3

"There have been reports of two more Homeless People attacked last night" Toshiko called out across the Hub "The assailant is described as a shadow. Silent, moved like liquid and was gone as quickly as it had arrived, leaving the victim confused and addled like he had been drugged."

Jack tried not to look up, his confusion raw.

That did NOT sound like Ianto and yet, it sounded exactly like him.

Huh?

.

.

Daylight bleaches the landscape, almost whiting it out. This is the city dump where Homeless People seem to be getting picked off like a wolf might cull sheep. A Homeless Person sifts through refuse, collecting bottles. Two dogs are tethered to his hopping trolley by his side with rope. He reaches for a bottle, cuts himself on a piece of glass. As he inspects his wound his dogs start to growl.

The Homeless Person looks up.

A kid about six or seven is standing atop a mountain of refuse, wiry and intense, perched there like a predator. The Homeless Person glances at his wrist again, the blood, then back up at the kid. Unnerved, the Homeless Person starts to back away, and then turns bumping right into the kid who has moved beside him with uncanny speed.

The boy slams the Homeless Person against the shopping cart and snarls, baring fangs as the dogs cower. And just as he's about to tear the man's throat out a hand reaches out from the ethos of… well… nowhere … pulling the boy back. Jack is then suddenly there, pulling the boy from Ianto's grip.

Jack throws the boy into the light, forcing him onto the ground. He shoves a .45 against the boy's face and is just about to pull the trigger when he stops, noticing overhead sun reflected in the boy's eyes.

"Jack stop. He's not Vampyre, just imitating one!"

Jack looks up and sees the sun at high noon, then glances back at the boy in understanding.

He smiles.

.

.

"Still hungry?" Jack asked as he watched the kid devour yet another hamburger from the plate.

The kid nodded without speaking and Ianto was suddenly there with a milkshake almost taller than the kid's head, making the kid squeal and scoff it down too.

"Right. So, I am Jack which you probably worked out. This is Ianto. I am an Alien from another planet. Ianto here is what they call a Wendigo… sort of… and you apparently want to be a vampire" Jack said calmly.

"Wraith. He's a Wraith"

"Like you?" Jack was surprised "Never seen a little one before. Weird, I always think of your kind as fully formed. Awwww, he's still learning?"

"Yes. Just a child, truly a child. I had no idea any were about this part of the system let alone breeding" Ianto settled back, inspecting said child who was doing what any Wraithling does when in the presence of an elder. He behaved.

"My daddy died and mama had to run." The boy finally said once he could breathe again though the food "we hopped on a space-freighter to the Gerling Sector but there was an asteroid belt to pass through…"

"The Folerton Belt. Like a minefield that place" Jack nodded.

"Yeah, that one. We were ambushed by pirates and Mama put me in a pod, sent me off and I thought she was behind me in another one but… no others ejected from the main ship" the boy fell silent, his hands stilling as he stared at the food still on the plate like it was rotting.

"I lost my parents in a war" Ianto shared "both were warriors. Your mother sounded like one too, fought until the end to ensure you got away. A good woman."

The boy nodded.

"What is your name?" Jack asked.

"I chose Clark because I saw a Superman movie and Clark Kent was a super man in disguise. I can be in disguise too… when I grow up I will be a super hero and save people." the boy said as he explained his natural name is a feeling or tone. Ianto nodded as he agreed that their natural voices and words do not translate into Galactic Standard of this old English.

"Hey, less of the old guys" Jack laughed, leaning back in his chair to look at them both "So this is a pickle. He was chewing on people, granted not killing any but causing damage all the same. Everyone is scared, he did wrong and I can't just release him like a 'catch and release' program."

"You could just collect stamps like a normal person" Ianto countered.

"Normal. Did you just call me normal? Go wash your moth out right now" Jack snorted "Nah. What's one more?"

"More likely to get us noticed, but he needs guidance" Ianto admitted as he looked at the boy once more "And we knew sooner or later I would have to re-announce myself to the team. Now SHE is gone for real."

"She?" the boy asked.

"A botherer."

"Ah."

"How about you go introduce him to Myfanwy or Janet? Then we can sort out how to get the team into the spirit of the whole … Wraiths in the house… kinda thing." Jack clapped his hands as he rose and the boy followed Ianto down to the lower level where a Weevil stood behind Plexiglas looking at them with interest.

"He is yours?"

"Yes. Did not plan for it but… he rubs me the right way." Ianto smiled then froze as John hart stepped around the corner of the cells.

"Rubs you the right way Eye Candy? My my my… where did you come from you delectable little mouthful of… erghhhh…."

The boy had reacted before Ianto, the inbred need to protect and respect kicking in as the little hand shot out to seize John's dick and twist savagely, making John fall to his knees to become eye level with the boy.

"I think you need to say sorry to Ianto."

"Ianto" John repeated, then his eyes widened as the whole 'entrance name' thing suddenly made sense. "So this is his new toy? Wow I think… erghhhh…"

"That did not sound like an apology. Great Da, was that an apology?"

Great Da. The child's interpretation of Good Father which is a term a child gives a male elder of the tribe. Ianto was touched as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to encourage him to release… well... maybe ease up a bit then.

"This is John Fucking Hart. Jack tells me that John Fucking Hart is from the same place as him, in the stars. The Time Agency. Like us, he is a traveler come to this planet. Jack says that John Fucking Hart is dangerous and loose cannon material, but also not everything is about fun. John Fucking Hart is not to be trusted" Ianto soothed the child.

"It's Just John Hart, he added the fucking" John said as he tried to look like he did not want to throw up "A lot of it. We are both quite good at it actually."

If he had wanted to upset Ianto… he needed to try a lot harder than that and the teethy grin he got was a reason for his poor abused dick to try to struggle for the child's claws some more, if only to crawl into John's gut along with his balls. This was not a man at all.

"Awwww, fuck me. You're a fucking Wraith!" John groaned with horror. Suddenly he was not the one with all the weapons at hand. He knew who was fucked and fucker now.

"Hello sweetling."