16

"I was still a child, my powers still new and shiny. My father … well. I was given over to the Firm pretty quick smart, found myself in a room with a dozen or so other Alts of various ages. Dressed the same like it was a private school which I think is what they tried to tell the outside world this place was. But it wasn't. It was a prison. To us anyway, it was a prison." Ianto sighed as he rubbed his face and everyone listened quietly.

"Anyway … They were testing us to find our abilities and the strengths or weaknesses they could exploit. It was late, I was tired and hungry. They had been at it for almost 48 hours straight, no doubt to break me or something but all they were doing was pissing me off more and more by each passing hour. Then in comes a blonde lady in high heels with a superior look. She slams down a file and sits, folding her legs as she begins talking about my mother … my father…my sister… scoffing about how much they hate me and wanted me to stay in this prison. That's when I knew she was bluffing. Mama was dead. I had not told anyone this, I had held that pain close and now I sat looking at this woman and for the first time I decided to think clearly as I used my gifts and I listened. I heard her thoughts filtering through and realised she was trying to read me. In so doing, I could read her. I reached across the table and placed my hand over hers like any child wanting comfort and she stopped talking, letting me make eye contact."

Jack watched Ianto struggle so he said softly "You do not have to tell us Tiger."

"Yes. Yes I do. You need to know that I am a danger. Not to you but … to those who might push too far. You need to know … I am the last line of defence. I will die to protect you. I can. And if I do … everyone else does too."

"Ianto…"

"Let me finish Jack" Ianto said softly then cleared his throat and continued "So. This is how I learnt what the Silence was. Her mind full of their tinkering. I opened her like a book and looked into her very soul. I killed her."

Silence.

"I broke something and she bled form her nose, her eyes wide ad she just sat there and … stopped working." Ianto grimaced, "I watched her fold from the chair and the room full with people, not sure if the little child had done something or she had done something to herself. They concluded that she had pushed her gift too far in her attempt to get to me and my firewalls were too strong. Many others tried to brush against me and all find me a closed book. The warnings about her meant they never pushed too hard again."

"But they knew?"

"I think so. Deep down, somewhere in the dark recesses of their minds a voice whispered that I had done it and would again if they didn't back off. Then it was forgotten in the ethos."

"And so you live in your glass house… trying not to throw stones" Jack sighed "Then find yourself in a place where it is encouraged."

Ianto smiled softly "Yes, but your encouragement is … nice."

"So … what does this have to do with the Clans?" Gwen asked the right question.

"Well … the other kids there also knew what I had done, was potentially capable of and instead of being afraid like the Norms, they were amused. We became loose friends. There was a commotion one day, a group out on 'manoeuvres' got loose and disappeared. Later in my teens I came across some in a nightclub and learned that they had gone into the sewers and the underground, set themselves up. I heard throughout the years about their dissident warfare, the recruitment of others and then came the split. Those who hated humans spilt from those who just hated everyone. You are in that group. The Breakaways who believe humans are to blame, Derp. I was part of the group that believed we all needed to learn to live in peace together. Arguments between the two clans still rage today. Instead of fighting the firm, they fight one another."

"So, it is possible they sent Derp after you as a retaliatory move against the other group, not realising they were bringing Torchwood into the fray?" Gwen frowned.

"That water is lovely and hot" Owen entered the room in a fluffy bathrobe, slumping in the chair and then looking around the room "What did I miss?"

"Tosh can fill you in" Ianto rose and grimaced "My turn for the hot wter."

Ianto walked to the doorway and hesitated, looking back over his shoulder "Cariad? Coming?"

Jack blinked as Ianto blatantly propositioned him in front of the entire group and then he felt that slow burn as Ianto winked. Cheeky Tiger. Jack grinned.

"Yeah, I hope so!"