Disclaimer: - I don't own Torchwood.
Chapter 8 – The Blue screen of Death
Of all the things Rhys had expected to happen in his life, this was not one of them. Granted, he did not expect his wife to be working for a secret organisation that protected Earth from alien invasion. He also did not expect to team up with said organisation to prevent alien meat trafficking or helping the police defend themselves against numerous Weevils. On top of that, he did not expect to have an unwelcome shape shifter at his wedding. Now, his current situation was another thing he could add to the list. The latest thing that he had not expected was trying to help people out of the remnants of the Hilton hotel and away from what could only be described as a twisted creature bent on total destruction.
Where was Torchwood when you needed them?
That question was going to be answered pretty shortly.
--
"So how was Torchwood formed?"
Jack glanced at Cascade, who had managed to cut the number of vomit bags she used to about three. He smirked inwardly. Ianto would have a fit if he knew about this. If the SUV got so much as scratched, he would pretty much label the car as being "out of bounds," and not let anyone else touch it until it was ready. The last time the car had gotten dirty, Ianto had devised an excruciating punishment … or so they had thought. In reality, he had done nothing. He admitted it later and said that the psychological value was funny enough, especially from Owen who had kept on asking Jack to taste the coffee to see if Ianto had done anything. If he died, then it was just possible that it was not safe to drink.
"Jack!"
"Sorry, had my mind on other things," Jack admitted. Truthfully he had not heard Cascade's question. "So, what were you saying about… " he tried a random shot in the dark, "Coffee?"
Cascade frowned for a few seconds, but could not maintain a straight face and ended up sniggering at Jack's pathetic response. "You weren't listening to a word were you?" she asked in a mock accusatory tone.
"Of course I was!" Jack replied, trying to sound offended. Cascade eyed him dubiously. She wasn't buying it.
"… or if I'm being honest, no."
"I asked you how Torchwood formed."
Jack took a deep breath. "Explaining that requires an eight hour lecture complete with diagrams, a few Q&A sessions and a couple of beers."
"Well, give me the short version." Damn, she was persistent! Jack mentally prepared himself to condense 130 years of history into about fifteen minutes.
"It all began with Queen Victoria, a werewolf and a man called the Doctor…"
--
Gwen was upset. That much was painfully obvious. She inwardly sobbed to herself as she curled up on one of the sofas in the hub. The past few weeks had their toll on her. Tosh and
Owens' death, Ianto's near death experience and now the possibility that Rhys might be injured or worse. She knew that her husband could look after himself but the fact she had been asked to stand down made her feel weak. She needed him. Needed to know if he was okay. There was nothing that she could do. For that moment, she felt helpless and alone.
Ianto made his way over to the sofa, carrying a tray with two large mugs of coffee and a large pack of chocolate biscuits. Before she could protest about how he should have been resting and that she should be helping him, he placed the tray on the coffee table and sat down next to Gwen.
"Thought you could do with some cheering up," he said, handing Gwen her drink. "One thing I found out is that nothing says happiness better than the chocolately goodness only Cadbury's can provide." He grabbed his coffee and a few biscuits. "Don't worry Gwen, Rhys will be fine. Besides, he can add this to a C.V. Protected a space whale, led defences against weevils, almost killed a Nostrovite… the list goes on and on."
Despite her current thoughts on the situation, she couldn't help but giggle. She was amazed that Ianto was up and about so quickly. As she was musing, she sipped her coffee. Again, her field of vision was directed back to Ianto's arm. Despite looking cumbersome and rather lethal, the mechanical implants seemed to fit on his arm comfortably. The remnants of skin looked as though it was stretched across and around the metal. It was impressive, yet unnerving at the same time. As Ianto looked in Gwen's direction, she quickly glanced away. A little too quickly.
"Is it really that bad?" he asked.
"No cariad, It'll just take a bit of getting use to," Gwen admitted.
Then there was silence. That rather awkward silence when neither person really knows what to say in order to keep the conversation going. Nothing except the occasional chirp of Myfanwy the pterodactyl. It was at this point Gwen realised that Ianto had been gone too long just to make the drinks.
"Umm… Ianto?"
"Yeah?"
"What have you been up to? I mean, it doesn't take forty minutes to make coffee."
Ianto got up from the sofa, a grin spreading across his face. "Come with me," he said. "I think you will be pleasantly surprised."
--
"… and then Gwen walked in on me and Ianto. We offered her the chance to play Naked Hide and Seek, but she declined. Anyway for the record, don't listen to Ianto coos I do not cheat."
Jack was broken out his diatribe by Cascade, who was in a fit of giggles. This part of the story had not got the reaction he had expected. She had been amazed at Jack's travels through time. She had "oozed" and "abashed" at the Weevil attacks. She had even asked at one point whether Captain John was single, earning her a very odd look from Jack. Now, she was reduced to immature giggling.
"Is something funny?" he asked her with a childish pout appearing on his face for the second time today.
"Well," Cascade replied between sniggers. "It's just that some of these things your little team gets up to sound so… cheesy."
"Good cheesy or bad cheesy?"
"I thinking along the lines of sell the rights to Fox cheesy. I mean seriously, Sex Gas? Aliens that want to be worshipped as gods in Cardiff's club scene?"
"You forgot the Midomar," Jack added in a bemused tone. His job had been described as a lot of things by a lot of people, but never "cheesy."
"Oh yeah, tiny people who travel across radio waves." Cascade composed herself. "Although I suppose you do good job on the whole. I had no idea all these alien came to earth, and Cardiff of all places."
"The rift probably acts as a guidance system that aliens can hone into," Jack postulated. "Kind of like a temperospatial lighthouse." Not the best analogy he had ever given, but it would do. "So how about you?" He asked. "How did you get involved in all this?"
"My brother," Cascade replied, all traces of humour absent from her face. "He was part of this testing group at uni so he got the game before it was commercially available. He was one of the first to be affected. He told me what had happened and I supported him. It was fun at first, but then he noticed that others were becoming part of the mainframe. A sort of bond. He knew he couldn't do it alone. He asked me to help him."
Jack listened with rapt attention. "Then what happened?" he asked her.
"He taught me everything he knew. After clearing up most of the renegades where we lived, we decided to go separate ways. I kinda kept watch on a local scale while he's travelling around the major cities. Trying to find answers. Last time I heard from him was about a week ago. He sent me this." She fished through a small pouch in her robe and produced a computer disc. "To be honest, I don't know whether I want to see what's on it."
"We can check it out later in the hub," said Jack. "What brought you to Cardiff anyway? You don't sound like a local girl."
"I'm from North Wales. I came here because of all the stuff that's been happening around here recently. It seems that anything strange seems to converge around London or Cardiff. I see now that it was probably due to the rift."
"So why Cardiff?"
"It's nearer."
"So a great deal of thought was put into this investigation."
"Hark who's talking, Mr. I live under a fountain in South Wales!"
Jack childishly stuck his tongue out at his passenger. "Out of interest, what were your brother's powers?"
"Too many to list, although he ended up calling himself Timehacker."
The SUV screeched to a halt at the city centre. People were pouring out of buildings, running for their lives, trying to find some form of safety.
"Which way do we go?" asked Cascade, stepping out of the vehicle.
"Rule one of Torchwood," Jack replied as he grabbed his gun. "When tracking a target, always go in the opposite direction of screaming people."
--
"This is amazing!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Tell me about it," Ianto replied. The fountain in the centre of the hub had gained a new accessory in the form of a large ice sculpture. A crystalline formation of the Torchwood logo. Underneath it were a bunch of tiny ice figurines. The Torchwood team rendered down to the most meticulous detail. The main thing that Gwen noticed was that these figures were in pairs, like they were couples. Tosh and Owen, Jack and Ianto and also her and Rhys. It was beautiful, although it would probably become a bit of a problem when it melted.
"You did this? How?"
Ianto walked over to Cascade's laptop. "Well," he began. "I was resting when I heard this bleeping on the computer. I checked it and it was someone on that game challenging me to a battle. I thought it was worth a go to see what all the hype was about so I accepted the challenge.
"And?"
"I won. Suddenly I felt refreshed and I got this window popping up saying that I had gained experience. I tried a few more battles and as I progressed I felt physically stronger. It felt so much easier to understand."
"Well that explains why you're up and about, but what about the sculptures?"
"I'm getting to that Gwen. Anyway, after a few battles, someone challenges me to a power battle. I won and another window pops up saying that I gained that person's power."
"Which was…"
"Exactly! Cryokinesis, the psionic ability to reduce the kinetic energy of atoms, thereby causing objects to cool or freeze. I can now generate ice and freeze things."
Gwen was amazed at this revelation. "I'm guessing that all this has been a practice," she said, motioning towards the sculpture.
"Yes, and I thought it was something that we could all enjoy."
"You could give Cascade a run for her money." Gwen replied. She then noticed that Ianto had a rather mischievous smirk on his face. "Umm… Ianto? What do you think of Cascade?"
"Well it's not everyday you meet a real sorceress, and a cute one at that."
"Ianto?"
"What? Just because I'm with Jack doesn't mean I can't have a flirty moment as well."
"I suppose so," Gwen found herself saying.
"Although…" Ianto continued, "If they don't stop flirting with each other, I think I can put this power to good use."
Any further elaboration was interrupted by the alarm. Gwen ran to the computer monitors to see what the fuss was about.
"We've got visual!" she exclaimed. "Oh my God, that looks disgusting."
"Disgusting and strangely familiar," Ianto exclaimed as he viewed the footage.
"We need to help them," Gwen said, half expecting some kind of refusal from Ianto.
"I agree, but they've taken the car."
"We'll get a taxi."
"No, it'll take too long."
Both pairs of eyes glanced around the hub and landed on the same target.
"Oh no! No! No! No! Ianto, I'm all for helping, but this is insane!"
Ianto gave another mischievous grin. "Gwen, it's perfect! Fast, powerful, and let's face it. Myfanwy needs the exercise!"
Another chapter done. I admit that not much happened, but it all builds up for the next chapter.
Please R&R.
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