TW the Ghostly threat CH8

Jack stood over the mutilated body of a middle-aged man with blond hair in a small flat a few blocks away from the Torchwood hub. The body was a complete mess; the victim's head was hanging on by a thread to his neck which was ripped open wide enough that you could see into his chest cavity and Jack could see that the man's heart was missing. He clenched his jaw and looked up to the wall in front of him which had the words 'regret it yet?' drawn on it with the victim's blood. This was his fault, if he hadn't of been so bloody proud and just helped the alien in the first place, despite what she had done to Ianto and Bella, this wouldn't have happened and the man would have been still alive.

"Victim's name is Toby Brown," Gwen said walking back into the room holding a small black notebook that would have belonged to PC Andy Davidson and stopping beside a pale looking Bella. "Thirty-five years old, worked as a banker in the main street, married to Sarah Brown who found him like this with a purple ghost hovering over him."

"Doctor what is this alien and how do we kill it?" Jack asked angrily and Gwen, the Doctor and Bella looked up from the Toby Brown's dead body to him as Ianto faced towards the window, his back suddenly rigid and he managed to stifle a gasp.

"She comes from Andro, making her an Androlyte. I am sure you can use your imagination for your other question." The Doctor said darkly and Jack wondered why he didn't offer to help the alien either. Did he know something that Jack didn't, or was he just really angry at it for what it had done to Bella?

"But how can you kill a ghost?" Gwen asked.

"She isn't a ghost," Bella pointed out. "She knocked Ianto and me unconscious and to be able to do that you need mass; a body; existence."

"Androlytes may be completely transparent but they aren't able to float through walls." The Doctor nodded, turning to face Gwen and Bella. "They are solid and they can be killed like any human could."

"And what about her special ability?" asked Jack.

The Doctor frowned. "She can do more than taking over people's minds, but that's the one that makes her very dangerous –"

"I will take that as a complement, Doctor."

Everyone looked to Ianto who had turned from the window to face them, his eyes completely black. Jack and Gwen instantly pulled out their guns and pointed them at him, while the Doctor moved backward slightly to stand directly in front of Bella.

Ianto smiled at him and his efforts. "Bella tried desperately hard to protect your secrets from me Doctor." Sirena said using Ianto's voice. "Unfortunately she succeeded so I thought I'd give someone else a go."

"Let him go!" Gwen ordered.

Ianto lifted his right arm and pointed at her. "Sleep," he said before Gwen's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell sideways into the wall before onto the ground. Bella gasped and the Doctor quickly knelt down to feel for a pulse, which he obviously found.

"She's just asleep," he told them, still kneeling beside Gwen.

"Yes," Ianto said dully. "I did say that… Now Doctor, who are you? Doctor who?" he looked at the Doctor for a moment before gasping. "A Time Lord!" he said happily. "I thought you lot died out years ago!"

"Stop it," Bella said furiously, moving forward past the Doctor closer to Jack, who still stood with his gun pointed at Ianto.

"Sleep," Ianto said, doing the same thing that he had done to Gwen to her.

The Doctor leapt to his feet and grabbed Bella as she fell backwards. "Fight it!" he said urgently as he held her in his arms and moments later Bella opened her eyes again staring coldly at Ianto.

"How –"he gasped looking stunned.

"She's a little bit brilliant!" the Doctor said angrily as he and Bella stood back up, the Doctor's right arm still around her back in case she fell.

"Doctor, Ianto won't last much longer," Bella said quietly out of the corner of her mouth.

"Let him go!" ordered Jack furiously after hearing her say this, but Ianto ignored him and looked at Bella.

"There is something in this mind about you Bella," he said before a streak of pain flashed across his deathly pale face.

"Jack get ready," the Doctor suddenly said as Ianto swayed and Bella rushed forwards to catch him as Sirena appeared and screamed loudly as Jack opened fire; he knew that that wasn't what the Doctor had meant when he's said 'get ready' but he wasn't going to give Sirena another chance to posses anyone. The Doctor quickly grabbed Bella (who was still holding Ianto) around the middle and pulled her to the floor where he practically laid on top of her and Ianto to protect them.

Sirena flung herself out of the open window and disappeared and Jack yelled out in frustration and outrage as he leant halfway out the window. He looked around before kicking the wall with his right foot which left a large dent. He turned around to see the Doctor and Bella sitting up slowly, the latter keeping a tight hold of Ianto when the Doctor stood up and walked to Gwen. He knelt beside Gwen and placed his hands on either side of her face and closed his eyes. A moment later she gave a gasp and sat up looking around widely before the Doctor put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Is Ianto okay?" Jack asked hollowly.

"He'll be fine, Jack." Bella said gently after giving the Doctor a quick subtle nod that she would handle the comforting words. "He's unconscious, but his heart rate seems normal and his breathing is steady."

"Why'd did she leave him?" Jack asked and Bella looked to the Doctor, obviously because she didn't know the answer.

"Ianto's mind must have been beginning to shut down," the Doctor told him. "If the host she is in dies, so does she."

"She had no choice but to leave him," Bella added quietly. Could Jack hear pity in her voice?

"But she was inside Bella longer than Ianto." Gwen said, rubbing her head.

"That's because Bella isn't completely human," the Doctor said, looking to Gwen and helping her to her feet. "Her mind can withstand a whole lot more than yours can."

Jack and the Doctor lifted the unconscious Ianto and carried him down the stairs and out into the car park as Bella held onto one of Gwen's arms to keep her steady as they followed. Darkness had fallen now as they walked over to the Torchwood Range Rover and lifted Ianto into the middle seat in the back. Gwen silently walked around to the driver's side and climbed into the back next to him.

"Bella," Jack said looking to her. "Can you drive for me?"

Bella nodded and took the keys from Jack and made her way to the other side of the car. Jack climbed in beside Ianto and the Doctor got in the front with Bella.

As Bella drove along none of them spoke. Jack noticed the Doctor and Bella exchange a few worried glances before, finally, Ianto regained consciousness.

"Ianto," Gwen said as the Doctor turned around in the front seat to look at Ianto just like Jack and Gwen.

"I think I know what it feels like to be Bella now," Ianto smiled weakly, his eyes still closed, "Everyone fussing and looking concerned."

Bella grinned at him through the rear-view mirror. "He's okay," she said, relief in her voice.

As everyone fell into a relieved silence, Jack watched as the Doctor turned around and looked to Bella smiling slightly as he took her hand that was resting on the gear stick. Gwen took hold of Ianto's right hand with both of hers and looked out the window as Jack too took his hand and Ianto rested his head on his shoulder.

Bella caught Jack's eye in the mirror and he looked up to her and found her grinning smugly at him. He shook his head slightly as she looked back to the road and he couldn't help but smile a little bit too.

Suddenly, a terrified Weevil ran out onto the road in front of them and Jack and the Doctor cried out in surprise.

"Watch out!" they yelled.

Bella slammed her foot on the break and pulled up the handbrake lever and turned the steering wheel until they skidded sideways to a stop, the whole car nearly rolling over. A Range Rover was probably not the best car to be doing handbrake turns in.

"Mother –"Bella started to curse before a tall teenage boy ran and slid across the Rover's bonnet before running in the same direction as the Weevil. "Oi!" she yelled furiously, opening her door and standing on the side step of the car but the boy ignored her and continued running, raising a metal crowbar as he went.

"GO!" yelled Jack as he realised that the boy was chasing the Weevil, but Bella had already leapt from the car to run after them. Jack, Gwen and the Doctor all jumped out and began running after the boy who was very close to catching the Weevil which was heading to the water's edge.

Jack and Bella reached the boy first and both of them tackled him at the same time.

"Bella, stop the Weevil," Jack panted as they both struggled to hold him down. "They can't swim!"

Bella jumped up and started running after the Weevil as Jack struggled even more to hold the boy down. Gwen ran and jumped onto the boy too when her and the Doctor finally reached them so Jack could sit up slightly.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack ordered as he rolled the boy over before grabbing Gwen and pulling her up and backwards away from the boy who had black eyes. As the three of them looked down at him, he looked back up to them before a ring of red air knocked them all backwards to the cement ground, the boy's head exploding as Jack shielded Gwen.

Jack and the Doctor instantly sat up as Sirena looked down at them laughing before flying in the direction that Bella had run in before. The Doctor leapt to his feet and yelled "BELLA!" at the top of his lungs before he too ran off after them. Jack and Gwen quickly headed after them, Jack noticing that Bella had actually managed to stop the Weevil at the end of one of the wharf.

"Bella!" the Doctor yelled again making Bella turn from the Weevil towards them and gasped as she saw the ghost-like alien heading straight for them.

Jack saw the terrified Weevil push past Bella and stood between her and Sirena and Bella with its chest bared and growling furiously. Jack, Gwen and the Doctor all slid to a stop as Sirena came to a halt looking at the Weevil. Jack looked on wondering how this situation was going to go down.

"Hmm," Sirena said frowning. "Well this is certainly interesting."

"Just leave it alone," Bella said as she tried to get past the Weevil that was holding out its arms to keep her behind it. It turned and growled at Bella who took a precautionary step back.

Sirena laughed in her girly voice. "How cute, you're both trying to protect one another. He would be a good substitute for your Ood friend, the one who died. Patrick, I think you called him."

"Stop it," Bella said quietly in a warning tone as the Weevil growled even louder.

As Jack saw Bella's face go pale he realised that she still blamed herself for the Ood's death. "Oi," he shouted as he and Gwen aimed their guns at the floating alien.

Sirena smiled and turned to him. "You can't save her this time Jackie-boy. It's a two degree December's night at the moment, imagine how much colder the water will be!"

Before anyone could move, Sirena rushed towards Bella and the Weevil grabbing hold of Bella's neck before flying backwards. Another ring of red air formed and broke the wharf apart beneath her.

Bella yelled in shock as the end of the wharf that she and the Weevil were standing on began to fall sideways. She quickly pushed the Weevil forwards onto the stable part of the wharf before she slipped and fell into the deep water, the timber wharf tumbling down on top of her.

Jack and Gwen shot at Sirena, Jack managing to get her in her right thigh. She gave a shrill scream before flying backwards away from them, disappearing in the darkness. The Doctor moved forward slightly before the Weevil gave a cry and jumped into the deep cold water after Bella, who had not surfaced yet.

"No," Jack yelled as he and the Doctor ran forward, trying to stop it but they were too late.

Bella's head suddenly broke the surface, coughing and spluttering.

"Bella," the Doctor cried as she reached up and tried to grab the edge of the wharf before beginning to sink down into the water again. He laid down flat on his stomach on the wharf and grabbed her arm, her other hand managing to find his as he pulled her up out of the freezing water and into his warm arms, which she couldn't get into quick enough.

Jack quickly took off his long, thick blue overcoat and threw it around Bella's shaking body where the Doctor quickly pulled it tight around her before taking his own overcoat off and wrapping that around her too. He brushed her sopping wet hair out of her eyes before surveying her closely as he put one hand on her cold cheek then pulled her closer.

Her lips were blue and her face was alarmingly pale. She had a small cut that had healed on her head and she was shaking violently. She reached up and took the Doctor's hand that was on her face in her freezing cold one before wrapping her right arm around his skinny middle.

"Where W-w-weev-"she managed to say, her head resting on the Doctor's chest.

The Doctor looked down sadly as he held her even tighter.

"He went in after you," Jack said quietly, putting his hand on the small of her back as he moved closer. "He tried to save you…"

Bella's jaw tightened as her tears began welling in her eyes, tears that she tried to fight off.

"C'mon," the Doctor said softly and Bella put her arms around his neck and he lifted her around her middle and carried her like that as they walked back towards the Range Rover, Bella watching the now calm water, tears escaping her eyes over the Doctor's shoulder.