One morning, Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones arrived at the Torchwood Hub far too early, way before any other employees did, which left them with a gap of at least half an hour with nothing to do other than tidy up. Ianto personally enjoyed neatening up his work space, and was quite content to do so, however Jack intervened.
"Hey, Ianto – why don't we plan a prank on the team for when they get here?" The boss had a cheeky glint in his eye as he laid out his plan to Ianto.
"I'm not such a big fan of pranks, myself." The Welshman commented, reluctant to participate in Jack's games.
"Says you! That coffee prank still haunts me to this day – I can't drink anything without conducting rigorous experiments on it first." Jack grinned, clearly joking.
"How do you even still remember that? It was ages ago."
"Memory like an elephant, me."
"Yeah, right." Ianto couldn't resist having a dig at his boss, but he smiled nonetheless. "Why the sudden need to prank, anyway?"
"You still haven't got us back for the whole 'the-Rift-is-opening-we're-all-going-to-die' prank yet, and, to be honest, I still feel kinda bad about that. So I'll help you, deal?"
"Hmm. What were you planning?" Ianto remained suspicious.
"Well, I was thinking that we could send out a distress call to the others, then when they arrive, you could say an alien just popped out of the Rift and possessed me before you could do anything. And I'll act about, pretending I'm possessed by an evil creature."
"Do you really think the others will fall for that?"
"You never know. Distress calls are pretty scary. If you send it out now, they should be here in about ten minutes. Actually, it can double up as an emergency drill. Go, do it now." Jack urged, gently nudging Ianto towards the comms unit that lay on his desk.
"Okay, okay, fine. It will be funny if it works, I suppose." At that, Ianto strolled over to the desk and picked up the comms unit, attaching it to his ear. "Right, so what do I say?"
Jack instructed Ianto on what to do, and they formulated their piece of acting. Now was the time to put it into action.
"Tosh? Gwen? Owen? Can any of you hear me? I need help right away, something's got-" Loud crashes and inhuman screeches interrupted Ianto's terrified voice. "Sorry, I can't – something's got Jack. Just get here asap, okay? Please help…"
That was the message that Tosh and Gwen received while they were on their way to work. Owen didn't get it because he was still snoring in bed due to utter incompetence. When Tosh and Gwen heard Ianto in such distress, they put their feet down and drove only just within the speed limit. By chance or by fate, they arrived within seconds of one another at the Hub, therefore they entered the building side by side with their guns drawn, pointing at any potential threat.
Jack and Ianto weren't visible at first, so Gwen called out to them.
"I'm down here!" Ianto replied. Gwen and Tosh followed his voice to under a desk, where he was hiding. "Sorry, I was hiding from him." He whispered when the girls reached him.
"Where is he?" Gwen asked, but Ianto's face revealed all; he stared at a spot just behind Tosh's head, his expression filled with horror.
"It's… he's there." Ianto's terrified tone was barely audible. Soon after, a horrifying screech emanated from right behind Gwen and Tosh, and they whirled around to be faced with Captain Jack Harkness sporting a green, scaly face, eyes wild. Gwen lifted her gun, but Ianto stopped her.
"No! No, don't shoot! It's still him."
Jack was now making odd gestures with his hands and stomping his feet on the floor in an attempt to frighten his colleagues. Instead, Ianto burst into a fit of giggles.
"Oh, come on, Ianto! You ruined it!" Jack exclaimed, ripping off his alien mask and throwing it to the ground, exasperated.
Ianto crawled out from under the desk, his face red as beetroot as he tried to stifle his laughter. "But… the mask just looked so obviously fake. And what was with the weird dancing?"
"That was meant to scare them! Monsters do that!"
"No they don't, Jack. I could tell Gwen was picking up on something, she would have realised soon anyway."
"No, we totally had them – Gwen was even gonna shoot me!"
"I'm still in half a mind to shoot you now." Gwen grumbled darkly, glaring daggers and Ianto and Jack respectively.
"I'd only come back and prank you again." Jack grinned.
At that, Gwen couldn't take it anymore. Raising her arm high, she slapped Jack right across the face, causing his neck to whip around violently.
"Ow! What was that for?" He yelled, clutching at his face which was rapidly blossoming red.
"For being a prat." Gwen smiled maliciously.
"Then why doesn't Ianto get one too?"
"Because I'm pretty sure you invented this prank." She winked at Ianto, then turned back to glare at Jack. "Now, I'm going to get breakfast, since I missed it driving here to save you." Turning on her heel, Gwen stormed off.
"Hey! I'm your boss!" Jack shouted after her. In reply, Gwen gave a rather unsavoury gesture before continuing on her way out.
"Did we get you, Tosh?" Jack asked his other colleague, who had remained oddly quiet throughout the entire scenario.
"I could tell it was a joke the moment you appeared in the mask. But up until then, yes, I fell for it. Good one." Tosh smiled shyly.
"Haha!" Jack high-fived Ianto, who grinned back at him. The two of them made an evil yet adorable pranking team.