So every time I watch Boom Town, it strikes me that the Torchwood team must be going crazy in the Hub, considering what's going on. But Jack couldn't let them do anything, because he knows what's going to happen, since it's his past. Somehow that spawned a fic.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or Doctor Who.
"Jack?" Owen called, stepping up to Jack's office. "Um, this is gonna sound crazy, but I think the mayor is an alien."
"Yup," Jack replied, barely even looking up. Owen raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean, yup?"
"That's what I mean. Yup. The mayor is an alien. She's from Raxicoricofallipatorius, actually. Part of the family Slitheen."
"How do you know this?" Owen demanded. Jack shrugged.
"Just leave it."
"But the mayor is an alien," Owen reiterated, as if Jack hadn't gotten it before. Jack nodded.
"I know. Leave her alone."
Owen shook his head as he walked away from Jack's desk. Jack was bloody weird sometimes.
"Jack?" Toshiko called cautiously, going into Jack's office. "You know about the reactor that the mayor wants to make?"
"Yeah?" Jack replied, looking up. "What about it?"
"Well, it looks as if it's designed to explode," Tosh admitted. "And considering how close it is to the Rift, that could make it exponentially worse."
"Hmm." Jack shuffled papers on his desk. "I say we leave it alone for now."
"But what if it explodes?" Tosh asked, shocked. Jack shrugged.
"We deal with it if it happens, but for now, I think we should stay out of it. Who knows? Maybe you're wrong."
"But you told Owen the mayor is an alien," Tosh replied cautiously. Jack shrugged.
"So am I. Not all aliens are bad."
"But the Slitheen-"
"Tosh, it'll get dealt with, I promise," Jack interrupted. Toshiko narrowed her eyes.
"Do you know something we don't?" she asked. Jack dropped her a wink.
"I know many things you don't know," he replied. "Now, I really need to finish this paperwork." Sighing and shaking her head, Tosh left Jack's office. She wondered what it would be like to work with a boss that actually told his employees what they needed to know.
"Jack!" Suzie ran into Jack's office. "We've had a TARDIS sighting! Right in the middle of Millennium Centre!"
"Yeah, the TARDIS can recharge with the Rift," Jack replied distractedly, filling out paperwork. Suzie went over to desk, grabbing it tightly and only barely refraining from grabbing Jack's head instead.
"The TARDIS is right there, Jack!"
"I know," Jack replied, flipping his paper over. "You said that already."
"Aren't we going to do something?" Suzie demanded. Jack shook his head.
"No."
"What?"
"We're not going to do anything," Jack replied, finally looking up. "That's an order, Suzie. Relay it to Owen and Tosh as well. We do nothing."
"But Torchwood One-"
"Doesn't need to know," Jack finished. "Trust me, Suzie, this needs to happen without interference."
"Fine," Suzie snapped, stomping out of Jack's office, resisting the urge to turn around and throttle her boss until he finally told her what he meant. She hated when he was cryptic.
The klaxon bells were the sign to Jack that he really had to leave his office. With a sigh, he did, stepping out to find his team running around frantically.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked. Everyone stopped for a moment to look up at him.
"The Rift is open," Suzie snapped. "And the source seems to be your precious TARDIS."
"It's going to tear the city apart!" Toshiko added. Her computer was squawking at her angrily. Jack could see numbers scrolling across the screen. He wasn't quite sure what they meant, but he was sure it was bad. He sighed.
"I suppose there's nothing I can do to get you guys to stop worrying?" he asked. Owen gave him a dirty look.
"We're not going to just leave this alone!" he snapped. Jack sighed, turning back to his office. He knew his team would hate him for this, but he had to do it. He slammed his fist into the button that shut down the entire Hub.
"What have you done?" Suzie shrieked. Jack sighed.
"Listen, guys, we have to let this pass as it will. It'll be okay, I promise-"
"Why should we trust you?" Owen demanded, frantically trying to turn devices back on. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Just give it a few minutes." Jack checked his watch. "If this isn't fixed in…six minutes, I'll turn the power back on."
"Who knows what could happen in six minutes?" Tosh demanded. "Jack, please-"
"I'm sorry, Tosh." And Jack was truly sorry that he was worrying his teammates, but he had to do this. This event, the Rift opening because of the Slitheen mayor… It was in his past as well as his present. Along with the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey, he had already solved this problem, what felt like over a hundred years ago ago to him. He couldn't interfere.
The six minutes passed in tense silence. Right before time was up, the Rift closed, just as Jack knew it would. "There," he said softly, turning the systems back on with his override code. Owen, Tosh, and Suzie all looked shocked.
"How did you know?" Tosh whispered. Jack sighed.
"It's a long story. The TARDIS is going to leave in a few minutes. For now, you guys can go take care of this."
The team slowly moved back to their spots in the Hub. Jack slipped back into his office.
Just another day working at Torchwood.