Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, Doctor Who, God, or anything that is publicly recognised.
A/N: - Well, this is the third chapter of Earth Angels Season One, I've decided to skip Ghost Machine, and this is basically this AU's version of Cyberwoman, except it's not.
- NO LISA present whatsoever
- No Janto in this chapter, but it is hinted at. There is some slight Gwen-bashing, a hint of Doctor-bashing (it's mostly angst driven).
- Enjoy!
Earth Angels: Ianto's twin
It was a week before Jack had time to tell the team of Ianto's promotion, and he'd been extremely amused to watch Gwen 'go goldfish' and gape in shock. "But…I…I thought…" She'd said, and Owen, ever the snark, had said "What, Gwen, that since you were Suzie's replacement, you were second in command. To be honest, you don't even qualify to replace Suzie, let alone be second in command of the entire Torchwood Institute, who's rules you haven't even learnt yet."
Gwen had flushed bright red, much to Jack's secret pleasure, and Jack had said "Ianto is the longest serving Torchwood employee, excluding myself and Archie, and Archie's too crazy and too in Scotland to be my Second, hence Ianto."
"But, he's not even field-trained, is he?" She argued back, causing both Tosh and Ianto to roll their eyes, and Jack and Owen to snort.
"Ianto is the second best shot it the entire institute. And he's only second best because I've had years of practice. Also, he's got the second biggest Weevil tally, again, only because I've been around so long. Ianto is the best damned operative this institute has had since it was first created. He has an eidetic memory, has managed to organise an archive that hasn't been touched since 1912. He is also a better hacker than Toshiko. Having him around is the equivalent of having fifteen thousand of you, and a damn site less exhausting." Jack ranted as he realised she wasn't going to give up. He glanced apologetically at Ianto, who had gotten steadily redder and less comfortable.
Tosh and Owen grinned slyly to each other. They knew their Captain was crushing on their resident Welshman big time. They also knew their resident Welshman was crushing on their Captain big time.
Later on, after leaving Ianto alone in the Hub so he and the rest of the team could have lunch, Jack wondered where it had all gone wrong. He'd seen Ianto walking around the Hub, but he'd not approached Jack, and looking at him, Jack felt as though something was…off about his delightful Welshman. He put the thought out of his mind until the lights began to flicker. Knowing full well that Ianto was afraid of being trapped in dark enclosed spaces (a side effect from Canary Warf), he went hunting his Second. When he arrived in the Archives, Ianto was sat, ignoring the flickering lights, reading through a file. After silently watching him for a while, Jack realised a few things were off. For example, the man before him had hair that was slightly longer than Ianto's, causing it to curl around his neck and ears in an almost innocent manner. Also, the suit hung off his frame, as though he'd lost a lot of weight over a short amount of time; his Ianto fitted his suits perfectly, and they molded around his figure, rather than hang off it limply. Also, the lack of fear shown towards the flickering lights gave the game away. Finally, after assessing the differences, Jack spoke "Hey, Yan, could you come up stairs and give me a hand with some paperwork, please?"
The Ianto-impostor nodded and Jack led him to the main area of the Hub, before tapping three bleeps out on the comm.s device in his ear. Suddenly, he drew his gun, and pointed it at the impostor, and his gun was joined by those of Tosh, Owen and Gwen. "Who are you, and what have you done with Ianto Jones?"
The man said "I don't know what you're talking about, Jack, I am Ianto Jones."
"Well, if I hadn't known for certain before, I definitely know now. Ianto has never called me Jack at work, and he certainly wouldn't try for such familiarity in this sort of situation, now I'll ask only one more time before I get truly angry: Where. Is. Ianto. Jones?"
The man said "I am Iant…"
"You are not Ianto Jones. You look and sound like him, but you smell, act and even feel different. And as you didn't answer truthfully, I have no regrets in doing this…" he said as he drew Ianto's stun gun from his pocket and shot the volts into the impostor's chest. "Take him to the interrogation room. Then prepare Janet. We'll scare our answers from him if necessary."
Jack left his team to it, and he began a scan of the Hub, looking for extra life forms. He found two life signatures, both weak, three levels down. "Gwen, with me. Tosh, help Owen." Jack called as he dashed towards the signatures.
Arriving at the door to the room that was emitting the life signatures, Jack froze for a split second – he'd seen, when he'd first started at Torchwood, the torture of a young man who had been pulled through the rift from a different time. Shaking off his flashback, Jack unlocked the door and pushed it open. He stepped through first, and saw Ianto, unconscious, in the corner, and a medical bed with a man identical to Ianto on the bed, surrounded by a type of force field. Jack blinked. Three Iantos? He asked God.
Ianto's twin is on the bed, and the 'Ianto' you saw upstairs is a shape-shifter, and Ianto's sister-in-law.
Some family. What's wrong with Gareth?
Ask Ianto. God said cryptically, and just as Jack was about to demand answers, Ianto began to stir. "Jack… Kat…Gareth. Is Gareth okay?"
"I don't know; what's wrong with him?"
"Alien parasite, like…"
Jack nodded, understanding. "Why not call us in?"
"I was about to when… oh, Kat."
"I assume Kat is your sister-in-law." Ianto nodded, so Jack continued "she's in the interrogation room. I stunned her. Sorry." Jack's apology lacked any remorse, and he knew Ianto had noticed, so he explained "she tried to impersonate you, and refused to tell me the truth as to where you were, and who she was. I was worried so I stunned her and told Owen to prepare Janet."
Ianto snorted, the groaned. "Only you, Jack. But as long as she wasn't permanently injured; I'm sure Gareth would kill you a couple of times for that, when…"
"When Owen gets that thing out of him." Jack completed.
"Are you…"
"Sure? I am not going to let your twin die because his wife hurt you and lied to me, although I may scare her with Janet a little before I tell her Owen will operate."
Ianto smirked and said "Well, I can go along with that: She did hit me after all."
Hours later, Owen exited the Autopsy Bay and said "He may not be able to walk, due to where the parasite was attached, but hopefully, if he makes it through tonight, he'll live."
Tears of relief trickled down Ianto's face, and he said "Thank you, so much." Owen nodded before returning to the Autopsy Bay to write up the operation and grab a nap on one of the beds.
Drawing in a deep breath, Ianto turned to Jack, who nodded and lead him to the interrogation room.
"Ianto!" The now-woman jumped up from the only seat. "Is Gareth…?"
"Owen's just finished operating on him, Kat. It would have been safer to do so earlier. Because you refused to let me ask my friends for help, he may never walk again.
"Also, I almost lost the trust of my team. In this sort of job, that could have gotten me killed. Why didn't you trust me to do the right thing? He's my twin for goodness sakes!"
Kat's gold-green eyes welled with tears and she said "Torchwood killed my Papa, Ianto. I couldn't trust them."
Jack then stepped into the room, causing Kat to look afraid. "I remember you now. You were the little humanoid girl I saved. The Torchwood team back then found out your father was killing humans, especially children, to feed his nardoz*. We had to put a stop to him. I found you hiding in the cave, when my colleagues sent me in to check it was clear."
"You…you told me to stay hidden, then…"
"I went back for you, and took you to one of my safe-haven orphanages. You were humanoid enough to blend in, and I kept an eye on you, covered up whenever you had to go to the doctors. I was also at your graduation, last year."
"You've been there, throughout my life?"
"Yep. I try to keep in contact with everyone I help, or at least, I watch over them. Some I watch closely: that's normally the delicate, or the young. Others I let go almost immediately, and they're likely the people from the future, who understand how to blend in, in different times, places, even worlds. You were a special case, and I watched you closely until you left school. You went to Uni, and I kept tabs on you, but only checked up on you three times a year."
Ianto watched and listened to the exchange with awe. Now he understood how a man like Jack, who had so much time on his hands, could allow the Archives to fall into disrepair. He was so busy, ensuring his rift-refugees were safe, he hadn't had time. That's different, now, Ianto thought with a small smile, Jack's got me and Tosh and Owen now. And we'll all help. He doesn't have to try and do it alone.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, and I'll post the next chapter when it's written.
* a nardoz is like a horse, except larger, and more…well…vicious. They also (obviously) eat meat, and prefer tender meat, such as young.
TTFN and DFTBA x