(former Moss-Probert facility); Cardiff, Wales

Friday, January 29, 2021

Gwen Cooper dropped the kids off at school and met Rhys at his office. He sounded strange on the phone. One of the Refuge people had information about Antwerp. Given Rhys' tone, she suspected it was bad news.

"Morning." Gwen smiled peaking around the door jamb into the office.

"We need a vacation. Somewhere sane." Rhys rubbed his face.

Gwen stepped into the room. "What happened?"

"A lot. Charon/Zhao gave Dr. Floyd an office to review medical examiner cases. They make a scary couple."

"What about Belgium?"

Rhys stared at her. "The Refuge sent a report on the quantum energy readings." He grabbed a folder on his desk. "They concluded it's not a weapon, but a person that underwent a change."

Gwen sat across from Rhys and accepted the folder. "Into what?" She opened it and quickly reviewed the information. "This is insane."

"Yeah."

She flipped through the pages in the slim stack. "How was he changed?"

"If they know, it's not included."

Gwen looked up. "This says the Refuge is taking over Torchwood Nigeria."

"According to Charon they need a secondary location for psychics needing psychiatric care. Many of them came from the Fellowship and were more comfortable there than at the Refuge."

"Why now?"

Rhys shook his head. "The Refuge people are also expecting a cure soon. They're already determining where the children are being relocated once they're no longer affected."

Gwen wondered when that became the Refuge's decision.

Torchwood Nova Scotia; Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Aman Oliveira reconsidered the motivation behind leaking Nova Scotia's location to the media. They had reporters camped out on their doorstep. Opinions varied, but the swarm appeared determined to uncover every situation Torchwood assisted the RCMP in resolving. The original leak had a negative view of the office and Cardiff assigning immigrants instead of locals. It slowly morphed into a superhero story. One blogger compared Luc to Batman. The fourteen-year-old kid who lost his parents in a horrifying attack, that the writer had no accurate details on, took over a job that would have crushed adults twice his age.

"How's Gotham?" Aman asked entering Luc's lab.

Luc swore. "I designated a First Nation site Torchwood jurisdiction. The nearest tribe was concerned about preserving the area."

"Okay."

"It started a debate about Torchwood jurisdiction. The government wants clarification on my decision. One idiot, in the US I think, has accused the tribe of conspiring with aliens."

Aman set a hand on the back of Luc's chair. "Matt can handle that. He earned his cultural anthropology degree in Canada."

"Yeah. I'm reviewing case notes for possible problems with past cases." Luc slammed his fist down on his desk. "We have important work to do."

"You're still having anger issues?"

"Yeah. The reporters aren't helping." Luc took a moment. "Eryn called the university, and had us all excused. The media circus would disrupt the campus. Reporters are already asking what classes we're taking."

Aman grabbed a chair and moved it over next to Luc. "You need to get your head on straight. If you lose control, someone is getting hurt."

"I know." Luc hesitated. "I ran brain scans. There is a change in the part of my brain that controls anger."

"Have you told Eryn?"

"Yeah. I tried to get her to move out of our room. When she wouldn't, I insisted she carry stun pellets."

Aman paused to compose his thoughts. "We have medical monitoring equipment. You need repeat scans for comparisons."

Luc pushed up his sleeve showing a band on his wrist. "Eryn insisted."

"Does anything help?"

Luc closed his eyes.

"What?"

"Eryn. She can calm me by touch." Luc paused. "The family anger problem doesn't work that way."

"You need to do scans to see what changes when she touches you." Aman held up his hands. "That's dangerous."

"I know."

Aman needed to call Jack and have him access Torchwood Global files. If Torchwood treated him or somehow managed it, they needed to know how. Otherwise, Three's new doctor needed to evaluate it.

Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales

Owen Harper headed to the infirmary. He wanted to check on Tosh before returning to the lab. After Ianto's comments about Cyberman, Owen wondered about Tosh's cybernetics. Aliens aside, there could be reasons Torchwood involved itself in insane research. Until he'd changed universes, he didn't know it was possible. Despite years working with Jack, he'd never heard about Rifts in alternative universes affecting Earth. Either it never came up, or this universe was different than the one he came from. It also made him wonder if why time traveling Keara chose this universe to manipulate. It could allow access to other universes that needed solutions this one offered. All of which he would discuss with Tosh when she was awake.

The alarm monitoring Tosh sounded. Finally, he thought crossing the room to her bedside. Her eyelids fluttered. Whatever he expected, it wasn't panic. He had a medical monitor on her wrists but no restrains. Rather than make demands, she tried to escape. He pinned her arms to her side.

"Computer, active intercom." It clicked. "Jack, Tosh is awake. I need help."

"On my way. What happened?"

Owen dodged being bit. "Ow." He grimaced as she kicked him. "I didn't restrain her."

Jack Harkness entered a few minutes later. Owen had Toshiko pinned on her side to the medical cot next to the Nanogene station. Trying to hold someone down without hurting them was difficult.

"Toshiko." Jack walked over to her medical cot opposite Owen.

She looked up at him, terrified.

He crouched down with his arms on the side of the cot to meet her eyes. "We're not trying to hurt you."

"Owen's dead." She sounded weak.

"You're in a different universe. It's a very long story." Jack reached for her hand.

She stopped struggling. Owen released her and stepped back.

"When you arrived you were sick. Do you remember that?"

"No."

"You had hypothermia and time distortion sickness." Jack paused a moment. "We used a technology called Nanogenes to heal you. The process removed cybernetics connected to your spine."

Toshiko closed her eyes as tears rolled off her cheeks. "I'm free."

"What did the devices do?"

"Enforce compliance."

"You're safe." Jack squeezed her hand. "I need to talk to Owen. I will be right over there."

Jack stood and motioned Owen aside. "I need you to call Dmitri to sit with Ken while Bree talks to Toshiko."

Owen nodded. "In my universe, we had a humanoid slave arrive with biomechanical enhancements. The Jack there recognized the technology. I can't remember details. It was a long time ago."

"If you can remember anything about the technology, I have a way to jog my memory." Jack needed a list of topics to explore with dream-sharing. Gwen would understand. The sessions helped them both. Rhys and Ianto might object to several.

Jack walked back and sat on the medical cot next to Toshiko. "Are you up for telling me about your world?"