STORIES
THIRTYFOUR
The Doctor's TARDIS materialized in its usual place inside the Hub.
And as usual the hyperactive Gallifreyan was the first down the ramp and through the doors.
Jack Harkness was shrugging on his greatcoat and a half dozen steps behind. As he approached the entrance the Captain pivoted his head to check that the rest of the group was following him, his eyes unhurriedly painting their faces. And that's when he heard the strange, muffled popping sound: while his head was turned. When his attention was behind him instead of in front of him…
"Doctor?"
Silence.
Jack's eyes briefly met John's and a certain unmistakable look passed between them.
"Doctor? Are you all right?"
Nothing.
Jack turned, resumed his egress and then stood in the doorway.
"Hello big brother."
The Doctor was on the floor, holding his leg, rocking back and forth in pain. Gray was standing behind him, pointing some sort of weapon – Jack thought it looked a lot like a phase disruptor – down at the Time Lord's head.
Gray glanced down at his presumed victim, then back up at Jack, and confirmed the presumption. "Oh, don't worry about him. I just blew out his knee. As long as you cooperate he won't come to any further harm, at least not any time real soon."
If looks could kill, Jack would've eviscerated his brother, but instead of acting the Captain uncharacteristically just stood stock still.
"Oh, and I wouldn't think of trying anything cute, big brother. My weapon was on its lowest setting, but now it's on its highest. How many times can I kill your precious Time Lord, eh, Jack? How many times will he regenerate?" Gray moved the gun closer to The Doctor's skull. "I seem to recall that he only has a limited number of regenerations left… While I admit it'd be intriguing if not fun to test that theory, I actually have other far more appealing plans for him."
"He's an insane bully and a terrorist, Jack. Don't…"
With a single violent blow Gray pistol-whipped The Doctor across his temple. The Doctor's eyes rolled up into his head as he slumped flat onto the floor. "Did I give you permission to speak? Shut that interminable gob of yours, Time Lord." He emphasized his final two words with a swift and brutal kick to the ribs. The Doctor groaned in pain and rolled into a fetal position.
Then Gray turned his attention back to Jack and sneered, "Big brother come on down here and let's see who else you have with you, shall we? That's right, stand over there and keep your hands out in the open at your sides where I can see them. Who's next, hmmm? Well, well, well, it's the sweet minion. Hello, gorgeous! Have you thought any more about my proposal, minion? It's a limited time offer, good only… oh dear! Perhaps it's already too late because who am I seeing behind you but the red-haired slut!" Gray motioned with his free hand toward Jack. "Yes, both of you, over there. Stand by your brave and dashing Captain. And keep your hands visible if you don't want to be responsible for causing a premature Time Lord regeneration." His eyes narrowed as he leered at Wil, "Hello, pretty girl! I don't believe we've ever met but I've heard so much about you. You know, my brother and I used to share everything… Everything. Maybe I'll keep you with me; it's been a long time since I had any female human companionship… But… what's this?" He sniffed the air as he scrutinized her. "You're keeping a secret. You've lost something important, haven't you?" He smiled cruelly. "I know your name is Wil but maybe I should call you mommy, eh? All the better… I do so miss my mommy. But still…" his sickly sweet smile transformed into a snicker. "You're not a nice girl, are you? Nice girls don't get pregnant.
"And who's that behind you? Oh dear, it's daddy. It's John-boy. Well, Johnny, it has been a while hasn't it? You were quite a whole lot of fun back when I had you under my thumb and in my bed. And my, but how you've been busy since then! Sexy John-boy! Loyal John-boy! Virile John-boy! And clever John-boy, too! Did you finally figure out who my colleagues are, hmm? My friends? Well it took you long enough! But then you were never the sharpest blade in the drawer, were you? And what is it that you're wearing, John-boy? Has big brother been playing house with you again? Isn't this fascinating! Was it in front of the slut? Oh dear, how precious: a ship veritably simmering – boiling-over with my big brother's lovers!" He studied each of them in turn. "And chock-a-block with love triangles! We've got a genuine cosmic soap opera going on here. The good wife, the red-haired harlot, the sweet minion, and last but not least, the current object of my brother's affections – the love of his life – the truly unobtainable, or is he simply a tease merely playing hard-to-get? Ta-dah! The Time Lord from Gallifrey. How lucky am I to have all of you in one place? Such a handsome bunch. And wouldn't it be fascinating to watch what it would do to my big brother if I killed each of you, one at a time, slowly in front of him?"
Jack, his face beyond livid, took a step forward and again Gray sharply kicked the prostrate Time Lord in the ribs. "Uh-uh, Captain. Do you really want to see how well he'd regenerate if I disappear seventy-five or eighty percent of his body and leave the remaining bits a quivering bloody pulp?
"And now, all of you," Gray grabbed The Doctor by the scruff of his neck and yanked him to his feet. "We're going on a short tour," he waved his weapon at Jack and the others. "Not far, mind you. Only to where my brother has been keeping me. I have to admit it's not a very nice place. But that's not my fault." Dragging along the whimpering Time Lord, he began herding the group toward the morgue. "In fact, it's a damn cold place, like my big brother's heart. You might even say it's frozen, like my big brother's soul. Because, you know, no matter what he's convinced you to believe, he's not very nice, my big brother. Although as a child I adored, I worshipped by big brother, he never loved me. Don't you see? He willingly handed me over to them. He callously sacrificed his little brother so that he could get away safely and live a life full of adventure and excitement, full of friends and lovers. That's the real Captain Jack behind the brilliant smile and sparkling blue eyes. Well… all I can say is what goes round comes round. Oh yes, it does. And in this case there are four of you along with my big brother, so it's going to come round in quintuplicate!"
There was a pile of human bodies on the floor of the crypt, arms and legs horrifically akimbo and jumbled together. At first Jack gasped, thinking that somehow Gray had killed Gwen and the others. But then with a sickening jolt the Captain noticed five of the crypts were open. Open and empty. One had been Gray's, but the others… the others had belonged to former employees of Torchwood. Their bodies now lay desecrated, discarded in a heap on the floor.
Jack knew who they were, those four people whose bodies had been savagely tossed aside. He'd known all of them. They were former colleagues. Some were erstwhile lovers. All had been friends. It was one of the most ghastly things he'd ever seen, and it made his blood run thin and ice cold.
"Sorry, big brother! I'm sure you're finding this sight a wee bit disturbing, even with that frigid heart of yours. There wasn't much room at the inn so I had to kick out some long-term residents." Gray viciously threw The Doctor against one of the caskets then used his weapon to motion angrily at Jack. "Put him in." When Jack hesitated Gray once again pointed the disruptor at the Time Lord's head. "Put him in now."
Jack slowly walked forward and stood over the crypt. The Doctor smiled at him and nodded his head. Jack nodded back and helped the Time Lord into the chamber before sliding it shut with a tremendous shove. The compartment closed with a loud clang and what sounded like the hiss of air.
"Secure it, Jack. Lock it down."
Jack did what he was told.
"Now the sweet minion. Oh! Too late, minion. The previous one-time only offer has expired. Just like Jack, I've decided I don't want you. Put him in, big brother and lock him up."
Ianto swiftly walked forward and lay down in the casket. Jack briefly touched the Welshman's hand with his fingertips before sliding in the drawer. Again there was a tremendous push, again the hiss of air.
"Who's next big brother? How about John-boy?" Gray pointed his weapon at John Hart. "Do you want to kiss mommy good-bye, daddy?" When John reached out toward Wil Gray shook his head. "No, I don't think so. She's just going to break your heart anyway. You should've stayed with me when you had the chance. What did I tell you? What did I always tell you? I'm the only one who really loves you, John-boy. I'm the only one who really understands you and can give you what you want. Get in," he sneered. There was another loud clang, another hiss of air.
"Ah, so now it's just the two of you. I'm sure you could put on quite a good show for me, and there's always the delectable possibility of a ménage à trois, but I'm getting bored. Put her in, Jack. I've decided I don't want her. She's all used up anyway, and besides, our mommy always told me to stay away from whores. Too bad our mommy didn't realize you were the biggest whore of all, big brother. Don't dawdle now, close the damn chamber!"
Jack fleetingly met Wil's eyes before he pushed in the crypt. Then he turned and stared at his little brother. "What's next, Gray? Are you going to kill me? You have something worse in mind, maybe? And then what? Are you going to…?"
"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Gray aimed his weapon directly at the Captain's chest and fired it. Jack Harkness crumpled dead to the floor, his body a bloody mess…
"And how's that for a good day's work?" Gray smiled a few minutes later as he coldly inspected his brother after placing what was left of Jack's corpse inside the fifth crypt – ironically enough and as fully intended, his own former crypt. "My friends are going to be so pleased to know you're here waiting for them, that you are ALL here waiting for them! It just doesn't get much better than this, big brother." He snickered and paced the floor for a short time.
"And yet… well, just to show you that your little brother the King of Darkness can be magnanimous, that your little brother the Prince of the Dark Force can be forgiving, how about if before I bring in my friends I exhume that home world of ours? Seems it might be quite amusing having you to play with knowing that YOU know we also have good old Boeshane to play with, too. I always knew you had a soft spot in your heart for that moldy old planet, but it's more than just a soft spot, isn't it? Oh, it's much more and now I know your secret. Boeshane's one of your fatal flaws, one of your incurable weaknesses, isn't it big brother?" With a sneer Gray used his weapon to pistol-whip the Captain's battered and bloody skull; then he angrily threw the disruptor across the room, smashing it against the wall. "And that's because unlike me you still happen to have fond memories of it… but I'm going to make you regret every single one of those memories. Just like I'm going to make you regret you were ever born.
"Oh, but I do think it sounds like fun, having all these friends of yours and Boeshane to torment you with!" Gray giggled as he clicked a few keys on the small device he now held. "Besides, Boeshane was never really totally dead and gone – it was just sort of in a temporal never-never land, you might say. Are my colleagues, my friends good or what, to be able to perform magick tricks like that? Much, much cleverer than those pathetic Time Lords who you love so much ever were, ever could be! But you and that pathetic Doctor of yours are so predictable; your over-reacting so foreseeable and such a hoot! Honestly, if it weren't so funny, so laughable, it'd be banal, this lack of imagination of yours. But then you always were gullible, weren't you? You always believed the fairytales and other bedtime stories mom used to tell us. Oh, the nightmares those stories would give you! The demons and the gremlins and the fairies were as real to you as I was. And maybe that's one of your problems, eh? The fairies were more real to you, you cared more about them in the end than you did your poor little brother. Well, anyway, thanks for the laugh, big brother, and here's to many, many more." He indifferently flicked a couple small, errant pieces of bloody flesh off of his sleeve. "Your nightmares have only just begun. Oh yes, you're about to come face-to-face with real monsters, Captain Jack Harkness."
Gray slammed the chamber shut and listened to the harsh sibilance as the crypt's internal vacuum sealed with a loud shush.
"And finally, time for another reunion! Introductions are in order. Now that I've met yours, I think it's high time you get to meet my friends, big brother." Gray grinned as he clicked a few more keys on his device and disappeared.