- Nova Wright -

"Jeremy, I'm goin' out for a walk, okay?" I called to my older brother, pulling my military trenchcoat off its hook on the front door. It used to belong to my grandfather, but after he died, he passed it down to my father, when my father died, to Jeremy. He never wore it, so he allowed me to keep it. I pulled it on over my black tee shirt, leaving the buckle behind my back. The coat was so large that it reached the heel of my converse, stopping just before it hit the ground.

"This late at night?" He called back to me from his bedroom upstairs.

"Yeah, why not? It's only eight thirty!"

"Fine, fine, but bring your pocket knife with you, just in case!"

"It's in my pocket, like always," I mumbled, opening the front door and letting it slam behind me. I didn't really have anywhere in particular to walk to, simply just walking around Cardiff. It was a lovely city, especially at night, and most particularly when it was raining, as it was now. I popped up my collar around my neck and ears, practically sinking into it, and pulled my blonde hair under it as well.

There were a few police cars that sped by me, hitting top speeds. I decided, of course, being the curious person that I was, that I ought to follow them. And I did, as best as I could in the beginning. I was able to follow them down a few streets and turns, but after a point, they'd gotten to far away for me to see. Someone who seemed to know what I was after waved at me and pointed down a street. I ran that way, and soon saw the cars jumbled up together, stopped just in front of a black van that had parked sideways. A black haired woman peered over the front of the van and called to the police officers, "You're dismissed, Torchwood has taken over this case."

I raised my eyebrow to myself. Torchwood? I'd never heard of that before.

The police stayed put, not backing down but also not pressing forth. I had to know what was going on. I passed by the police, sticking in the shadows, and walked into the nearest door, not bothering to shut it beside me. It was an old, empty warehouse, with plenty of windows lining the sides. I crept along it, passing the van. The woman stood beside a man in a suit and another man with a coat extremely similar to mine. They surrounded something, I'm not sure what, but I continuously caught glimpses of different shades of red.

Then the man in the suit stepped aside and I caught a clear sight of what looked like s red blowfish with a human body. I stared, eyes wide, with my hand over my mouth as the thing lifted its head. I could've sworn it stared straight at me and I, frozen with fear, couldn't bring myself to move. The man in the suit looked at me as well, and that's when I took off, running out of the door on the other end of the building.

There, I was stopped short by the man in the trenchcoat.

"Nice jacket," he smirked, pushing me back into the building by my shoulders. Though I was shaking in fear, I forced myself to return the smirk, my hands in my coat pockets.

"I could say the same to you." I answered, stepping back. He stepped towards me and I shot a glance at the window where I'd seen the odd creature. When I looked back at the man, he was leaning against the wall of the warehouse.

"What is that?" I asked, forcing myself to keep my voice calm as I pointed at the window.

He sighed. "I could tell you that it's a man in a mask, but something tells me that you're not one to believe that."

"Correct."

"Well, in that case, it's an alien."

"Well that's about as odd as hearin' that my brother managed to get pregnant," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "But I suppose it's possible. Hell if it's not a mask, it might as well be another lifeform."

He raised both eyebrows at me in what seemed like astonishment. "Hm. Most people would freak out or not believe it when we say aliens exist. But you don't seem bothered. Why is that?"

I blinked a few times whilst drawing a blank. I didn't know what to say for a while, but then it came to me. "People who freak out over hearing..that, are really just scared. The proof of alien existence begins to cancel out religion for some people, and without religion, they lose faith in a God. And nobody who's religious wants that. I on the other hand, don't believe in a God, or an afterlife, or anything of the sorts, so the only thing that scares me about it is whether or not it's going to kill me if I touch it. Asides from that, I think it's outright marvelous that such a thing could exist." He watched me with wide eyes as if he was absorbing what I was saying and harvesting; like it was a life changing speech, and I almost laughed at the thought.

"Captain Jack Harkness, at your service." He bowed, and I looked at him.

"Captain?" I asked. "Captain of what?"

"Of Cardiff's own Torchwood."