Me: OMG! I haven't updated in like forever! So sorry!

Jack: Not as sorry as I am. She completely forgot about me...

Me: Yeah...sorry about that.

Jack: I starved to death...multiple times.

Me: Like I said, I'm sorry. I'm also sorry to all of you readers! I had serious writers block. It was bad. It's only thanks to Wings-and-a-Fez that I was able to overcome it. And it is unacceptable that I'm taking so long to update. But you know what, that's not important. Feel free to leave as many angry comments at me as you'd like, I feel as though I deserve it. I only ask that I escape with my life.

Jack: She doesn't even deserve that...

Me: Shut up! You really don't want to fall into the hands of a diehard fangirl, trust me.

Jack: But that's you, isn't it?

Me: Rigghhht...No, true fangirls are a hundred times worse than me. I regrettably cannot call myself a fangirl yet. I have not reached that level. But I soon will... :).

Jack: Wait, what are you planning to do? And more importantly, does it involve me? *winks*

Me: *slaps arm*

Jack: Oww! What did you do that for?

Me: *shakes head* And here I thought you could get through a whole author's note without making a single innuendo.

Ianto: You do know that's not possible, right?

Me: Oh my god! When did you get here?

Jack: Ianto!

Ianto: The Doctor dropped me off. I was getting worried about Jack being gone for so long, figured I should take a look.

Jack: Thank god you're here, Ianto! I've been trapped here for months!

Ianto: It's only been a few days...

Me: Oh, that must be the Doctor's doing. I specifically asked him to give me some time with Jack, but at the same time let him stay at Torchwood. He must have traveled back in time and dropped Jack off here so that I could keep him for a while without Torchwood noticing. I'm guessing you've noticed.

Ianto: Well, it was rather evident he was gone after I went through several days and didn't have to file a single harassment suit.

Jack: Wait? Did it really take you a couple of days to notice I was gone?

Ianto: Yes, that's why I said you'd only been gone a couple of days. What did you think?

Jack: Well, I thought you noticed right away, then maybe it just took you some time to try and find me or get in contact for the Doctor.

Ianto: Well, Jack, this isn't exactly the first time you've run off...

Me: And we're straying into angst territory, which is not something I really want to do in the A/N. So, without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood. Grr face...

Chapter 14

Max slowly woke into consciousness, and the first thing that she noticed was that her head HURT. Badly. She let out a muffled groan as she attempted to move her head and a dull pounding deterred her. A metal clanking noise caught her attention, and her attention was drawn to both of her wrists. They were cuffed and attached to dark, stone walls. Like a dungeon. Of course it would be like a dungeon, they were in a frickin' castle for crying out loud.

Quickly, she did an inventory of the Flock members. Gazzy and Angel, check, Nudge, check, Iggy, check, Fang, check. She saw a slight movement from the tall and dark bird kid as he, too, stirred.

"Careful," she rasped out, throat dry from the yelling during the fighting. "You're going to have a painful headache."

Fang slowly raised his head, wincing as he did so, to look at her. "Yeah, I see what you mean. Oh, I just hope nothing's broken."

IT'S NOT

The digital words appeared across her vision. Max recoiled slightly, but she was slightly more used to it. Lip-reading software...right.

Max didn't really have much more time to think as she heard the door to their prison creak open. The dim torchlights reflected shadows onto the damp walls, and Max could count about four or five approaching people.

As the group came into view, the first person Max noticed was the tall authoritative woman who stood at the front of everyone. She was wearing a suit with 2-inch heels, which clacked menacingly across the floor. The noise that her shoes made woke the remaining bird-kids, this was evident by the muffled groans that emenated from the previously still figures.

"Glad to see you're all awake, children," said the woman, who Max guessed to be the Director from her authoritative look.

Gazzy exclaimed indignantly, "We're not children!"

The Director laughed, as if it was some kind of private joke. Her four henchmen laughed forcefully. "Oh, you think you're adults? You're so cute. No. What you need to understand is that you will always be children to us. We created you. You owe your existence to us."

"Yeah, and I suppose I owe my blindness to you." Iggy said bitterly. "Thanks so much," he added sarcastically.

"It was all in the pursuit of science, you have to understand. Everything we did, we ultimately did as an attempt to make you better. Yes, some of them weren't so successful, but it was all in the name of science."

"I'm not some frickin' science experiment," retorted Iggy angrily. He had had enough of these adults, these people who thought they knew better than him, and thought that this knowledge gave them the right to do anything. "I'm a living, breathing human! I may be 2% bird, but that doesn't make me an animal, so you shouldn't treat me like one! You shouldn't treat any of us like this!"

Gazzy whistled. "Way to go Iggy! Bird-kids unite!" The rest of the flock smiled to this.

"Well, I see that you are not going to cooperate," the Director smiled curtly. "But, Max, I don't need these experiments." she gestured to the other kids. "I only need you. You are the most successful so far. If you cooperate with me, I can find you a place in the new world."

"Not a chance," replied Max.

"Yeah," piped up Nudge. "You're not getting any help from us."

"I wasn't asking you, you are failures. You are not like Max. She has skills, one's we can develop. But if you all insist on that you will be retired, with the rest of the experiments."

"What about the Erasers?" asked Fang. "Are they going to continue to serve you?"

The Director shook her head. "We have something greater, something much more powerful than these half-breeds. Those will be retired and the Cyber wolf men will take their place!"

"What are the cyber wolf men?" asked Gazzy. Beside him, Angel stiffened as she read the mind of the Director.

"Part machine, part wolf." said the Director, a cruel smile spreading on her face. "Skins wrapped around a metal body, capable of flying, and a lot more sturdy than those weak, mammal bodies of the Erasers."

"So you're just going to kill all of them? Even the ones that have been loyally serving you? That's monstrous!" exclaimed Max.

"No, that's progress." replied the Director. "There is no room for them in the new world. No room for such errors. So they will be eliminated. Just as you will, for refusing to cooperate." She turned to her stoic escorts. "Guards, you know where to take them."

"No! No!" exclaimed Max as she saw the men approaching, each taking a syringe from their pockets. She struggled against the chains, tried to lash out at them, but couldn't stop the needle from plunging into her neck.

The Director looked pityingly at Max. "You should have listened to me. What kind of child doesn't listen to their own mother?"

"What?" asked Max, confused and horrified at the same time. This statement also elicited gasps from the other members of the Flock.

The Director simply smiled. "Oh how you will wish you had listened to me." With those words, Max felt herself losing her grip on consciousness and she slipped into the dark.

"Jack, do you think they'll be alright?" asked Gwen worriedly. They had just seen the entire conversation between the Director and Max through the contact lenses.

"It looks like just a sedative, but you should ask Owen." replied the captain.

"Yeah," replied the medic. "They should be fine. Though be the looks of that conversation, they might not be for long. Jack, should we be going in any time soon?"

"Let's just be careful. We want to bring down Itex, and we'll need the Flock for that. Let's wait until one of them gives us the signal. As long as none of them are fatally injured, let's stay out of it."

"But if they're fatally injured, we won't have time," exclaimed Gwen. "We need to help them!"

Jack turned to Gwen. "Look Gwen, I know you look at them and see children, but what you have to understand is that they aren't. They've lived through things no child should have to live through, heck things no adult should have to live through, and they survived. That made them strong. Trust me, Gwen, I know what its like. And right now, you have to understand, as Torchwood, we have to make the decision. Risk six lives or risk half the world. And in the end, we have to choose those six lives."

Gwen looked slightly mollified, and she nodded in understanding, though her eyes showed she was not convinced.

Tosh coughed. "Um, I have to, that is, well, I kind of have to use the restroom."

Owen groaned. "Really, Tosh? What, did you not go before you left?"

"Shut it Owen," said Ianto. "Just because you no longer have any bodily functions, doesn't mean the rest of us don't. We've been sitting here for hours." He turned to Tosh. "I think I saw a cafe back in town."

"I'll walk," said Tosh. She opened the door.

"Got your gun?" asked Jack, worriedly.

"Jack, she's just using the restroom," said Gwen.

"Yeah, and Ianto was just getting groceries." he replied. "I'm not letting any more of you get hurt, at least not before the fight."

"Fine, I've got it," said Tosh as she held up her gun. "Happy?"

Jack nodded. "And keep your commlink on. If we don't get communications from you every five minutes, we're coming in, guns-ablazing."

Tosh laughed. "Don't worry, I'll make sure."

Tosh was just exiting the bathroom. It had been a little difficult to find because all of the signs were in German but she managed. As she was about to leave the station, she heard voices.

"yeah, did you hear about the mutants?"

Tosh froze, and then leaned in closer to hear.

"They caught the bird kids, the last of the important ones. They're going to have a mass gassing tomorrow morning."

Tosh silently gasped. She needed to get back to the SUV as quickly as possible.

"Jack, there's something you need to know," she whispered into her comm.

Me: Crappy ending, I'm aware. I just really wanted to finish it and be able to finally post it. I promise for some action later. There will be no closing statements from Jack, or Ianto for that matter, today. They have, *ahem* resolved their disagreement. Jack, however, will be back, when he is not otherwise occupied. And I now know my closet is not sound proof. *shudders* Don't forget to review! And thanks for reading!