Torchwood: Divergence
Book One: Dychwelyd

Chapter 17

They'd geared up and made it to their chosen rooftop in less than forty minutes, having carried any vital medical equipment with them. They could now see the strange mist covering at least half the top of the neighbouring building, though they weren't high enough to actually see onto the block's upper surface. The yellowish fog didn't stir or dissipate in the wind, it simply sat where it was, like smoke in a soap bubble.

Jack accompanied Ianto to the edge of the roof they occupied, glanced down at the sixteen storey drop to the street below as the younger man tried to gauge the distance to his target.

"You're positive about this?" Harkness prodded, not wanting his partner to think he was obligated to act and possibly come to serious harm because of it.

"Please stay back from the edge," Jones insisted when the wind gusted suddenly, then faced the older brunette as he prepared to engage his headset for hands-free use. "It's easiest to get airborne by dropping from a height. When I step off, I'd prefer you to be at least a few yards out of range."

Jack closed the gap between them and used his good hand to pull the young Welshman close by the front of his slightly oversized silk shirt... one of his old favourites from the forgotten dry cleaning. The Captain planted a very eloquent kiss on his lover's mouth, the contact conveying his worry as well as the promise of waiting comfort. Then he dutifully stepped back toward the rest of the team and gave his companion free rein.

Ianto stood with his head down and eyes closed for a moment while he took several deep breaths, then he slowly straightened his stance, silver grey wings emerging from his back to arch down behind him. He opened his eyes to meet his partner's encouraging gaze as he spread the feathered appendages wide, nodded once before he turned on his heel, stepped off into open air and disappeared.

Jack felt his heart give a strange flutter, a cold feeling clenching his guts as he counted the seconds until the Scieron Changeling reappeared on an updraft half way between the two buildings. He watched Jones gain altitude and circle above the strange mist, a part of him wishing he could feel what it was like to fly that way.

[I see Johnson,] Ianto's voice called over the communications channel. [She's down, but I think she's alive.]

"Any thoughts on that fog impersonator?" Harkness queried, worried that the younger man was sounding somewhat out of breath.

[Sentient,] his Archivist replied, static now making it hard to hear his words. [It knows I'm here... doesn't... friendly... to get... out... looks like... water...]

"Your signal's breaking up, Ianto," the Captain stated urgently. "Say again, I repeat, say again."

There was nothing but static over the comm, but Jack saw his partner veer sharply over the roof, then spill air to drop like a stooping falcon and disappear into the mist. The former Time Agent anxiously counted to ten, twenty, thirty... he'd hit the mark of two full minutes before there was the sound of a small explosion and the fog actually screamed as it recoiled from something he couldn't see from their chosen location.

Within seconds of the explosion, a small figure staggered to the edge of the roof, dark haired, pyjama clad and obviously female. Then silvery wings flashed in the morning sun behind the woman and two forms fell from the building, one now holding the other.

"Ianto?" Harkness called worriedly, seeing that the young Welshman was struggling to stay airborne and make it to the waiting Torchwood team.

[Trust me...] Ianto gasped over the comm.

What seemed an eternity later but was actually only a moment or two, the Scieron Changeling made it to the rooftop a short distance from where his partner stood, his knees nearly buckling as he landed hard. He shakily managed to lower Johnson to her feet, his wings disappearing immediately as he stumbled back away from the very damp, obviously disoriented woman.

Martha and Lois converged on Camille, Jack hurrying to where his lover now leaned with his hands braced against an air conditioning unit. He was panting for breath, a dark stain rapidly spreading across the left side of the pale petal pink shirt he wore as a slight trembling set into all his limbs.

"Sit," the Captain advised, offering what support he could one handed. "What happened?"

"Whatever that thing is..." Ianto panted with a grimace, turning to ease down side the big metal box he'd stumbled over earlier and sit with his back to it. "It doesn't like water. She'd shot a few holes... in a condenser unit... was lying under the drips... Every time the mist reached... it touched water... and dissolved... It's a scout... invading minds when it touches people... but couldn't get past... the Shadows with me... We can't let it report on us, Jack... no matter what..."

"What was the explosion we heard?" the older brunette queried, already trying to come up with a plan to destroy the creature on the neighbouring rooftop.

"Big water tank for the tower block's... air conditioning..." Jones hissed through gritted teeth; right hand now pressed over the damage to his left side. "It's truly scary... what that woman sleeps with... She had a grenade... in her pyjama shirt pocket... I got it under the tank... all that water flying up in the middle of it... backed the mist off enough to get her... up and out of danger... We need lots of water... poured on that roof till the creature dissolves..."

"You get that, Turlough?" Jack called over the comms. "Tell UNIT we have a hostile entity that's vulnerable to water. They need to trip the fire sprinklers on at least the top two floors of that building so it can't get inside to escape, then commandeer the fire brigade's equipment and hose down the roof till it all disappears."

[On it,] the Hub bound redhead answered calmly. [Sounds like a Sontaran Proxy Vapour. Definitely not something we want to leave intact. Did you get to Johnson, or did Ianto succumb to the urge to cut your losses and leave her to fend for herself?]

"Martha's checking her out now," the ageless Captain reassured, reaching over to put a comforting hand on his partner's nearest shoulder. "My Barista Boy's too much of a team player to abandon a member of Torchwood, even if he was thinking otherwise for personal reasons. Gwen, try to get an ambulance here to pick up Johnson. Martha can go with her to the Hospital, maybe take a look at the other victims as well. I'll have Lois drive the rest of us back to the Hub once our lovely doctor's had the chance to re-patch Ianto's side."

[Andy's been standing by with the Emergency Services crews a few blocks over,] Cooper replied. [They should be there shortly. So, tell me... did he actually fly?]

"Yes, Gwen... I actually flew..." Ianto responded on his own behalf, coughing slightly. "If you're very good... and eat all your veg... I'll show you sometime..."

[Lovely!] the raven-haired woman laughed on the other end of the channel. [Seriously though, how're you doing?]

"Been better..." Jones managed with a wince, gratefully leaning his head against his partner's shoulder and upper chest when the older man sat down beside him to slip his good arm around the Changeling's shoulders. "Kind of hard... to breathe again..."

"Just take it easy, yeah?" Harkness urged, his eyes reflecting how proud he was of the young Welshman. "You did good. I've never seen a person actually fly with real wings like that before. It was amazing... I'm so jealous."

"I'll take you off... the southwest corner of the Stadium... over the Taff... sometime..." Ianto smiled, well acquainted with the Captain's love of heights. "Perfect date, yeah...?"

"Hell, yeah," Jack chuckled, his expression absolutely gleeful. "You, me, open air and moonlight..."

"Yuck..." the younger brunette whispered, coughing moistly and starting to shiver harder, bright crimson now staining his lips. "Not good..."

"Oh, come on, Ianto..." Harkness called with a grin, only to go dead serious when he looked down to find the twenty-six-year-old spitting up blood. "Hey, you need me to call Martha over?"

"Nothing... a kiss won't cure..." his partner murmured. "If you... don't mind the mess..."

"I've tasted blood before," Jack half shrugged, shifting to face the obviously unwell Welshman. "And if you honestly think a good snog will help you more than the talented Dr. Jones, I'm your man."

"Need to boost... my heart rate to speed... repairs..." Ianto explained breathlessly, having realised that resting had been a bad idea. "Best medicine I know... for that... is you..."

"One dose of Captain Jack Harkness coming up," the former Time Agent nodded, getting into a more stable position and leaning close to give the younger man a deep, lingering kiss.

He could feel intense heat radiating from Ianto's shivering body, as though the Archivist was fevered again, and wondered if it was because of the Shadows inside him working to heal his wounds or something less pleasant like a massive infection from the grubby claws of the Maw that had caused the damage. And he'd only been joking about his kiss helping the younger man, figuring it was mostly for comfort until Martha was free to properly tend the Changeling. But he could actually feel Ianto getting stronger the longer their mouths remained locked together, the Welshman's breathing becoming less laboured and the lines of pain smoothing from between his brows. Finally, the Captain eased back, surprised to find his partner looking far less pale and a lot more alert.

"Better for me than a pill or shot any day," Ianto sighed, carefully shifting with the intention of gaining his feet. "I need to move, or I'll have a hard time heading down when we're ready. Small things knit up well enough with rest, but it seems the big stuff needs the extra push of a high heart rate till the Shadows have a firm upper hand."

"Makes a twisted kind of sense," Harkness agreed, accepting his companion's slightly shaky assistance in standing. "Let's see how our Medic's doing with Johnson, and get off this roof."

They approached the three women nearby, found Lois patiently using a damp gauze pad to clean blood from Camille's face and neck as Martha packed up a group of samples she'd taken.

"What's the verdict?" their leader prodded.

"Mild concussion, signs of slight hypoxia and hypothermia," the young physician replied, stripping off the surgical gloves she'd been wearing. "Ruptured capillaries in her sinuses and ear canals, general disorientation, confusion and a serious problem with speaking any known language I've ever heard. I think she'll recover... but I have no idea how long it will take. I'd like to get her to hospital and check for any neurological damage."

"Think you can get her inside the lift?" Harkness asked, gingerly leaning over to pick up one of the latched medical cases with his good hand. "We need to head out. There should be an ambulance waiting when we get down."

"No problem," Martha reassured. "She's docile enough, just exhausted and really not herself."

"Which explains the docile," Ianto put in quietly, carefully fielding another of the medical cases. "They've started the sprinklers in the other building, and the hoses are being run out on the roofs just north and southeast of us for the main assault. Going now would be good."

Martha started to turn and urge Johnson to her feet, only to find that Lois already had the dazed, blanket muffled brunette up and moving toward the door they'd accessed the roof by. She grabbed the rest of her gear and they all headed for the building's upper entry, making it inside just as a shriek of metal bending proportions split the air outside... the beast was being brought down by six high pressure hoses. The lift ride to the ground floor seemed to take forever, but there was indeed an ambulance waiting when two of their group emerged from the main entrance of the complex. The other three and all their equipment exited through the rear to the connected car park, the Institute's black van pulling out onto the street just behind the big yellow and green emergency vehicle as it started for St. Helen's.

Martha would keep them apprised of the situation with Johnson and the other victims, the rest of the Torchwood team splitting off to return to the Hub. The Rift had barely started expelling the leading edge of the bottleneck, and they'd already had a very busy day. Hopefully they'd get at least a few hours reprieve now... hopefully.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

AN: Ianto is definitely a better person than I am… don't think I'd be inclined to risk additional damage to save Johnson (I still don't trust her… do you?). But that's our Welshman, always looking out for the Team. And he performed the rescue with style (gotta love the wings).
The Rift is definitely being a beast… wonder what it will throw at them next.

Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM