Doomsday
a Torchwood story
by RoadrunnerGER
Dislaimer: Oh, really! They're the BBC's.
Suspense/hurt/comfort – T – Ianto Jones & Jack Harkness
A/N: Thank you everyone! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. Special thanks to my beta-reader mandassina. Can't say that often enough. ;) Enjoy!
Chapter 25 – Overrun
Cardiff
Leaning back in his office chair and staring into vacant space, Jack felt drained. Since the attack he had hardly slept but had died five times. His body was protesting against this maltreatment with sore muscles and a beginning headache. There was a throbbing pain in his neck where the weevils had bitten him as well.
Making the hard but only logical decision about the fully and partially converted victims of the Cybermen left him awfully tired.
Tired of death and destruction.
Closing his eyes Jack tried to escape into the darkness, but instead of consolation all he found was more torment.
His own mind had not been a refuge ever since the fight against the Daleks on the game station and that had a lot to do with the fact that he did not know what had happened to him.
Last man standing, three Daleks against me, and running out of ammunition. It was only a matter of time until the gun was empty. Ten rounds in the handgun, not enough for stalling.
Dropping his weapon and anticipating the blast he did not even see the shot that killed him.
Alone. I've never been as alone as I was those first weeks trapped on the damned game station.
It was a shock for Jack to realize that his escape had landed him in 1869, a shock that was only surpassed by recognizing that his vortex manipulator had burned out, leaving him stranded once more.
Where did I land? Am I even on Earth?
He found himself in a wilderness region and when he climbed the next hill all he could see were the endless waves of a prairie. Thunder rolled, which confused Jack even more as the sky was an almost unreal shade of blue. The noise came closer and when Jack saw clouds of dust behind the next hill he understood that a herd of big animals was moving fast.
In his direction.
His heart beat wildly into his chest as he watched the bison come up over the mound and run directly toward him. Whirling around Jack ran as fast as he could, but he was left no chance. The stampede was over him in seconds, crushing him under hundreds of hooves.
The first thing he remembered after that was a gasp that seemed to implode his lungs. His whole body was on fire, his muscles sore, and he was flailing helplessly. Just why was he alive? He could not wrap his head around it. What had happened? For all he knew he should be dead.
Why am I not dead?
Jack did not know for how long he lay there and he did not care. It was the painful beginning of his long travels until he should reach the east coast and find a ship that would take him to England. There he went to Cardiff. Back then he did not care if he found an incarnation of the Doctor that would know him. He wanted answers so desperately that he did not think about time paradoxes. Jack drank a lot to drown his sorrow and that often got him into trouble, namely street fights.
After one of those fights he returned to the sight of two young women. Plucking the broken wine bottle out of his bleeding stomach he tried to flirt his way out of it, but they knocked him out easily. Jack woke up in a prison cell where the women tortured him with electric shocks. Jack was thoroughly confused as their equipment was way ahead of their time. They mocked him and his eyes widened with panic when one of the ladies directed a gun at Jack.
Then she pulled the trigger.
"Why aren't you dead yet?" the woman had asked with an icy cold voice that sent chills down Jack's back. What made Jack shiver even more was that he could not answer her even if he wanted to, because he still had no idea. All he knew was that he did not age during the last twenty years of travelling. And that he could not die. Well, that was not quite right. He did die, but he did not stay dead.
And that confused him no end.
Why aren't you dead yet?
Seeing that the women would imprison him forever if he did not agree to work for the institute they called Torchwood Jack reluctantly accepted their contract. His job was to track down aliens or secure alien tech that came through the Rift the Doctor used to refuel the TARDIS on. Even after working for the Time Agency Jack had never known that so much flotsam and jetsam was washed through holes in the fabric of time. It was terrifying. So the decades passed by, the people at Torchwood changing, replacing those who were killed in action. Everyone but Jack who remained the same all the time.
He had loved. More than once. He had been married. He had children as well. But what he could not find was the happiness he saw looking into the faces of other people, the happiness that originated from sharing life with a loved one, until death did them part. His curse was that death did part them, with the only difference that he was always left behind. Being unable to grow old with the one he loved Jack fled into superficial relationships and meaningless sex, always haunted by the same question about why he could not die.
Why aren't you dead yet? For over a century this question had tormented him now.
Last night Jack had been closer to finding an answer than ever before when the Doctor was in London, and the opportunity just had slipped through his fingers. Jack's heart broke and his body and soul ached with grief. A sob escaped him and he rubbed at his tear-burning eyes with his balled up hands.
A knock on the doorframe startled Jack.
Upon looking up he found Toshiko under the entrance.
"What's up?"
"Bad news?" she asked back as she took in his distraught appearance.
"No surprise in this situation, right?" he replied. "So what is it?"
"Rift alert," Toshiko sighed. "I already woke Gwen and Andy."
Jack glanced at the clock on the wall. They'd only been back from dealing with the Blowfish for about four hours now, but there was no sense in groaning or rolling his eyes. The world did not stop turning just because a Cybermen invasion had occurred and it certainly did not show respect for Jack Harkness's heartaches.
It was time to go back to work.
xXx
London
Owen did not want to think about what was happening in the Millennium Dome right now. Even though he knew that it was far too dangerous to keep the converted people alive he loathed the idea of euthanising them.
With huge steps he marched toward the triage tent. Suzie could hardly keep up with him.
"It was the only way," she said.
"I know," he grumbled back.
"We don't even know for how long they might have survived without the hive."
Abruptly Owen stopped in his tracks and Suzie came to a halt two steps ahead of him.
"Do you want to say that we did them a favour?" he spat.
"No. I just want you to keep in mind that their survival was highly unlikely anyway," Suzie replied in a voice as calm as she could muster.
"Oh, so we just shortened their suffering? Is that it?"
"I didn't say that."
"But that's what you meant, right?" he snarled. "They won't make it through the night alive, so let's put them down. About a day ago those… Cybermen were people, for God's sake!"
"I know that."
"How can you be so… so…"
"Professional?"
"Callous!"
Suzie scowled. "I feel regret about the casualties, Owen. Right now we can't afford giving in to our grief, though. We have a job to do. We'll have to mourn the dead later."
Frowning deeply Owen tried to stare Suzie down. That never had worked before and did not work now either. So Owen just huffed and strode past her to the triage. When he entered the big tent he intended to help, but to his big surprise there was little to do. Some of the camp beds were not even occupied.
"Hey."
Turning toward the voice Owen discovered Martha Jones perching on one of the camp beds.
"Hey," he replied. "So they let you stay."
"Yes. Thank you, Dr. Harper."
"Owen."
"Owen." She smiled thinly. "Sit with me for a moment?"
"Yeah," he said and settled down beside her.
"There are no news about Adeola yet."
"I'm sorry," Owen murmured. "It sure takes its time to search the whole tower for possible threats and survivors. I'm sure you'll get a message as soon as she's found."
"I hope so, Owen," Martha said, doing her best to sound hopeful. If she was honest with herself she did not expect a happy ending. Adeola was missing for too long. If she was alive she would have found a way to contact her or her family. So the only logical explanation was that she did not survive the attack. After a moment of silent contemplation she said, "I think it's kind of weird that so few injured people are here at the triage. There must be more survivors, don't you think?"
Owen did not answer at once.
"I don't know enough about the situation, but what I have seen was bad. Really bad."
"You don't think Adeola survived, right?"
"I don't know, Martha," Owen said. "There's still a chance that she's alive and was not found yet. Don't give up hope."
Martha sighed. "The more I think about it the more I doubt that I'll see her again. But I appreciate your effort to make me feel better. Thank you, Owen."
Owen nodded and for a moment they sat in companionable silence.
"Owen, what happened here?" Martha suddenly asked.
"Pardon?"
"Don't give me any shit covering it up," she told him sternly. "I don't believe in terrorists or whatever you'll come up with. I know what I have seen. Those Cybermen were everywhere. And not only here in London. They were all over the world. They told us we'd become like them."
"I have seen the news."
"Don't lie to me, Owen. I don't know who Adeola really was working for, but I do know that it was no regular office."
"Martha…"
"No, Owen!" she insisted. "Hear me out. It must have been something top secret. She never would talk about her work except saying that it was really important and that we would be proud of her when it would become public one day. What I do know is that her company was right here, in this tower, right in the centre of the attack. So… were they the target? Is her company the reason we were invaded by those ghosts?"
Listening to her made Owen increasingly uncomfortable. She had every right to be worried for her cousin, so he did not mind her being here. But she asked too many good questions and Owen knew that that would get her in trouble. With UNIT and ultimately with Torchwood as well.
"I could do with a coffee," he said. "Do you want something to drink, too?"
"Yes, coffee would be good," Martha replied.
"Okay, I'll try to hunt one down," he smirked and left the tent in search for said coffee. Not far from the triage he found a UNIT officer who supplied the soldiers with drinks and got two plastic cups that he carried back to Martha, handing her one.
"Thanks, Owen," she said with a small smile and tasted the brew. "Hmm, not good but strong. Thanks."
"You're welcome," Owen nodded, sipping at his own coffee. Once more they sat in silence until Martha suddenly yawned.
"And here I thought that the coffee would keep me going," she mumbled sleepily.
"You must be exhausted," Owen said. "Why don't you lie down?"
"No. There must be some work to do. And I need to know what happened to Adeola."
"I'm sure you'll be informed as soon as possible," Owen reassured her and guided her down on the camp bed. "Rest."
"Don't want to," she mumbled.
A second later she was dead to the world. Owen took what was left of her coffee and disposed it in a bin bag.
xXx
Torchwood tower
conversion unit
"Reword your request. We are the Cybermen. We are perfect. We do not malfunction."
Ianto could have screamed with mental agony, but he abstained from wasting his breath. The Cyberman could not let it slide. For the umpteenth time it repeated the same phrases.
Rolling his eyes Ianto sighed, "There is no we."
"You're going to be upgraded. Together we will rebuild the Cyber-empire."
"I am not gonna be upgraded," Ianto insisted. He was tired. So ruddy tired. "Especially not by an imperfect being like you."
"We are the Cybermen. You are human, so you are inferior."
"Wrong!" Ianto shouted, unable to just let the thing talk.
"You will be upgraded."
"No!" Ianto screamed. "No! No! No!"
"You will be upgraded."
Ianto strained against the restraints but it was hopeless.
He screamed.
"You will be upgraded."
There was a short moment of silence before the Cyberman spoke again.
"You will… will be… upgraded."
Ianto pricked his ears.
Something's wrong with it.
"Upgraded. Upgraded."
"Now, don't you say that you're malfunctioning?" Ianto could not help but chuckle.
"We are the Cybermen."
"Nah, you're just one." Ianto rolled his eyes. Why do I answer it anyway?
There were creaks and the whirring of blocked hydraulics.
"We… we are… Cybermen. We are the Cybermen. Upgrade. Up-up-upgrade, up…"
What's wrong with it? Ianto wondered. Well, I shouldn't complain.
"Cyber… Cybermen. We are the Cybermen-men-men."
On second thought, I probably have reason to complain. It won't babble on like this, will it? Oh, please, don't.
"We… we are… we are…"
Shut up!
"Cy-cy-cyber-ber-men, Cybermen. We are Cy-cy-cy…"
Stop it!
"Cyber… men. You will… be… up-up-upgrade... upgraded."
Oh, no! Stop! Please, stop!
"Cy…"
The artificial voice trailed off.
Silence fell.
And it remained silent.
Did I confuse it? I can't believe it.
Ianto listened intently.
Has it really shut up? Finally?
Ianto hardly dared to hope.
What happened to it? Did it blow a fuse?
Waiting some more seemed to confirm it. Ianto could hear nothing but the hum of the ventilation and the constant ping of the elevator.
Having silenced the Cyberman felt like victory. Inwardly Ianto cheered.
What Ianto could not know was that the interruption of the conversion had caused an improper finish of the upgrade. The Cyberman had been able to function but when it booted it already was doomed to crash. The malfunctioning circuits of the augmented cyberunits were destined to burn out. It kept going as far as it could and now it blew a fuse.
For Ianto it made no difference.
He was glad that the Cyberman finally shut up.
tbc…