Wanted

"Rachel, don't go to far now love," Shouted Michelle Falcon to her 6 year old daughter.

"Yeah, Yeah," the little girl murmured. It was the automatic response to most questions directed to the charismatic little girl.

Rachel was in the park, going to watch her big brother play football.

Her mum was just a few feet behind, watching her skip down to the field, when the child was distracted. Michelle's darling daughter had turned her head to look at something and then simply disappeared in a flash of orange light. Michelle's eyes darted around the park as if her baby would simply re-appear, like nothing so horrible, so impossible could happen.

Last thing Rachel had remembered was watching a butterfly on a petal, the butterfly was beautiful. She had never seen anything like it it's wings turned a different colour whenever it flapped them. Then she was falling into pure blackness, nothingness, Hell.

***

She opened her eyes, that dream again, she took the gun from the holster on her leg and tapped it gently against her head,

"Get out of there," she murmured. Putting the gun back in it's rightful place.

She jumped from the tree in which she was resting in, landing gracefully on the ground, wings and a tail come in handy. She went to the stream and looked in the water's reflection.

It was years, eleven to be exact, since she had been in Cardiff. It was years since she was on earth. She had fallen through the rift, into the void. The gap between dimensions, and the memory haunted her every time she closed her eyes. A fifteen year old who was still afraid of the dark.

In the void she had picked up a "friend" a creature from the void, a demon, or at least that's what she called it a creature that was as large as a horse, claws and teeth stronger than steel and sharper than knives. With great wings and a devil tail for balance. Rachel and the demon had hit each other at such speeds that they bonded giving Rachel all the abilities of the creature and the creature shared her mind, she had landed in the Vegas galaxies, she lived and ruled in Vegas 4.

When she had landed lost and confused in the middle of a busy market. She was taken in by a gang of crooks. As she had grown up, she had learnt how to survive in a place like this. She was well armed all the time and wore black leather pants, knee high boots and a specially made crop top, black of course. She wore fingerless gloves and a black strip of leather across her face as a mask.

The only reason she wore the mask was because over the years she'd steadily built up the reputation as most wanted alien creature in the universe. This in her opinion was ludicrous, for many reasons, 1. In her eyes, she wasn't an alien just an alien hybrid, there IS a difference. 2. She had only ever killed someone in self defence ( which as the price on her head was getting higher, so was the body count.) and 3. The only reason she was wanted so much is no one could catch her and she was beginning to hurt the Time Agency's good reputation. She walked away from the stream and walked towards the city, she smiled as she saw it, neon lights of unimaginable colours flashing everywhere, people, human and alien alike hustling and bustling around in the dead of night. She let her gaze leave the city. Bordering the outsides of shops were time agents. Looking for her, more and more arriving everyday to try and catch the elusive alien, Fawks.

Rachel looked to the sky, and sighed. No matter where you went in the universe the stars were the same. They whispered comfort to lost girl so far from home.

Rachel wandered down into the city, as the sun began to creep along the horizon. She took the alley way into the market, stepped to the mouth of it and walked into the crowd. She walked along browsing the stalls looking for breakfast, 42nd century food never looked appetising. To be frank it never tasted great either but it was food. She took a loaf of bread while passing a stall. No one noticed. She left the market. Following the crowd into the main street, now she had to be careful, this was where the majority of agents stood guard. Using a well known alley she left the streets and climbed a gutter to sit on the top of a flat roofed store. She sat at the edge and looked at the street below, taking off her black cowboy hat. A strap on her wrist bleeped, she looked down at her stolen vortex manipulator. She opened it pressed a button and a voice she knew echoed out ,

"Turn round, love."

She did as instructed as a bullet was fired.

She rolled just in time to avoid it, she picked up her hat. And ran, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. She could hear the pursuer behind her, but he was having a harder time with the jumping. Rachel had a built-in balance beam. A tail. They were nearing the last building of the street, she drew both guns that were on her hips, unclipped the safety, and slowed turning to face her pursuer. She was at the edge of the building.

"You always give a warning," she smiled at him.

"Only seems fair, your just a kid." the man smirked at her.

"Yeah, but I'm the most wanted kid in the universe," she grinned, taking another step nearer the edge. "And if you don't mind me asking when are you ever fair?"

"Hey now, no need to be like that,"

"Yeah, because I'm always nice to someone who shoots at me whenever they get the chance." the man took a step towards her,

"ah! Stop it!" she said toward the confident man.

"What you gonna do bout it, eh?" he smirked again. Rachel took a backwards step off the edge of the building. To her surprise her pursuer followed.

There was a flash, and then a mouth full of sand. Rachel got up, absolutely befuddled.

There was coughing next to her, the man who had been after her spat out a load of sand and sat up.

"Where are we? What did you do?" Rachel asked accusingly.

"I didn't do anything!" the man protested. It was only now she got a proper look at him. He was slim, muscular and handsome. He was wearing what appeared to be jeans, a white top and a red jacket on top, he had two guns, one strapped to each leg, in a western style. She met his eyes and he was staring right back at her. He smirked at her,

"Like what you see?"

"Seen better," Rachel retorted, but she dropped her eyes and felt herself blushing non the less.

"Captain John Hart, and who are you?" the words rolled off his tongue, like these words were well rehearsed.

"Fawks." she muttered.

"I know that, what's your real name?"

"Like I'm going to tell you," she instantly regretted saying this.

Idiot! That's meant to be your real name.

"So you do have a real name," he smirked.

Rachel simply stalked off, heading towards the forest that was at the edge of the beach they had landed on, after this man, John, had tried to shoot her she lost her breakfast. She heard steps behind her, John was following her.

"What do you want? Leave me alone!" Rachel snarled. She was in no mood for an annoying time agent.

"Well my strap has burnt out it's useless," he gestured to the strap. Unlike Rachel's which was flashing and whirring, trying to figure out what happened, John's was blank no noise or lights.

Don't believe him. A voice whispered from the back of her mind.

"So… why should I care?" Rachel turned to face him.

"Well you're stuck too. Yours might be able to tell us where we are but it doesn't work as a teleport. Does it?" he said this in a superior voice.

Arrogant sod.

"So what if I'm stuck too, I can look after myself."

He chuckled, "Yeah, but you've never been on your own, have you?"

"What's it to you?"

"It's a bit different on your own," he sneered, walking up to her. Trying to intimidate her, Rachel stood her ground.

"You notice all the things that bump in the night," he whispred, as Rachel took a breath, her nosed twitched wildly, a gorgeous smell was filling her nose, it smelt of apples, and chocolate but subtley mixed with charred wood and gunpowder. A memory filled her head,

November 5th

Rachel was sat by a roaring bonfire, sharing a candy apple with her big brother, Jimmy. There was a whistle and a bang a beautiful firework shot into the sky.

She shook her head trying to get rid of the memory, that girl had died. Now she was Fawks. She met John's eyes, he smiled down at her,

"Problem?"

"Nothing, just you stink." she retorted, turned her back on him and carried walking towards the trees.

What are you doing? He might shoot you!

If he was going to shoot me he'd of done it by now

Why hasn't he?

I don't know.

She listened to the debating voices as she headed to the forest, hit a tree and a bunch of bananas fell from the tree. She smiled. She hadn't had bananas for years.

She returned to the beach carrying the bananas and a bunch of twigs. John was in the exact same place she had left him, he seemed to be in shock. She raised an eyebrow at him as she passed him found a shaded spot away from the water and put down the twigs and bananas. She made her way back into the forest, and came back with some stones. She gave him a confused look and walked back to her spot she arranged the stones in a ring. Got a load of grass, placed it in the centre and set the twigs in the middle.

"Um… Are you ok mate?"

"I'm thinking,"

"Don't hurt yourself,"

He turned and chuckled, she smiled a genuine smile at him

"You want some food?" Rachel asked offering some bananas.

"Go on then,"

As he sat down he looked at her,

"What?" she snapped.

"How old are you?"

"15, like you said, just a kid. And will you stop eyeing me up,"

"It's hard not to. You gorgeous,"

Rachel blushed, and took a bite out of her banana.

You're giving in to his charm.

I'm not giving in, I'm just listening.

"Don't try it slick, your only going to get broken hearted," she mimicked his smirk.

"Attitude, much." he laughed.

"What made you want to be a time agent," she asked changing the subject and also curious, from what she heard the Time agency was a horrible organisation, full of cruelty and hate.

"I'm not in it any more," he simply stated. Rachel's eye's narrowed in suspicion, "No, honestly. I woke up one morning, my partner had left the agency. So I started asking questions, turns out when you join they steal two years of your memory. Two whole years and I've no idea what I did or where I was." As he talked his eyes drifted into the distance. Like he was looking at something far away.

"That's awful," Rachel murmured. She knew what it was like to have blank spaces in your life.

"Yeah, they change you into the same person, so I left. Always the individual, that's me."

"Are you telling the truth,"

"Every word. Thing is the time agency doesn't like it's members leaving so.." he reached over to get Rachel's wrist but under automatic instincts she fliched away. He held his hands up in a gesture of peace,

"I'm not gonna hurt you, love. Trust me." She looked into his eyes, he looked genuine. She gave him her wrist, he opened the flap and pressed a few buttons on her wrist strap. A blue hologram showing John appeared there was a number above it.

"How much?" Rachel asked. She had never bothered to learn alien language, she always had someone to do it for her.

"A lot, but not as much as you."

"So what are you gonna do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well they'll be after you too."

"I was thinking I'll do what you do,"

"Cause mischief?"

"Cause mischief," he laughed.

Rachel took off her hat revealling a head of short luscious brown hair.

John had an overwhelming urge to reach out and stroke her face. He stopped himself. It was just lust, he was convincing himself as Rachel reached into her hat, pulled out two bottles of silver-ish thick liquid.

She grinned, not noticing John's hand twitch towards her, took the top of one and gave the other to John.

He took the top off his.

She raised her bottle.

"To mischief," she smiled.

"To mischief," They started a fire and drank to mischief and she listened to his tale, without revealing much about her to him.

***

Toshiko Sato was having a bad day, she had been called into work early. Again. She made her way into the tourist office, Ianto wasn't there so she simply walked up to the desk and pressed the button, went through into the lift a when she went through the cog door she could already smell coffee. Thank God for Ianto.

"Tosh, that you?"

"Only Ianto is ever in this early without request. Of course it's me. What's the problem, Jack?"

"Well the rift signals were going insane earlier could you have a look?"

"Couldn't you of done it when it was happening,"

Jack gave his signature grin as his eyes darted over to Ianto, "We were busy,"

Tosh rolled her eyes. Sat at her desk and pulled up the readings, Jack was right. They were weird nothing Tosh had ever seen. The rift had spiked sidewards and up, in a backwards Z shape. She took a sip of coffee that Ianto had just placed and tried to figure out what was happening. Was the rift going back on itself? Or possibly the machines were wrong? She couldn't figure out which was most likely.

Throughout the day the hub filled up with the usual chatter, Owen shouting and bawling in the autopsy bay, taking the mick out of Jack and Ianto. Gwen profiling, keeping them human but Tosh was still trying to figure out the rift readings, she had asked Ianto if he had ever seen anything like it in the old rift recordings, this had never happened in all the history of Torchwood. Eventually she gave up and went home, she would have to figure them out another day.