Title: Mind Control
Author: Bendyfish
Summary: An artefact attaches itself to Ianto, changing the way he thinks, putting the team and Jack in danger. The artefact is a weapon used by an ancient race to eliminate its enemy by infecting the person's mind and thoughts. Oh and I'm sorry I've painted Owen as a grumpy person at first who uses Ianto for his personal maid but I really love Owen, he is a great character.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to Torchwood or the characters.
Time Setting – after "To The Last Man"
Chapter Eleven
Tosh raced quickly to the de-moleculariser, she could see that Jack is immobile, frozen with a look of utter disbelief, he is caught in the beam in the entry of the machine but luckily his molecules were not scattered, as yet, there was a haze about him though.
"Get him out of there!" Gwen screams at Tosh, referring to Jack.
"Yes, yes of course, but I don't know how, if I press the wrong button I could scatter his molecules permanently, as I don't know how to re-integrate them" Tosh said sadly.
"You need to do something, you just can't leave him like that" Gwen reasoned, "Ianto did this, wake him up, he should fix it" Gwen grabbed her gun from her holster.
"I don't really think that Ianto knows that he has done this" Owen said shaking his head, sadly, "He seemed odd, but different odd, not his usual self"
"Oh Owen, he's put us in danger before, he's done it again" Gwen shouted.
"No Gwen, I really don't think that Ianto has done this knowingly" Owen said to Gwen speaking to her like a petulant child, "Ianto seems possessed, not in control, help me get him to the autopsy table. Don't touch anything on that machine, let's deal with one problem at a time"
"Check the back of his neck, Owen, he was rubbing it constantly" Tosh suggested to Owen.
Reluctantly the girls and Owen leave Jack as he is and take Ianto up to the autopsy bay, Gwen and Tosh carrying his legs while Owen carried his upper torso.
"umph, luckily Ianto is a bit underweight" Owen puffed as they dumped Ianto unceremoniously onto the autopsy table.
"Help me turn him over, where did you say Tosh? On the back of his neck, you reckon?" Owen tipped him to his side.
Owen looks closely at the back of Ianto's neck, he sees a slight reddening but nothing to indicate that there is anything there.
"The redness could be caused by him rubbing his neck all the time, I just thought he had pulled a muscle in his neck" Owen said, " but I want to make sure, I'm going to scan him"
"Okay, I'm going to contact UNIT, they were the ones who dumped that de-moleculiser on us initially, someone there must know how to work it" Tosh said hopefully.
Owen set up the scanner while Gwen looked on. Owen started at Ianto's chest and worked his way up, as Owen reached Ianto's neck the scanner revealed a small circular shape with tendrils wrapping around Ianto's brain stem. "Oh shit, that would explain everything, teaboy has been acting strangely, and if I'm right that thing has been controlling his thoughts, probably making him imagine seeing things that are not really there as some of the tendrils are wrapped around his optic nerve"
"Owen the shape of that thing without the tendrils is the shape of that artefact that we retrieved the other day, remember?"
"When was that 2 days ago, and how long has teaboy done acting a little strange? Bingo two days ago"
"Oh Owen, you can remove it, can't you?" Gwen asked concerning.
"Gwen, I don't know if I can, to remove that it might damage Ianto's spinal cord and his brain, even though it's only been there for a couple of days it has interwoven itself to Ianto's brain" Owen said shaking his head, "mmmmm, let me think".
Tosh listened to Owen and Gwen while waiting to be put thru to UNIT, she was really worried for Ianto, she knew that her friend would not have harmed her if he was in the right state of mind. But listening to Owen she was glad to hear there was a reason for Ianto's unusual behaviour and murderous intent but it seemed that they will lose both Ianto and Jack. I should have looked at that artefact as soon as it came in, it is all my fault, Tosh thought, how could I have been so stupid.
"Yes Miss Sato, UNIT here, what is it you want?" Ahhh UNIT being their diplomatic self, why do they have to be so sanctimonious? No wonder Jack hates dealing with them.
"Ah yes, I need to speak to someone who can help with the de-moleculiser that UNIT placed here several months ago for safe keeping" Tosh asked.
"I'm sorry Miss Sato but there is no one here that can help you, you would need to come down to our offices and fill in the correct paperwork" said the smug sounding UNIT officer.
"Oh forget it" Said Tosh in frustration.
"As you wish Miss Sato" and the UNIT officer hung up.
Mmmmm, paperwork? The paperwork on Ianto's desk had the chain that the medallion was on originally, I wonder if it could help with that thing in Ianto's neck? Tosh mused.
"Oh Owen? The medallion was on a metal-like necklace, yeah?" Tosh said tentatively.
"Yyyyessss" Owen said in a patronising way, whenever something stumped him he got snarky.
"I was just wondering, do you think that the necklace and that thing in Ianto's neck are linked some how?" Tosh said almost hesitantly, not wanting to annoy Owen.
"And why do you think that, Tosh?" Owen asked.
"Well, last year. do you remember that strange artefact that we brought it and it latched onto one of the plants in the hothouse, when we separated it from the chain it came with, and it was sucking the plant dry" Tosh explained, "But when you accidently brought the chain close to the plant, the thing sucking on the plant, disengaged itself and attached itself back to the chain. Do you think this could react in the same way?" Tosh said quickly without pausing for a breath.
Owen looked stunned, and stared at Tosh "That's brilliant Tosh" now Tosh looked stunned, "No really" Owen laughed.
And Owen raced down to the archives, and there sitting on Ianto's desk was the necklace, could this be as simple as that, surely not, but I've got no other solutions Owen thought.
Back in autopsy Owen asked Tosh and Gwen to sit Ianto up and handcuff him as he was coming around. Groaning, but with eyes still closed, Ianto was held up by the girls on the autopsy bed. Gwen quickly grabbed the handcuffs that were in the second drawer in the medical bay, for the more reluctant patients who were not dead as yet.
Ianto with his head slumped to one side being held by Gwen on one side and Tosh on the other started to blink his eyes "Wha…umm"
Owen quickly held the necklace near Ianto's neck and shoulders, almost immediately Ianto began to shake, his shoulders, then his torso and finally his head going into a spasm. Ianto let out a blood curding scream and slumped over onto the autopsy table face down, lying still. Gwen and Tosh moved him onto his side, his hands still handcuffed, then let him go and stood back.
Ianto exhaled loudly and then stopped breathing.
Author's note: Sorry Ianto fans, why does Ianto always have to die? Keep reading dear readers, oh and review please.