Disclaimer: I own nothing from either The Incredible Hulk or Torchwood. The story however is mine and I retain all rights to it.

Chapter 1.

The plane touched down with a mild thump on the runway of Heath Row Airport, shaking David Banner from his introspection.

Glancing out the window, he watch the ground roll by as the 747 taxied across the tarmac to the awaiting bay. He stretched; his muscles stiffly rebelling after being cramped with inactivity for what seemed an eternity.

When the plane came to rest, he released himself from the confinement of the uncomfortable seat and retrieved his backpack from the overhead compartment.

"Sad" he thought. "That one little backpack could hold a persons whole life." He draped the straps over his shoulder and headed for the exit. He had come to England for the same reason he went anywhere: the hope of a cure for his…affliction.

Stepping off the plane, he fell into line with the rest of the passengers, waiting to be passed through customs. His passport identified him as Dr. David Benson, specialist in radioactive medicine.

He had applied for and received, thanks to a few forged credentials, a job working for the Royal Hope Hospital in London. He had found out through reading an obscure article, in an even more obscure medical journal, that the prestigious hospital had received a massive U.N. grant to study gamma rays and their possible uses in medical science. It was a chance to good to pass up, especially since that reporter McGee had gotten too close to him on a number of occasions lately. It would be good to get out of the country for awhile, if for nothing else than to lose his dogged pursuer. But this opportunity held out real hope, something he hadn't felt in a while now. "Maybe…" he told himself. "Just maybe…"

--

3 Days Later

Ianto Jones paid the delivery boy for the pizzas, then opened the hidden doorway which led down to the secret headquarters of the Torchwood Institute, Cardiff division.

Halfway down the stairs he opened the top box and snagged a piece for himself before he was forced to surrender the contents to the rest of the team. "Pepperoni and black olives: pure heaven" he thought to himself as he savored the flavors dancing on his tongue.

"Hi Ianto. Oh yum, pizza's here. I'm starving." Toshiko Sato took one of the boxes from out of the stack. "Thank you so much. You're an absolute angel" she said, her voice taking on that sing-song tone it always did when she was happy.

"No problem. Where's everyone else?"

"All over" she replied, swallowing the mouthful she had shoved in only a moment before. "Jack's gone, only Jack knows where; Gwen's at home; and Owen is here somewhere, but I don't know where exactly. Do you want me to call him?"

Ianto shook his head. "No, he knew the pizza was on its way. If it's cold when he gets up here, that's his problem." He sat the boxes on the table and snagged himself another slice. "Jack didn't say where he was going?"

She shook her head in reply, mouth to full to speak.

"Huh, that's odd. He knew I'd ordered too." He pulled up a chair and sat down next to their resident computer genius. "Oh well, more for us, I guess."

Tosh stopped chewing and looked closely at the monitor, with a confused look on her face. She put down her slice of mushroom with extra cheese and began to open links to the various emergency services' networks.

Ianto paused midway through his third piece. "What's wrong?" he asked around a mouthful.

"I'm not sure. I'm getting reports of a strange weather pattern near downtown London."

"Strange, how?" he asked, leaning forward to look over her shoulder.

"Well. according to the police band, it's raining over Royal Hope Hospital."

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Rain qualifies as a strange weather pattern?"

"It does when it's not raining anywhere else."

Into set down his slice, moved to the next console, and started opening his own links. "It's only raining over the one building?"

"Yes, but that's not all. According to several reports, the rain isn't falling, it's rising." She turned and looked at him, shocked disbelief on her face. "Ianto, it's raining up."

Ianto's eyes widened as he read the same reports. "Well that certainly qualifies as strange." He turned to look at her. "Think we should call the rest of the team?"

"Oh my God!"

"What? What happened?"

"The hospital! It's gone! It just vanished into thin air!"

Ianto grabbed his phone and called Jack's private line.

"Jack, it's Ianto. Get back here quick. We have a situation."