Author's Note: Ah, back at last. Been working on this almost immediately after "Belonging" was finished, but waited till now because of my other two fics that I started. Both are winding down, so I decided to make you wait no longer. So yes, Katylin is back! And even though it isn't in first person, you have a lot in store, my friends. Also, for those of you who haven't read "Belonging" I'm not going to say that you have to read it - you can read this without it - it would just make things click a little bit more.
Special thanks to Miss Mila, my beautiful BetaReader. You're awesome.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Torchwood, although I am proud to say that Katylin Lisa Harkness-Jones is one hundred percent mine.
"Ianto!" Jack's voice blared through the comms, starting Ianto from his methodical trance. He was down in the archives, filing some papers that Owen had needed a few days ago, and now didn't need anymore. Of course, nothing was quick and easy with the medic, and the files that he had requested were located all over the archives; it had taken Ianto the better part of the last two hours to put them in their places.
The Welshman didn't stay unbalanced for long, taping his ear in order to reply to his Captain. "Here."
"Tell Owen to prepare the autopsy table, and have all his medical equipment on stand-by. I want all the blankets you can find in the hub, along with blood transfusions at the ready." His voice was deadly serious, the Captain being in his 'leader' mode. Obviously, something very bad had occurred. The rift had spiked only about half an hour ago, and Tosh and Jack had gone out searching for whatever it had delivered. There had been radio silence since then, and Ianto feared the worst.
"Jack, what is it? Are you and Tosh ok?" The man had already abandoned his mess in the archives and was emerging into the main part of the hub.
"Just do it!" Jack snapped. There was a pause. "Tosh and I are fine. Also, call in Gwen. Tell her to be here yesterday."
Ianto nodded to himself, knowing that Jack couldn't see him, before switching off the comm. If Jack had anything else to say, he'd beep in again. The Welshman didn't appreciate being snapped at, even if it was in the middle of a bloody crisis.
He made his way to the autopsy bay, where Owen was cataloging his equipment. "Owen, Jack said to get the table prepared."
The medic glanced up, a confused look on his face. "Who for?"
Ianto shrugged, then turned heel and left without waiting for any other questions. Owen knew what to do. After placing a phone call to Gwen, Ianto hunted down every blanket he could find, and positioned himself just to the right of the cog door, angled at a perfect sixty-five degrees. The alarm sounded and the door rolled open, and for a moment, Ianto almost lost his cold, perfect exterior shell.
Jack strode into the hub, his hair and clothes slightly damp from the sudden rain, his face set in a permanent line, his eyes staring at the bundle in his arms, showing off the anger that his body was barely able to suppress. This confused the younger man, until he realized what it was exactly that was in the Captain's arms. It was a young child.
It couldn't have been more than eight or nine, with long hair that swayed gently over Jack's arm. It had pale skin and fair eyelashes, making Ianto believe that the child was female. Her skin was covered in small welts and lacerations, her small lips bloodied and cracked. There was a large cut on the crown of her head, bleaching her hair a crimson red. Ianto shivered, realizing that the wounds didn't stop at the young girl's face, they traveled all down her arms, and, if Ianto guessed correctly, the rest of her body.
He stepped up to the plate, his arms offering up the few meager blankets he had been able to find. Jack glanced at the pathetic bunch and seemed like he was about to snap. Instead, he gave a short nod before traveling at high speed to the autopsy bay, where he gently deposited the small body. Tosh entered the hub shortly after Jack and stood next to Ianto, her eyes red with the attempt to hold back tears, a terror-stricken look on her face. "That poor girl…"
Ianto said nothing, but put a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.
In the autopsy bay, Owen took one look at the girl and shook his head. "Fuck," he whispered. "What kind of bastards would do this?"
The anger in Jack's eyes hardened, showing that he would like to know the answer to that exact question himself.
The Captain didn't have to tell the medic to do his job, for the man was already at work. He quickly rolled the child onto her back and grimaced, looking at her clothes. They were torn and bloody and partly disintegrated. Owen grabbed a pair of medical scissors and quickly cut off the clothes, getting to work on surveying the wounds. "Human?" He asked, not pausing in his work.
Jack shrugged. "She came out of the rift."
"Shit," Owen mumbled as he read the information coming from the alien scanner. "I can't treat 'er with any of our stuff if I don't know she's human."
"Just do it, we'll deal with the consequences later," Jack growled, crossing his arms as he watched Owen work on his newfound patient. The young girl was unconscious and breathing slightly, the faint rise and fall of her chest giving away signs of life. Jack let out a shaky breath as he watched, not leaving from his watchful post.
Tosh had numbly gone to her desk, where she had started the process of erasing the CCTV footage in the spot where Jack had picked up their young guest. Ianto, feeling utterly helpless, disappeared into the kitchen, returning moments later with four cups of coffee. He delivered one to Tosh and left another on Owen's desk, knowing he'd drink it when he needed a break. Another he left on Gwen's desk for when she arrived, and the last he personally delivered to the Captain.
Jack was still watching intently as Owen pulled a needle through yet another deep laceration that he had found. The Captain jumped as he glanced sideways, seeing Ianto standing there, silently holding a cup of coffee, which he passed on to Jack. The Captain took it without a word, but didn't drink. He just stared.
The alarm sounded again as Gwen ran into the hub, looking riled and ready to fight. "What's going on?"
Jack finally came out of his trance and turned to the newest member of his team. "Gwen, you're the best with children here, I was hoping you'd help our guest when she wakes up." If she wakes up, Jack thought angrily. The wounds on the young girl were not accidental; they were too precise to be an accident. They were placed strategically on the body, in places that would hurt like hell, but not cause any lasting damage. What kind of people would purposefully torture a young child –alien or not– Jack didn't know.
Gwen went to ask Jack what he was talking about, but had her words taken from her mouth as she saw the young girl. She gasped. "Who would do something like that!?"
Jack's face remained grim. "Pray we find out." His hands curled tighter around the coffee cup, and Ianto intervened, taking the cup before Jack broke it.
An hour and a half later, Owen announced that he had done all he could next to giving the child blood. He was still weary about the may-not-actually-be-human aspect, and didn't want to inadvertently kill her with human blood. He had sewed up the major lacerations and bandaged the rest. He had wiped the blood from her body and gave her some strong pain meds laced with sleeping pills and covered her up with all the blankets that Ianto had found, as well as Jack's coat which he had generously added to the pile.
"She doesn't look good," Owen exclaimed from his chair in the conference room, talking to Jack, who was staring at the large screen. Tosh had pulled up the CCTV footage from the autopsy room and had it rolling live so the team could keep their eyes on the young girl. "Three broken ribs, two cracked, deep laceration on her forehead, four others, each on her legs and arms. One long wound down her back, which was superficial. All those other markings were made from some kind of blade, superficial as well, but hurt like hell and are slow to heal. These were inflicted on purpose. Torture."
The room grew silent, as the finding was made public. Even Jack, who had already figured that out, looked even more solemn. The medic inhaled and turned the page. Jack interrupted. "Is she human?"
"Humanoid." Owen said, his eyes scanning the paper, even though he knew what it said. "She's a type of human, like you, Jack. Human in every sense except for a few minor changes."
Jack raised his eyebrow, but let the man continue.
"You have a few small changes, your pheromones, or mutated cells, for example. She, on the other hand, is mostly different in the brain." A pause.
"Her brain activity is different from an average human. Any human, actually. When I was stitching 'er up, I monitored her heart beat and brain activity to make sure she wasn't in any kind of coma. She wasn't. In fact, she's wide-awake, at least on a conscious state. She was able to manipulate herself into falling into subconscious while allowing her conscious to know what was going on. She knows exactly what's going on. Could probably hear us while I was working on 'er.
"Her brain electrical impulses are different also. I can't explain it, but they're just different. She's wired completely different, completely alien. And, unlike us meager blokes, she can use a whole fifteen percent of her brain at any given time, where as we can only tap into ten percent at any moment.
"Her heart rate is slightly higher than our normal, if her current stats are anything to go by, and her red and white blood cell count is through the roof, although the scans say a majority of them are doormat, leaving those active at about our percentage."
The doctor paused and breathed deeply, and the others waited for him to finish. Instead, he just sat back in his chair and threw the clipboard he had been holding halfheartedly on the table.
"So the answer's no, right?" Jack asked, gaining a glare from Owen.
"Yes, she's a bloody alien." Owen spat, running his hand through his tussled hair. "A bloody alien that is about nine or ten years old, has been tortured, and thrown into a strange world."
--Torchwood--
Jack sat in his office, his eyes wandering over the CCTV as he silently watched his team. Ianto was in the garage, cleaning the SUV out again after a Weevil dripped blood all over the boot. He had taken off his suit jacket a long time ago, and had loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves so he didn't get any blood on them. With a rag in hand, he leaned into the back of the car, and Jack smirked at the view. Switching his gaze, Jack found himself watching Gwen, who was sitting at her computer desk, concentrating on wrapping up the case file on the latest rift movement. Since Ianto had been doing more field work, he had started to require everyone to type up their own statement for filing; the man hardly had any free time between Torchwood and…well, Torchwood. Jack would know.
The Captain then glanced toward the autopsy bay, which was empty and cold, not a soul around. He closed his eyes and imagined Owen standing there, cursing under his breath as he performed an autopsy. Then he imagined Toshiko at her desk, furiously typing away at her computer, working on a new security system that would keep UNIT's eyes away from their files for just that much longer. But when he opened his eyes, both stations stayed empty, and Jack leaned forward, pressing the button to turn off his monitor. His fingers went to a button under his desk that he pushed, revealing a secret compartment. It was the one place in the hub that Ianto didn't know about – at least, Jack didn't think that the Welshman knew about it.
The Captain pulled out a small diary from the compartment. It was small and worn and had the word 'Torchwood' engraved on the front of it. Jack opened the cover and ran his eyes over the sloppy, quickly written letters. They looked almost like his. He smirked, remembering the one entry that explained the reason for that. There was a whole life summarized in that diary that he was holding. A life that never was, at least in this dimension. A life that only he knew about.
A small alarm going off brought Jack back to the present, and the man quickly replaced the diary, sealing off the secret compartment once again before striding out of his office, his coat swishing behind him. "What is it?"
Gwen didn't even bother looking up from her computer. "Minor rift spike, located in an alleyway near Splott, I'm sending the coordinates to the SUV now…wait."
Jack had already turned and was walking toward the garage. Ianto was still down there; Jack could take him with him. However, Gwen's voice caused Jack to hesitate.
"The rift coordinates…they've been pinged."
Pinged. It was what Tosh used to do to rift coordinates that sent strange and unusual things through the rift, in order to give the Torchwood team a heads up in case anything ever came through the same place twice. It only happened several times; once being when John Hart came to visit two separate times, and another with a psychopathic alien species, which Jack never wanted to have to meet again. "When was it pinged?"
Gwen typed a few things into her keyboard and frowned. "About six or seven months ago, but nothing came through, it seems like."
Jack's mind instantly went to the diary sitting in its hiding place and he approached Gwen's computer, the woman moving aside so that Jack could take the reigns. He cross-referenced the information with the new rift spike, and his frown deepened as he realized what he had discovered. The Captain turned and left without another word, this time making his way quickly to the garage.
Ianto stood up straight and unconsciously tightened his tie as he heard Jack's boisterous footsteps approach. He had heard the slight ringing of the rift alarm and had gotten the SUV ready to go, the engine already running. "Ready to go, sir."
Jack didn't even stop to make an inappropriate remark. He just jumped into the drivers seat of the SUV and took off, leaving Ianto standing there, wondering what in the bloody hell the Captain was up too.
Jack sped through the streets, not having to glance at the GPS to know exactly where the rift activity was coming from. It was the same exact alleyway, in the same exact location, at the same exact time, if his memory served him right.
He got to the location and jumped out, leaving the SUV running as he rushed to the spot. He stood his ground, in the exact same spot as before, and watched with a deep frown as the telltale signs of the rift opening danced in front of his eyes. The tear started slowly, and then went faster as more light squeezed through. Then, a body stepped through. It was female, that much Jack could tell just by a quick glimpse. She was tall and had long hair that came down to her shoulder blades. Her skin was covered in small scars, all of which looked seasoned. Her brown hair looked messy, but not ragged or poor. Her eyes were a light blue and sparkled with so many feelings and traits; serious, excited, and intelligent all rolled into one. She stepped out of the rift and crossed her arms, squinting against the newfound planet's light. Her mouth tugged into a smirk that could rival Jack's, and then burst into a full out smile. "Well, if it isn't the one, but not only, Captain Jack Harkness."
Jack stood there, his head reeling, his hands automatically going for his guns. But he stopped right before pulling them out of their holsters. He knew the woman that stood in front of him. She looked to be several years older than last time he saw her, but it had to be the same person. The same woman that came through the rift seven months ago and delivered to him a diary that forever changed his life. Katylin Lisa Harkness-Jones in the flesh.
She stepped further out of the rift, and Jack stood, unable to move, as the time tear closed behind her. As soon as it was closed she dropped her arms to her hips in a gesture that reminded Jack way too much of a certain Welshman, and started to speak. "Well, at least I'm not being held at gun point. That didn't end well. I think I made it to the right universe this time…"
Her ramblings brought Jack out of his stupor. "Katylin?"
That smirk again. "Definitely right universe. Last time I saw you, I was being held at gunpoint, being demanded to tell who I was and what universe I was from. Needless to say, it was a short reunion."
"What are you talking about? Why are you here?" Jack said, fully recovered, placing his hands on his own hips.
"Universe jumping, of course." Katylin stated, as if it was the most normal thing in the whole world. Then, she grew slightly somber at the prospect of answering the next question. "What, I can't just come and visit my dad?"
Jack snorted. "I'm not your dad, at least, not in this version of life. All I have is a diary that you left me seven months ago. You aren't supposed to be here, you could create–"
"Yeah, yeah, a parallel universe, I know." Katylin said, waving off Jack's accusation like it was nothing. Then she sighed and a slight downward tilt appeared on her lips. "Actually, that's the main reason I'm here."
Jack crossed his arms, his frown turning into a deep scowl. "What is it?"
"Long or short?" She asked.
"Short." Jack said tersely, remembering from the diary entries how Katylin tended to ramble on and on, not always on the topic that she started with. He had read those pages so many times that he felt like he had actually been there. Of course, he had, but only in another dimension, or version of reality. However you wanted to look at it.
"Ok, your world is going to end," she stated, a smile playing at her lips, watching as Jack got annoyed.
"You're a bit late, already happened last week." Jack replied sarcastically.
"Ok! There are hundreds –if not thousands - of parallel universes for this planet, and suddenly, they aren't so parallel anymore. Meaning, they are on a straight collision course for this universe, the original one."
"Oh," Jack stated weakly.
Katylin sure does like to make her entrances, doesn't she?
Also, heads up - I am a Torchwood fan, only episodes of Doctor Who I have seen are the ones where the Daleks stole Earth. That's it. So, I'm pretty sure that there is a definition of parallel worlds/universes and other dimensions out there somewhere, so I ask you to completely disregard those. I made up my own definition in order for this plotline that I have to work. ^_^
Ok, done talking now. Review?
