Title: Dues to Pay

Author: Arenas

Fandoms: Supernatural/Torchwood

Characters/Pairings: All, but features Sam, Dean, Jack, Ianto specifically. Implied Jack/Ianto

Rating: PG-13 now for language and graphic violence

Warnings: UBER-SPOILER WARNING for the Doctor Who episode, "Doomsday," and the Torchwood episode "Cyberwoman."

Disclaimer: I am but a college student who is too poor to pay for my own tuition. I own nada.

Summary: The Winchester brothers are sent to NJ because of another of Sam's mysterious visions, this time involving members of an elite force by the name of Torchwood and a monster that might be too powerful to handle.

A/N: This chapter's a bit late because I was suffering through finals week and got my brain sucked out by a history paper. I'm okay now though, pinky swear.

Chapter 6

"'m sorry," Ianto murmured. He shifted the bag of ice on his face so it didn't touch his cheeks, and tried to just relax. Jack didn't seem angry, more like utterly relieved, but he couldn't help the niggling voice at the back of his mind that said he'd done a very bad thing by running off without much warning and bringing back strangers. While he ruminated on his life choices of late, Jack plopped down on the bed beside him, stretching out languidly and curling an arm about Ianto's waist. He smiled gently at the touch, though it was obscured by the bag on his face.

"Nothing to apologize about. You did what you thought was right."

"I disobeyed, sir."

The expression on Jack's face turned into a frown as he seemed to consider what Ianto had said. "I didn't know you were into S&M. Am I supposed to spank you now? Because I will—I just never really thought you were the type to be turned on by pain."

Ianto shook his head. It still felt strange to talk, so he tried to do as little as possible, even with the ice. He hoped the swelling went down soon. "Did you think I'd come back?"

Jack's frown deepened at that. The lips thinned fractionally, and the blue eyes narrowed just enough to be noticeable. Ianto wanted nothing more than to lie down on the bed and be held by Jack. For the second time that night, he gave into his gut instinct and snuggled down on the comforter. Jack, just as Ianto had hoped, wrapped his arms around Ianto's belly and hugged him close.

"'m still sorry," the dark-haired man said quietly. Jack planted a kiss in the crook of his neck in answer. Eventually, though Ianto wasn't sure when, he had drifted off to sleep.

He twitched, trying to ignore the sting of smoke in his nose. Canary Wharf, Torchwood Tower, was under attack. On the current list of concerns, however, smoke was not the top one. It was annoying, but there were more important things to worry about than suffocation. After all, it wasn't unexpected for there to be a hint of smoke if the smoke alarms were sounding off. What mattered was where Lisa had wound up and whether or not she was safe. He had waited for her by the stairs and hadn't seen her evacuate with the other employees from higher levels. There was the chance that he'd missed her, but it was unlikely; Ianto knew his girlfriend better than anyone and knew that she wouldn't let herself be led to safety if he was still in danger.

Ianto glanced backwards to see if perhaps she'd escaped down another stairwell and found nothing but a light haze of smoke. However, he noticed that the overhead lights were flickering sporadically, an odd occurrence for Torchwood with its private generators. The alarms had gone off in Torchwood Tower over twenty minutes ago, but there still was no sign of the probable fire. He suspected that whatever was happening had to have started down in the lower levels where the top secret projects were kept.

Projects like the Sphere. Normally, people with his clearance didn't know about the projects that went on underground, but Ianto was quite clever when it came to computers. He was able to hack into one, do his business, and leave without a trace. As Ianto went looking for the nearest abandoned cubical on his level to find out more information on Lisa's whereabouts, he saw something that surprised him.

It was a unit of silver, man-sized robots marching heavily through the hallway with one in the lead and six robots at its back. They were in formation; their steps were like a highly-trained military troupe.

Are those what we're fighting? Ianto wondered. They're just great androids. Perhaps they're here to help evacuate the building while everyone else is downstairs. I won't be evacuated, not without Lisa!

Ianto ducked into a closet, hoping he wouldn't be noticed. He could still hear the tread of those metallic feet on the tile floor as they thudded closer.

The first one went by, as did the first pair. By the time the second pair was even with the crack in the doorway Ianto was peeking out of, someone had run up alongside the androids. It looked like a man he saw occasionally in the cafeteria, James, and he had his coat tucked under his arm as he tried to flee the building.

"Move! There's still time to escape!" he shouted.

The closest robot turned its head to look at James. It reached out a metal hand to touch the man's shoulder, but, when the metal landed on the starched shirt, bolts of what seemed to be electricity radiated from the robot's appendage. James was felled in less than two seconds.

Ianto's hand flew to his mouth to cover whatever sound tried to escape. He had to be brave for Lisa—he couldn't get himself killed by those things because he couldn't control himself! Ianto swallowed gently and waited until he could hear the uniform footsteps march away. The breath caught in his throat wasn't released until all he could hear were the alarms along the corridor. When he crawled out of the closet, the hallways were clear, except for a janitor who seemed to be mopping up the section of floor where the robots had marched in. Why the grey-jumpsuited man had been passed up instead of Ianto's colleague or where he'd come from, Ianto didn't know or care. Lisa was in trouble. He dived into the closest cubical and turned the computer on.

The computer seemed to take forever to boot, as it was wont to do when it was most needed. His fingers drummed out an angry beat on the table while the Macintosh loaded the necessary software, and, once the calm blue screen popped up, Ianto set to work hacking into Torchwood's security systems. With any luck, the guards would be busier with the mess downstairs than with his less-than-elegant hacking.

The cameras of Level 10 showed up as a series of small screens on the monitor; Ianto tried several of them and found only empty hallways. At least, until the sixth screen. There was a line of people lined up in front of a janitorial closet. A new person stepped inside, sparks flew out of the open door, and a robot stepped back out. Even more robots, like the troupe that had just marched past, patrolled the hallway and kept watch over the line of humans waiting their turn to enter the room. Those sentry robots were probably the reason why the line was so orderly and calm. Ianto wondered how many people had been killed like James before the robots had established order.

"Terrible, isn't it?" a voice asked. Ianto whirled around, eyes wide in fear that he'd been caught. It wasn't a guard, just the janitor that he had noticed earlier, except there was something wrong—deeply wrong—with him. His eyes were yellow.

"All those people…they're going to walk into that room and get strapped to a table," the janitor continued. "When that happens, these nasty instruments are going to come down, cut them up, rebuild them as robots. Cybermen, actually, not just robots. No emotions at all, just metal. Not a bad existence though, if you think about it. Getting to live without fear, or pain or anxiety…ideal even."

"Who the hell are you?" Ianto snapped. Even as he asked the question, he had a gut feeling that he wasn't going to receive a real answer. Something felt completely and utterly wrong about this man that Ianto couldn't place.

"Me? Nobody. I have no name."

"What are you still doing here, why haven't you left?"

"Oh, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself, thanks." The man smiled, and it was smug, with a flash of bright teeth. If it wasn't for those eyes Ianto would never have been able to identify him from a lineup. He was taller, medium build, brown hair…average in every way. Perhaps that was why Ianto hadn't noticed him before, even with his strange eyes.

Ianto shook off his agitation. Now was not the time to be worrying about something as trivial as security clearance. "You'd do best to get out of here while you still can," he replied honestly before checking the monitor again for any sign of Lisa.

"See someone you know in there? Perhaps the fifth person in…?"

Ianto shuddered as that voice trailed off. He wanted very much just to ignore the advice—he would have given anything to do so—but he couldn't help it. It was almost as though he were dealing with an alien adept at mind control, except for the fact that the vibes he was getting from the janitor were more ethereal than extraterrestrial. His eyes wandered over to the person who was just four people away from going into the janitorial closet. Just as he'd feared, there she was: her economically styled black hair, her stylish suit, her pumps. Lisa would be taking that walk very shortly unless he did something. But what could he do that would effectively stop one of those things? Unless he could somehow run up and whisk her away without them noticing. It was a very weak plan, especially when the being seemed to know so much. Perhaps he knew their weakness!

"Can you help me? Please, I have to save her!" Ianto cried, rounding on the man again.

"I'm just here for the carnage. Even I need a bit of fun now and then."

"A bit of fun?" Every bit hope that had so recently bolstered his spirits effectively vanished with that unbelievable statement.

"Are you going to repeat everything I say in a completely outraged tone of voice? That's going to get very old."

Ianto glared, feeling his teeth clench. "It needs to stop. If you won't, I'll do it myself." He leaped forward, intending to shove by the being when the man spoke again.

"I assure you, you cannot. This is above your head, and the head of every member of your silly little Torchwood team. The only people who can do a bit of good are already doing all they can and it isn't enough."

Technically…what the man was saying was true. If all of Torchwood's best defenses—the only people who could do a bit of good—hadn't already been employed wherever the problem was, Ianto would already be outside safe with Lisa. Nobody was coming to save Lisa; it was up to Ianto and he didn't know what to do. His best lead was this man who practically oozed evil and temptation. And yet, that feeling in his gut told him that if he wasn't patient, Lisa would be lost forever.

She was now fourth in line.

"Do you know how to stop this?" he whispered weakly.

Those yellow eyes glittered in the hazy, smoky light, and the smile grew wider. He shrugged, looking for all the world as though he had a dirty secret that he was just itching to tell.

"Truthfully, I am here just for the show, but I wouldn't be averse to making a small deal. You amuse me, Ianto Jones. People strongly underestimate you, and you let just them—"

"Can you help or not?" Ianto yelled. He didn't even have time to care that the demonic man knew his name; a new android had just stepped out of the room.

"I don't work for free, Ianto. You have to persuade me." That damn smile, he was grinning like a Cheshire cat!

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his money clip and hurled it at the man. "Take it all, I don't care, I want her to live!"

The yellow-eyed man just cocked his head at the proffered payment, his eyes narrowing slightly. Ianto didn't know what to do; his offering didn't seem to be good enough, yet he didn't have anything else to give. The janitor just gazed at Ianto with that irritatingly smug look.

"What do you want then? I haven't got anything else!"

The demonic man continued to smile. "You, Ianto."

He shook his head, feeling his stomach bottom out. "I don't understand."

A laugh. "Here's the deal. I don't make it a point to meddle in what should be, so these are the non-negotiable terms. I'll save Lisa, but your soul belongs to me. And, because I am just too nice, I'll even give you 10 years with her before I collect my payment."

The nausea was so bad now; Ianto thought he might actually vomit. He was considering going to make a deal with a yellow-eyed devil. The first thing a young employee learned at Torchwood was that there were no angels or demons, only aliens. Here was living proof that not only was this not the case, but this particular demon wanted the soul that gave Ianto a purpose. Without a soul, how did one love and live?

Lisa was second. Sparks spat out of the room. Despite the graininess of the camera, Ianto could see tears sparkling on her cheeks. In that second, Ianto knew that he would give anything and everything just to keep her safe. Even his soul.

"Fine. I agree," he said softly, eyes still locked the disturbing scene. He didn't hear the other man approach, so he had to fight to contain himself when the janitor placed his hand on Ianto's shoulder.

"Shake on it."

It was weak, absent, and lost, but he brought his hand up to grip the janitor's. His hand was warm, even in Ianto's sweaty palm.

"You will save her?"

"It's done," the man said casually. Ianto frowned at that, wondering just what had happened. He glanced at the screen to see the new android step out of the room. The man standing in front of Lisa stepped into the room. Nothing miraculous happened, no trumpeting of a last minute cavalry. Ianto didn't know what to expect, but it didn't look as though it had worked; what was worse was that nothing had changed! She was still going to be turned into a robot, and time had run out.

Ianto shoved passed the yellow-eyed man and bolted for the deserted stairwell. He'd never run up those stairs faster in his life; the blood pumping in his ears seemed louder than even his breathing. She had to have just stepped into the room because he was too selfish and thoughtless to think some strange janitor could help. Ianto burst out of the stairwell and continued running.

Suddenly, the atmosphere seemed to change. It felt as though someone had switched the venting system to a vacuum setting, but it didn't seem to be sucking at him or his clothes. The air just felt cleaner. Ianto didn't know whether to take it as a promising omen or not. He didn't know much of anything at the moment, besides the fact that he'd be rounding the corner to see a Lisa-robot any second now. He rounded the corner at a sprint and just narrowly avoided getting brained by an android flying through the air.

Another robot went flying by, then two more, as though they were being flung down the hall, but their momentum was too great. Ianto wanted to drop to the ground to avoid the monsters, but the rush of people prevented him from doing any such thing. He recognized a few of them from the line leading into the closet. Ianto knew that he was very close now. The doorway was just visible, but there were no sparks issuing from it. He had either been far too late, or just in time. A last android was sucked down the hall before Ianto made it to the room.

Lisa was strapped to a table, and he so wished that he could just pretend it wasn't her. The process hadn't been completed before the robots got sucked out of the room, leaving Lisa encased in some sort of a metal bathing costume. The sad little thought crossed his mind that she never used to like to go to the beach because people would look at her in her suit; the androids had even taken that choice away from her.

As he crept closer, he noticed that her eyes were open and screwed up in pain. When they locked onto Ianto's face, they opened wider in surprise while the mouth gaped.

"Ianto!"

He shook his head, tears beginning to bead at the corners of his eyes. She was alive and he couldn't think of a thing to say to make it better. Ianto was supposed to have the answers because she hurt and she needed him and his mind was a horrid blank. A few tears tracked down his cheeks in sympathy as he reached out and cupped her cheek.

"Ianto." She winced. "Yan, it hurts."

No matter how much he wanted not to believe it, his poor Lisa was some sort of cybernetic being from a science fiction film. Even his own silent apologies sounded weak in his mind. He unstrapped her from the table and held her close, just stroking her cheek and hugging her as tightly as he dared. Oh Lisa…

"I love you Lisa. I'm so sorry; oh God, Lisa, I'm so, so sorry," Ianto choked out, his eyes squeezing shut

"Ianto…Yan…" she whispered. Her eyes fluttered shut and Ianto had to stifle his moan of anguish. He'd lost his girlfriend to evil, destructive androids because he'd taken too long haggling over a price for false services with a janitor who just happened to have strange eyes. Lisa didn't deserve a git like him.

It was awful, the cold metal of her body suit sucking the heat out of his arm. It was a long, dodgy moment where Ianto had to firmly remind himself that there were worse things that could have happened—at least she was still alive, even if he couldn't exactly face her yet. He had to consciously slow his breathing before it escalated into wild, hysterical sobs; the Welshman turned his head turned towards the open door and took deep, even breaths. It was then that he noticed something then: there was an old man standing in the middle of the room, and he was advancing towards the pair of them.

"Old" was not quite the word that Ianto wanted; "wizened" was better, and "eerie" even more so. His skin was completely grey, and his eyes were too deep-set to notice the colour. The fine, slicked-back hair was cropped short and the suit looked professional, but those dead eyes were what caught his attention, the image of the yellow-eyed janitor still fresh in Ianto's mind.

The old man was close now; he reached out a gnarled hand for Lisa. Ianto didn't know how he knew, but what he was witnessing was Death. Death was trying to take Lisa from him and there was nothing he could do! He tugged Lisa away from the old man's hand, Ianto's face twisting into a mask of rage.

"You can't have her! You can't take Lisa! She's still alive! She's still alive!"

A breath wheezed out of the old man's mouth, almost like a sigh, but the face was expressionless. It felt like Ianto's guts were knotting on the inside from fear and anxiety. His eyes were practically glued to the wrinkled countenance, he didn't even notice the black wisps seeping through the vent by his right thigh until it had congealed into a cloud above the old man's head. It darted into the old mouth, stopping Death in its tracks. When the cloud had been fully assimilated, the once dark eyes glowed a brilliant yellow.

The lips parted once again, and that voice, the janitor's voice without the London accent, gusted out. In fact, it sounded very Yank. "I kept my word; I'll hold you to yours."

Ianto couldn't help but gape at the display. What was going on? What exactly was the janitor that he could change bodies on a whim? "But she's hurt and barely hanging on! She could die any second!"

"She's alive. That's what you wanted," the gravelly voice said evenly.

"I wanted her safe!" Ianto shouted.

"She'll be in no danger of dying if you hook her back up to the table. Keep holding her much longer, she's going to die of asphyxiation and her bodily functions will cease."

"What sort of a life is it, just staying strapped to a table all the time? Why should she be subjected to this existence because I failed her?" he hissed. It was all too much, he couldn't handle it. He choked on a sob. "I was going to propose to her."

The old man eyed him incredulously, yellow-pupils shining in the dim light. "You still can. You just haven't learned how to adapt yet. Found the right sort of help."

"How can I keep her comfortable? Happy? Anything?" He sounded so lost, even in his own ears. The back of his neck burned in shame.

"You ask far too many questions," the man retorted. "My job here is definitely done."

"No!" Ianto screamed. "Please, tell me what to do!"

Death dissolved, as though a strong wind had just blown the old man apart like a smoke cloud. There was no trace of anyone else on the entire floor; Ianto was completely alone with only the lingering feeling of being watched by a pair of yellow eyes.

He checked Lisa's breathing and found that it had grown shallower since he had taken her off the table. Ianto took a deep breath, kissed Lisa gently on the mouth, and began strapping her back to the bench.

Ianto woke up, eyes widening when he noticed his surroundings. London had disappeared, leaving him in an unfamiliar room. He sat up, looking for any visual clues. What he found was Jack, staring calmly at him with a small, unhappy smile on his face.

"You were having that dream again," Jack remarked.

Ianto merely nodded, eyes downcast. He'd only explained the dream once, when he and the captain had been alone in the Hub one lonely night, long after Lisa had been executed. He hadn't elaborated on the more faith-based bits, merely mentioning the fact that there had been a janitor with strange eyes who seemed to know a lot about Cybermen. Jack wouldn't have bought that sort of stuff anyway, chalking it up to aliens of one sort or another. Ianto preferred faith to just plain knowing—it's how he and Lisa had managed to keep up their spirits after the ordeal, with promises and plans for the future.

But that was neither here nor there anymore.

"Need to talk about it?" Jack always asked that after the dream in some sort of an effort to be accessible. It was an appreciated, though an unnecessary, gesture. Ianto shook his head again.

"I'd like a shower though, sir. I'd like to clear my head," he admitted.

Jack covered up his sigh with a nod; his clear, blue eyes were carefully not meeting Ianto's as the captain chewed on his lip thoughtfully. "All right. I'm going to take a walk then. If you need anything, I'll have my phone on me."

Ianto smiled gently. Bless his captain.

Shout out: Lana Aurelius: Jack's definitely going to be around in the future; I love him to much not to have him show up. I think fluff may be in order soon too, because these poor guys are probably going insane.