My first shot at writing for Torchwood. To anyone who has read my other stories: firstly YAY I like it when that happens, and secondly, this is completely unconnected. None of that has happened for this story, and none of this has happened for my other stories. Right then. On with the story.
This is set after Exit Wounds, and after Journey's End. I've put in Captain John Hart, because he is supremely cool.
Disclaimer: if Torchwood was mine no one would ever see Captains Jack or John again. Ever.
Resonance
Smash
Captain John Hart was enjoying this planet. Sure, it was a little more uptight than he was used to- he learnt fairly soon that walking around carry guns and a sword was a bad idea- but for the most part it was good. But it was so slow. He needed the danger, and couldn't get enough just travelling around. So he did the obvious thing: he went back to Cardiff and Torchwood. After all, that was where it would be easiest to find the danger that he craved.
……………
Of all the bad situations to be in, this was among the worst. Firstly; there was a very-pissed-off Weevil which was not looking like it was going to go easy, secondly; there was a young woman cornered by it, and thirdly; it was seriously pissing it down. It was times like these which made John wonder why the hell he was on this god-forsaken planet, and regret helping Torchwood- or what was left of it.
………………
Jess Smith was having a bad day. For starters, she was having a bad hair day. Then she got soaked in the rain on the way to the shops, all the time thinking about how she had recently lost her job. It wasn't fair that her job was axed as part of the NHS cost-cutting. She was OK for money, but that wasn't the point. To finally top of how bad things were going, she then got cornered in an alleyway by a something that looked hungry. There was an animal look in its eyes that she recognised from her gap year in Africa: dangerous, predatory.
"Don't move," said a man's voice. She obediently froze as still as possible. She could see him, behind the creature. Red jacket, a sword and two guns worn wild-west style, strapped to each leg. The creature shifted slightly, a couple of steps towards her. A flicker of fear spread through her, and the windowpanes rattled. Discarded beer bottles clinked against each other. Shit, she thought, control it, dammit! Stop it before he notices. The rattling spooked the creature, and it leapt towards her. Three things happened at once: the creature's claws ripped two long gashes in her side, everything made of glass in the alleyway shattered into fragments, and the man in the red jacket drew one of his guns and shot the creature, knocking it sideways. Jess's medical training kicked in, and she pressed down on both cuts. Fortunately they weren't deep, but they hurt. The man sprayed the creature with something, then came and crouched next to her.
"Did it get you?"
"It's not too bad. What was it?"
"We call them Weevils."
Jess pulled out a handkerchief, and used that to stop her side from bleeding. The man moved her hands aside gently to look at the slashes.
"I'm Captain John Hart," he said.
"Jess Smith, sorry I can't shake you hand."
"How did you do that to the glass?"
Bugger.
"I… didn't?"
"I think you need to come with me to Torchwood."
What happened next was not anticipated by John at all. Moving faster than he had expected, she shoved him away, leapt up and darted away down the alley, disappearing into the rain.
Great, he thought, escapee alien. This really is a bad day.
……………….
Jess ran. She slipped through the side-alleys and shortcuts that had become second nature to her now, after several years in the city. After finishing her medical degree she'd come back to her original home, where she hadn't lived for nearly twenty years. She'd lost the welsh accent, instead keeping a more mundane South-East England tone. She'd left her brown hair long, and always wore smoky black eyeliner round her deep-black eyes. Now, running from an unknown man in an alleyway, she wondered what the hell she'd gotten herself into. She'd kept her strange abilities hidden for so long that having someone at least guess about them made her feel strangely exposed. But she had a plan: keep hidden, and eventually they'll go away.
…………………
"How was she doing it?"
Back at Torchwood, there was a small meeting being held to decide what to do about the 'glass girl' as she'd been dubbed.
"How would I know, Jack?" After going round in circles of questions for about an hour John had given up civil answers and was being downright rude. He was saved from any more pointless questioning by a Weevil alert. Someone had been hurt badly.
……………………
Jess had a big problem. The morning after she'd run away from the mysterious Torchwood she'd got a phone call from the hospital: her brother had been admitted with severe injuries afflicted by some kind of wild animal. An organisation called Torchwood was withholding details. She couldn't just waltz in there, but she had to go- it was her little brother, she couldn't leave him. So she went, against her common sense.
………………
Several hours after that, the Torchwood team were just about to talk to the sister of their Weevil victim. Someone called Jess Smith. She was curled in the bedside chair, head down, when they walked in. She raised her head, and John suddenly said, "That's her!"
"Shit," she said. With only a few seconds to act in, she used her last option. She extended her arm and shielded herself with a forcefield.
Get to find out more about Jess in the next chapter. Until then, review to keep me happy.