gotta get back to the hub. Mycroft and his gang will realize that you guys ditched soon." Jack waved everyone toward the car. Castiel cocked his head to the side. Jack stared at him with irritation.

"Just get in the car." Castiel opened his mouth to object then shut it and disappeared.

"Oh lovely." Jack turned back towards the car. Castiel was sitting in the back seat.

"I'm not a fan of cars. They put smog in the air." He said absentmindedly. Everyone else climbed in the car and Jack hit the gas pedal.

The door clanged as the five of them entered the hub. Rose poked her head around her computer screen. She stood up and walked over to Jack.

"They're on our team." Jack assured her. She looked over at Cecil.

"Sorry about shooting you." She said awkwardly. Cecil looked at her for a moment.

"It hurt like hell but I'll be okay." He said nodding to her.

"Jack, what was with the thing in The Doctor's pocket? I'm guessing it's a bomb."

"It is. And a powerful one." Jack said. "Now we need to-"

"If it goes off" Rose cut him off. "how long will we have to es-" Jack cover her mouth. He put a finger to his lips as she glared at him.

"Shh." He said, still pressing his hand over her mouth. Rose continued to glare. Then she stuck out her tongue and licked his hand.

"Ew." Jack said pulling his hand away from her mouth. He wiped it on his trousers.

"What the hell was that about?" She asked wiping off her mouth.

"Guys!" He yelled across the hub. The rest of the team walked over, looking at Castiel, Natasha, and Cecil suspiciously.

"It's alright. They're on our team. Now those bombs are triggered by a word. The one the were about to say, Rose."

"What word?" Tosh asked.

"There's a sixties movie about World War One called The Great dot dot dot You can't say the last word of the title or any synonyms." Everyone nodded. "Okay," Jack continued, "there are four bombs under the streets. Natasha, teach The Doctor and Tosh how disable them. They learn the fastest. Cecil, Rose, Owen, and Ianto get some weapons together. Castiel… uh…. stand around and look pretty. I don't know. Find something to do. Gwen, lets go poke a hornets nest." He smirked at her. She nodded and they walked toward the vaults.

Jack and Gwen walked over to John's cell. He was laying on his back, smiling dangerously. He sat up and smiled at the pair of them.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked, smirking at them from his spot on the floor.

"Castiel is going to make sure your team lives to kill us right?" Jack asked.

"Of course."

"Why does he want to kill me? We we're friends."

"We were all friends Jack. You betrayed us."

"By quitting? People quit all the time."

"Oh but you don't remember. They took those years from you." John said lying down again. There was silence as Jack took in what John had just said.

"What did you say?" He whispered.

"I said that you didn't remember because they took those two years away from you." John teased.

"What?" Jack slammed his hands into the plastic walls separating them. John stared at the ceiling with sadistic pride. Gwen placed her hand on Jack's shoulder and tried to pull him back. He shook her off.

"What happened!?" Jack demanded.

"Would you like to know?" John asked, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes."

"Are you sure? Really sure?" John sat up and looked at Jack seriously. "They took it from you for a reason."

"Yes. I'm sure." Jack glared at John. He stood up and brushed off his coat.

"Let me out." He said, smiling darkly.

"No." Jack sneered. John shrugged and sat down.

"I guess you don't want to learn then."

"You little shit. Gwen open the cell."

"Ja-" She protested. He glared at her. She stared at him for a moment then opened the cell. John strutted out, grinning devilishly.

"Talk to me." Jack said crossing his arms.

"Give me my vortex manipulator first."

"Why on earth would I do that?"
"It's insurance that if you go back to your old ways after learning about what they were, I don't die."

"No."

"Then you'll never know, will you?" John smirked, cruelly.

"You're sick." Jack said handing him his vortex manipulator. "Now talk."

"To make a long story short," John said leaning against his cell "you got captured and experimented on by aliens. It turned you insane. You murdered fifteen random civilians, Zelda, Mycroft's brother, Bones, and Simon (Bones and Simon ran the Time Agency at the time)." he explained, looking at Gwen, "You broke Ginny's arm too. Everyone in the Time Agency ended up safe but you can see why they're pissed off. The civilians didn't survive because you incinerated them. We spent a whole year trying to fix you. You spent a whole year in a straight jacket, Jack, just babbling about fire. You said you wanted to burn everything down. That was all you ever said. You'd just repeat that. And laugh." John stopped and stared at Jack. Gwen analyzed his face, looking for a sign he was lying. But he clearly meant what he said. She could see the pain behind his eyes. John had had watch the love of his life babbling about death with no way to save him. She almost pitied him. Almost.

"Jack-" She started.

" Eventually," John started again, "to save you Simon suggested taking the two years away from you to see if it would make you sane again. It worked but as soon as you found out they were gone you left." John smiled at the horror on Jack's face.

"Bullshit." Jack said swallowing. "There's no way." He put on a brave face, turning to go. Gwen followed him toward the door. There was a quiet beep.

"Captain's log: Hart, John. Date: May 11th, 5024." Jack turned around. John held his vortex manipulator up, playing a recording of his own voice. "Captain Jack Harkness went missing while escorting Princess Soola of Woman-wept to the intergalactic conference. Neither arrived. It has been two weeks," John's voice cracked, he was clearly fighting back tears as he made the recording, "we will conduct a search party if he does not arrive by friday. Hart, out." The recording stopped.

"So I went missing, big deal." Jack said, forcing himself to believe what he wanted to. John's smile grew. He pressed some buttons and a new recording started.

"Captain's log: Hart, John. Date May 20th, 5024. We've finally found Jack on the planet Vastra 12. He's in critical condition and we can't contact Castiel. Zelda, Ginny, and I are transporting him back to Earth via ship. We can't risk traveling without a capsule. Ginny has used magic to heal the surface wounds but she doesn't have enough medical training to help him more. Hart, out."

"I would never kill harmless people."

"You think?"

"Captain's log: Hart, John. Date June 2, 5024. Cas says that Jack has gone insane and he doesn't know how to fix him." John's voice cracked, "We have him sedated but Cas isn't sure if he'll ever be sane. While bringing him here he broke Ginny's arm and smashed in Zelda's skull. They're both fine but Jack is currently wearing a straightjacket. We just found out about an explosion on the planet he was captured on, apparently someone fitting Jack's description blew up a building, killing fifteen. We aren't sure whether or not is was Jack. Hart, out." Jack turned quiet. He would never.

"This is bullshit." Jack snatched John's vortex manipulator and threw it across the room. John tipped his head and smiled at Jack.

"Always such a temper." He cooed. Gwen looked between them, terrified. Jack grabbed John by the front of the coat and threw him back into the cell. John hit the ground hard and giggled breathlessly. Jack slammed the door closed and stormed out. John turned to Gwen.

"I told you once that it made sense you didn't trust me what with the boss you have. That year and that temper is why I said that." He smiled. Gwen glared at John's satisfied smirk then chased after Jack. Jack leaned on the wall and stared at the floor.

"Jack?" Gwen asked, gingerly placing her hand on his shoulder. Jack's shoulders began to shake. He pushed her away and walked off. The team didn't notice as he marched past them toward his office, his face wet and shining. Gwen tapped Ianto's shoulder and pointed to Jack's office, where Jack was sitting with his head in his hands. Ianto followed Jack into his office.

"Jack?" He asked quietly. Jack looked up at him and wiped his face.

"Fine. I'm," he took a deep breath, "fine." Ianto walked over to him and sat on his desk.

"Is fine a synonym of devastated now?" He asked kindly. Jack closed his eyes.

"Yeah." He answered quietly. He stood up and Ianto hugged him. Jack buried his face in Ianto's shoulder.

"Do want to tell me what happened?" Ianto asked. Jack let go of Ianto and shook his head.

"Not really." He said, honestly. Ianto nodded.

"Okay." He smiled sympathetically, placing his hand on Jack's cheek. Jack smiled sadly. Ianto took his hand away from Jack's cheek and looked at him lovingly.

"Can I shoot John now?" He joked. Jack laughed quietly.

"Later." Jack said smiling at Ianto.

"Promise?" Ianto said, reaching out to straighten Jack's collar.

"Promise." Jack said, watching Ianto's concentration on Jack's collar. Ianto let go of him and straightened his own tie. He gave Jack a light peck on the cheek then turned towards the door.

"Let's find out if they've gotten anywhere on the bombs yet."

Jack lead everyone out of Torchwood. They stood in the fake shop that Torchwood was hidden under. Jack handed Tosh, Owen, and The Doctor instructions Natasha had made.

"Okay. Cas take Tosh, Gwen, and Cecil to one of the bombs then come back. We'll need you to teleport everyone" Castiel touched Tosh's shoulder with one hand and Cecil's forehead with the other. Gwen grabbed Tosh's shoulder and they disappeared. A couple seconds later Castiel reappeared.

"Okay, to the next site. Take The Doctor, Rose, and Owen." Castiel nodded. The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand as Castiel touched Owen's and Rose's foreheads.

A couple seconds later Castiel reappeared.

They disappeared. Castiel reappeared. Only Jack, Ianto, and Natasha were left.

"Okay just us."

As soon as they got their Castiel let go of them and disappeared again. They all looked around at the buildings lining the road. It was dark and the lamp lights were the only thing lighting the area.

"Where…" Gwen started, "wait I know this neighborhood!"he looked down the block and saw Rhys' car. Her eyes widened. Tosh looked around too.

"Isn't this your neighborhood?" Tosh asked. Gwen nodded. Cecil started down the block. Tosh and Gwen followed.

"Why is it in my neighborhood?" Gwen asked, scared.

"Because you're the most sloppy." Cecil said kindly.

"What?" Gwen asked, catching up with Cecil.

"We couldn't find anyone elses house. Owen doesn't even own a car so we couldn't track it, Toshiko's house has some sort of deflector so we couldn't do much more that locate the half of town she lives in, Jack lives at your base, and Ianto doesn't even seem to exist when it comes to government information. Nobody knows where he lives. You on the other hand are all over the place. Police files, records of your expenses, social security, medical history, land line… your husband's twitter," he smiled playfully, "they all are flashing red lights for anyone who wants to find you." Cecil explained. He turned onto a street parallel to Gwen's flat. "So we found the closest place where we could put something underground." He stopped at a manhole cover. Tosh and Gwen came up next to him.

"We have to go into the sewer?" Tosh asked, unhappily.

"It's not a sewer. It's the clean water supply. It transports your drinking water. This is hatch repair workers go down to check on the pipes. Somebody help me lift this." Cecil and Gwen pulled the lid up. It weighed far more than Gwen expected.

"This thing is heavy."

"Well yeah," Cecil said, "they want to keep civilians out." The dropped the lid next to the opening.

"Now what?" Gwen asked. Cecil gestured to it.

"After you." Gwen started climbing down followed by Tosh then Cecil. Gwen dropped onto the floor. Tosh landed next to her. They were in a dark, damp, tiny, room. There was a large pipe going through the room. Cecil climbed down.

"There." Tosh pointed. There was a giant sphere wedged beneath the pipe. It was red and grey. It was obviously the bomb. She pulled the instructions she'd been given out of her pocket.

"So in order to disarm it we have to-" She was cut off by the clicking back of a hammer. Tosh and Gwen turned. Cecil was pointing a revolver at them.

"Sorry Tosh. Gwen, I'm sorry. But we're not here to disarm it." He looked at them calmly. "Now, over there." He gestured to the opposite wall with his gun. Gwen and Tosh backed away from the bomb.

"Cecil what are you doing? You don't really want to blow everything up." Gwen spoke softly.

"I do really want to blow everything up." He replied blankly. Gwen looked at him. It was clear he was telling the truth. He did want to blow up the city.

"Why? Why say you'll help us then not?" Gwen asked. Cecil walked over to the bomb and looked at it, still pointing his gun at them.

"Because I'm not a traitor. I'm loyal to my friends and I don't just change sides because Jack's not crazy anymore. I'm sticking with it. Did you not question why they didn't have anyone guarding the bomb? They knew I was going to come set this one off for them." He pulled something out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. It appeared to be a small box.

"But why blow a city up just to get revenge on one person?"

"I don't question my orders. I just follow them. If that's what the bosses want it's what I want." He said simply. Gwen could see through it though.

"Who's in danger?"

"The whole city of course." He said.

"No, no. I mean in your life. Who will they kill if you betray them?" She asked. Cecil smiled.

"You're clever, Gwen Cooper. I'll give you that. It's my family. They're in danger."

"Your family? Who?" Gwen asked. Cecil took a deep breath.

"My boyfriend, for one. Probably my sister and niece too. I don't care about my brother in law. But I do care about everyone else. My family is more important to me than your city." Cecil said calmly. There was no anger in his voice. He wasn't evil or crazy. Cecil was just a person doing what needed to be done.

"I hope your family's okay in the end. But we're still going to stop you."

"You do that. Good luck. Personally I'm going to leave while I can. Bye." He continued to face them as he climbed up the ladder. He climbed out onto the street and pulled the cover back over the hole. He pulled his vortex manipulator out of his pocket and magnetized the manhole cover. He pressed another button and disappeared. Gwen hit on the cover.

"It's no use." She said.

"Well then let's deactivate the bomb." Tosh said, walking back over to it. She stopped and looked at the box Cecil had put down. She picked it up and looked at it. Gwen walked over.

"What is it?" She asked. Tosh held up the box.

"He put this down." Gwen looked down at it. It was just a little cardboard box, the size of Tosh's hand. She opened it up. Inside was a speaker and one of the disk bombs.

"Shit." Gwen muttered. "What do we do." Suddenly the speaker crackled to life and Cecil's voice came out.

"I'm sorry guys." The speaker said, "But I have to set the bomb off."

"Shit!" Gwen grabbed it out of Tosh's hand and chucked against the wall, hoping to break it. It continued to crackle

"So here goes:" Cecil's voice continued, "Escape." The bomb went off. A ball of fire consumed the room. _

Meanwhile The Doctor, Rose, and Owen were standing next to a small house. They looked around. It was a long road full of little suburban houses. The one they were next to was white with blue trim. It seemed peaceful enough.

"So why didn't he send one of the people who knows what's going on with us?" Owen asked. "I mean wouldn't have sending one of the time agent-y people with us be useful?"

"I guess Jack needed both Natasha and Castiel." Rose said. "Doctor you got the instructions right?"

"Yeah. Apparently the bomb is in the basement of this house." He gestured to it.

"So we're going to break into their house?" Owen asked.

"I don't…" The Doctor trailed off. He walked towards the house. Owen and Rose suddenly noticed it too. There was red all over the windows.

"Do you think..?" Rose started.

"Knowing them," Owen said, "yeah. Come on." Owen walked passed The Doctor and into the house. He was right. As soon as they opened the door they were in the living room. But there didn't seem to be much living going on in there. There were three bodies lying on the ground.

"These must be the homeowners." Rose said softly. She walked around The Doctor and looked at the people. There was an elderly couple and a small boy. Owen took each of their pulses. He shook his head at Rose. She sighed.

"Better find the basement." She said. Just then there was a clattering noise from the kitchen. They all stopped. The Doctor stared at the bodies. Owen and Rose walked quietly towards the kitchen. They were proper Torchwood operatives. Bodies no longer shocked them. The boy had made them both sad but death was normal for them. The Doctor was used to being able to save everyone every time. It was taking him longer to adjust to losing lives. He caught up to Rose and Owen as they reached the kitchen. They looked around the corner. There was a door next to refrigerator that was so awkwardly placed in the side of the room it must be the basement. It was also being guarded by Ginny. It was pretty obviously the basement. Ginny was sitting in a chair next to it. Her wand was sitting next to her on the counter. She was reading an odd newspaper. Rose had never heard of it and the pictures moved. But she'd question that later. Right now Ginny was between her and saving the city. Rose drew her gun. The Doctor grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes. She pulled her arm away.

"Owen." She whispered. "As soon as I shoot her wand knock her out. Okay?" Owen looked at her for a second.

"Killing her w…" He trailed off. "Okay." He stepped in front of Rose and she aimed over his shoulder. She squeezed the trigger and the wooden wand on the counter blew into bits. Ginny jumped up just in time to look at the splinters before she was punched by Owen. She hit the ground and came up swinging. She knocked him over but as soon as Rose was close enough she socked Ginny, making her hit her head on the counter.

"There's a cupboard under the stairs. Shove her in there and lock it." Owen said to The Doctor. He blinked for a second. After a moment he realized that he had to follow orders now and started dragging her towards the stairs. Rose walked over to the door and pulled it open.

"Yep. It's the basement. Come on." She and Owen walked down the stairs. As soon as The Doctor and took her vortex manipulator and closed the door he ran after them. He followed them down the stairs into the basement. After a moment his eyes adjusted to the lower light and he got a look at the room. It was full of boxes, broken furniture, and canned foods.

"There." The Doctor pointed to a giant sphere sitting in a box.

"The bomb?" Owen asked.

"Yep. Electric one. Made in the fiftieth century, would have been rustic to them but still very effective. It compresses electricity and this explosive liquid until it becomes incredibly unstable. The disk bombs send heat and shocks into the ground which causes the electricity to zap the explosive which sets these off." It was half red and half grey. There was a circular white plate that covered the line on one of the sides.

"It looks like a pokeball." Owen said. The Doctor and Rose looked at him.

"A what?" The Doctor asked.

"Nevermind." Owen said quickly.

"Well it'll be hard to disarm it." The Doctor said, "I guess now is the time to test my new sonic." Out of his pocket he pulled his new sonic. It looked just like his old one but the tip was purple and the aluminum was of a darker color. He flipped it in his hand and pointed it at the bomb. He put his ear near the white plate. There was quiet clicking noises. He smiled.

"What is it?" Rose asked, noticing his sneaky smile.

"It's a normal lock." He said.

"What?"

"This is like any lock you need a key for. Except the key is just a bunch of small individual pieces of metal that have to be moved remotely. All I have to do is listen for the pins." The Doctor knew how to pick locks. One of the pins clicked into place. He didn't expect it to be this easy. The second one clicked. He always thought how funny it was that once humans found the "right" way to do something they never changed it. The third pin clicked. Thirty centuries in the future they were still using a variation of the normal old key locks. The last one clicked.

"There we go." The Doctor stepped back. The top of the ball opened up to reveal a ball of tubes and gears. There was a line of red dots along the side of it. Owen and Rose stepped around The Doctor to look at the bomb.

"Now how do we-" Rose was suddenly cut off by an earth shattering explosion. Something had just exploded in the middle of town. Rose looked at the bomb. The gears started to move and the tubes started pumping.

"Did she say fifteen minutes?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah." Owen said.

Jack opened his eyes. They were standing on a cold and windy beach. It was dark except for streetlamps near by.

"I didn't realize it was night yet." Jack said.

"Follow me." said Natasha, walking towards the docks. The followed her down the beach. Clouds covered the sky above them and it was drizzling but there was a static in the air like a storm was approaching. Jack turned the collar up on his jacket. Castiel didn't notice the cold. Natasha was completely silent.

"Natasha where is this thing?" Jack asked, catching up with her.

"Underground. We buried it under the docks. We're going to need to dig it up."

"Lovely." Ianto muttered.

"Do you have a plan for how to do that? It's not like we have shovels or anything." Jack said.

"We've got an angel. We don't need them." They walked silently for a while before reaching a dock. Natasha waved them to the side. She looked around the corner. Zelda was guarding a large area of dirt and sand. It had clearly been dug up and put back. Natasha turned to Jack, Ianto, and Castiel.

"Zelda is guarding. You have to take her out." She whispered. Ianto looked at Jack. Jack looked nervous.

"Cas you do it." Jack turned to him. Natasha shook her head.

"We don't want them to know that we've switched sides yet." She whispered. "You or… what's your name again?" She asked turning to Ianto.

"Ianto."

"You or Ianto have to do it." Jack looked at Ianto. They spoke silently through their eyes. Jack couldn't do it. Ianto sighed.

"I'll do it. Do they already know that we have one of those knives?" He was referring to the angel blade.

"Yeah they saw us use it in the warehouse." Jack said.

"Good. Gimme one." Ianto held out his hand. Castiel took one of the angel blades out of his coat and handed it to him. Ianto looked at it for a second. "Okay." He turned to glance at Zelda.

"Be careful." Natasha muttered. Ianto took a deep breath and turned to that he would be visible to Zelda. She was looking the opposite way.

"Hey!" Ianto said. She turned around. In one smooth motion Ianto threw the blade. It struck her in the chest and she hit the ground. He walked over and pulled it out of her chest. Jack came around the corner.

"How'd you do that?" He asked, awestruck.

"What?" Ianto looked confused.

"Throw that."

"I was one of the best fighters when I worked for Torchwood one." Ianto said like he'd said it a thousand times. Suddenly Jack realized he'd been accessing the wrong memories. He was thinking about the Ianto in The Doctor's universe. They were almost identical except for how they got into Torchwood. In that universe Ianto had been a part of a destroyed Torchwood London and was only mediocre at fighting. In Jack's world Ianto was transferred to Torchwood Cardiff to help with their defense. Ianto was the one who trained Owen, Tosh, and Suzie how to use guns when Torchwood three was originally formed. Jack blinked. He'd just accidently mixed up the memories from his other life.

"Right…" It hadn't occurred to Jack how confusing remembering two lives was going to be. Ianto looked at him awkwardly.

"Anyway," Natasha interrupted, "Cas can you help uncover this?" Castiel walked over, stepping over Zelda. He raised his hand and chunks of dirt lifted up to reveal a large orb that was buried eight feet down. Castiel moved his arm to the side and dropped the dirt a few yards away. Natasha jumped down into the ditch. Jack and Ianto jumped in after her. Jack crouched down to look at the hunk of metal.

"So this is the bomb. Huh." Jack said, running his hand along the grimy surface. Well-" Suddenly a deafening boom stopped him short. The sound shot through the air making the dock drop dirt on them and their teeth rattle. Jack gave Natasha a fearful look. Ianto pulled out his stop watch and started it.

"Fifteen minutes on the clock."

"I don't understand." Jack said. Natasha's face darkened.

"I do." She said darkly. She looked at Castiel.

"Cecil." Castiel said simply.

"What?" Ianto asked. "He was on our side, right?"

"Seems he wasn't." Natasha said. "Castiel and I had been planning to double cross them from the beginning but Cecil only joined us three days ago. He had figured out what we were going to do and asked to be part of it." She explained. Jack took a deep breath.

"Castiel. Go find Tosh and Gwen." Jack ordered. Castiel tipped his head to the side. "Make sure they're okay. Grab the bomb from their area and bring it and them here. Go." Castiel disappeared.

"If they were caught in the blast-"

"How do we stop the bomb?" Jack cut her off.

"Jack, you're friends-"

"How do we stop the bomb, Natasha?" He stared at her. She took the hint and stopped talking about them. Jack didn't want to think about it.

"We need to start by removing this outer shell. There's a lock inside you need to pick. Using magnets." She explained.

"Crap." He muttered. Magnetic pin locks were one of his least favorite things. He looked at Natasha. Ianto watched them quietly, messing with the angel blade.

"Can you disarm it?" Jack asked Natasha.

"Not a good idea. I'm pretty clumsy." She said apologetically.

"Fourteen minutes." Ianto called out.

"No you're not." Jack said angrily. "You're a ballerina and silent assassin. We don't have time for this. Clumsy my ass!" He crossed his arms. That last thing he wanted was another person backstabbing him.

"Okay fine!" She held her hands out in front of her. Her fingertips were burned and raw.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"I gave you fifteen minutes on each bomb. It took pulling those things apart and putting them back together. My hands are spent." She said. Jack looked at her hands for a minute.

"Gimme the magnets." He said. Natasha reached into her pocket and pulled out one large circular magnet and another long thin one.

"Goodluck." She tossed them to him and sat down. Jack pressed the circular magnet against the grey circle on the side of the bomb, leaned his ear on it, and started moving the long thin magnet around like he was picking a lock. Ianto sat down and watched his stop watch. They sat in silence.

"They were caught in the explosion." Everyone turned to look at Castiel. He was standing behind Ianto. He was carrying Gwen over his shoulder and Tosh was propped against his arm. The bomb floated in front of him. He dropped it into the pit next to Jack. He slowly took Gwen off his shoulder and lay her and Tosh on the ground.

"Are they-" Jack started. Natasha stepped in front of them, blocking Jack.

"Jack hurry up. Now we have two to stop. Keep working." She said.

"Are-"

"Jack!" She shouted. He looked at her for a second before returning to working on the bomb. Natasha looked down at her hands before pulling out a second pair of magnetic lock picks. She winced while she did it but she started working on the second bomb. Ianto walked over to Castiel. Tosh and Gwen were both covered in burns. Tosh was almost unrecognizable.

"Are they alive?" Ianto asked.

"Toshiko is." Castiel said simply. Ianto's eyes turned to Gwen. She wasn't as burned as Tosh but the side of her head was collapsed.

"Brain trauma?" Ianto asked quietly. He didn't want Jack to hear. Castiel nodded. Ianto looked at her body. Her eyes were open, staring with horror at the thing that had caused her death.

"You can heal people right?" Ianto asked.

"Yes."

"Can you bring people back from the dead?" He looked at Castiel. Castiel thought for a moment.

"Only if heaven allows me."

"Would heaven let you bring Gwen back?" Ianto asked. This time Jack heard him.

"Back? Wait is she dead!?" Jack ran towards them. Natasha caught him before he reached them.

"Castiel will save her! We need to keep working! Ianto how much time do we have left?" Ianto looked at his stop watch.

"Twelve minutes."

"Jack we need to keep working damn it!" Natasha dragged him back.

"Are they-"

"Jack," Ianto said calmly. Jack stopped pushing against Natasha. "They're going to be fine. But they won't be if you don't keep working." Ianto and Jack's eyes met. Jack took a deep breath. He turned back to the bomb and got back to work.

"Thank you." Natasha said quietly to Ianto. He nodded.

"I will have to make a good case for bringing her back. She's not from my version of earth after all."

"She saved people as a cop, she saves people at Torchwood, and she was trying to save people when she died. She's worth saving. Even if this isn't your planet." Ianto looked at Castiel. Castiel thought for a moment.

"I can at least start by healing Toshiko." He bent down and tapped her arm. Light obscured her body for a minute. It faded and her eyes opened. She was completely okay.

"How'd I get here." She muttered as she sat up.

"I retrieved you from the explosion." Castiel answered. Ianto put his hand out and helped Tosh to her feet. She took a few wobbly steps before steadying herself.

"Cecil backstabbed us. He armed the bombs and-"

"We know." Ianto said calmly. He gestured to Jack and Natasha. "We're disarming them now." Tosh took a calming breath.

"What about The Doctor, Owen, and Rose? Are they okay?" Tosh asked.