Ianto didn't get a word in edgeways when he arrived at the hub, Owen and Tosh were already there waiting with Jack who was holding the stapler thing they had discovered before ordering Ianto, Tosh and Owen to hide. Jack told them that Gwen was approaching the hub with a unknown woman who Jack believed was an alien and the person responsible for giving Gwen the telepathic necklace. Jack also asked them to shield their thoughts to make sure that neither Gwen nor the alien was tipped off to the others being there. Ianto shifted from his human into his fae form – it was easier to hide from both the humans and the alien (if it was an alien) then staying in his human form.
Ianto watched as Gwen walked through the cog door with a young short blonde-haired woman trailing behind her. He knew it the second he saw her that she was an alien, an Arcateenian.
"So where is it, Gwen?" the woman said looking at the extensive collection of alien artefacts which were still on display.
"Stay here, Jack has it" Gwen said, she remembered Jack taking the device up into his office before shutting himself in there to ponder over what the machine might do. Gwen did wonder whether Jack had figured out what it was, Mary refused to say but whatever it was it could hardly be important it looked nothing more than a piece of rust old junk.
"Be quick. I've got a long journey ahead of me. I might need something to eat before I go" Mary urged, the sooner she got home the sooner she could take her revenge on those imbeciles who locked her up with that guard.
"This what you're looking for?" Jack said stepping out his office with the device in hand. Ianto carefully shifted back but kept hidden.
"Jack" Gwen started but Jack interrupted.
"Friend of mine. Let's call him Vincent, that was his name after all. Regular guy, girlfriend, likes his sports, likes a beer. He starts acting a little strange, a little distracted. Suddenly he disappears for a couple of months. He comes back, and we've got to start calling him Vanessa. Since then I've always been a little nervous when a friend behaves out of character. I'm sorry we've haven't been introduced. Jack Harkness. My guess is you're not from around these parts. Now this? This is incredible. You know what it is?" Jack said looking briefly at the hidden forms of his team then back at Gwen. At first he hadn't noticed Gwen acting odd, she turned up late and did hardly any of her paperwork which was all normal for her - it wasn't until Ianto had brought up that Gwen had somehow come across an alien telepathic pendant which made Jack scroll back through that days' worth of CCTV of inside the hub and outside to see Gwen with the necklace and then meet a woman.
"Just a piece of junk. Mary said it belongs to her and since it's not alien we have no reason to keep it" Gwen said trying to reach out and take the device from Jack. Jack quickly pulled the device way; he couldn't risk Gwen doing something stupid and sending herself into the sun.
"Is that the lie she's being telling you. I thought you were in the police Gwen. What happened to the whole we need to investigate and dig a little deeper spiel you keep sprouting. This is a transporter. A two-man transporter – room for one prisoner and one guard. You want to tell us what happened to the guard, Mary?" Jack said giving Gwen an unreadable look. She had been so irritating about finding out about the victim when Carys had been possessed by the sex alien and now she didn't even look into her new friend who just happened to have an alien necklace on them.
"I killed him. But I was disturbed by this human, so I possessed her body then another came – a solider, he tried to shoot me, so I plunged my new human hand into his chest and plucked out his heart" Mary said smirking at the reaction of Gwen. Tosh, Owen and Ianto slowly stepped out of hiding, it was obvious that Mary knew they were there so no point in hiding it any longer. Gwen looked shocked, that she wasn't expecting for the rest of the team to be there this late.
"And that's what you've been doing ever since" Tosh said as she slowly turned a funny looking green colour.
"All the punctures, all about the size of a fist. All those people, you killed all those people" Owen said horrified, he remembered when he was a new doctor and a woman came in with a large hole in her chest and her heart missing, that sight nearly made him throw up and he had nightmares for weeks.
"I fled before any more soldiers came, I had so much to explore and how I loved this body, so soft so wicked. Such powers the body has in this world, within a few years the forest had gone, and the transporter was safely buried under the spread of the city, I didn't care. I wasn't exactly in a hurry to get home" Mary said trailing a seductive hand down her body.
"And you've been killing ever since" Jack accused, Ianto just watched. He had only ever met an arcateenian once. A child had somehow tracked the fae down and wanted to become a fae themselves. His kind had agreed since the child had fit all the criteria to become a chosen one and the child had left that same day. Unfortunately, the arcateenian believed that the fae had kidnapped the child and try to track down the fae to demand the child release. They never did find them and the newly turned fae because the captain of the chosen one retrieval team.
"I knew there might come a time when my situation here became complicated but I was safe as long as I knew where the transporter was" Mary said smirking, Gwen wanted to put on the necklace but what was the point Ianto was obviously preventing her from hearing their thoughts that it wouldn't help Mary. Mary wanted to help her save Jack, Tosh and Owen so they could see the monster Ianto was, they would worship her for saving them from Ianto's spell. If only she could hear his thoughts.
"And then the machine was discovered" Jack said his eyes never left Mary just in case she made a move for the transporter.
"As soon as the air touched its surface I could feel it… and my easily manipulative Gwen" Mary said moving quickly to grab Gwen from behind and puts a knife to her throat.
"Let her go Mary! Let Gwen go" Jack begged.
"Gwen dear tell them to give me the transporter" Mary said pressing the knife harder against Gwen's throat.
"Jack please give Mary the transporter" Gwen begged.
"How's this? I'll exchange Gwen for either the transporter or for Ianto Jones to reveal the horrifying secret he keeps hidden" Mary smirked looking over that Ianto who had slightly paled, he had his suspicions that Mary might know what he was, but he never expected her to try and out it. It didn't make sense why would she it didn't help her get the transporter.
"Okay you want the transporter. We want Gwen. I think that's a fair swap. Just give me the knife and I'll give you the transporter myself" Jack said holding the transporter out in Mary's direction. Mary took one look at the transporter then pushed Gwen away. Mary walked over to Jack and took the transporter from him a smirk appeared on her face she obviously thought she had won but Ianto knew Jack, he would have suspected something like this, he would have done something to the transporter.
"You smell different to them but then not as different as him" Mary said flicking her eyes in Ianto's direction. Jack's eyes followed hers and he frowned.
"I've never met one of your kind before" Mary said.
"I wish I could say the same" Ianto said, he felt the eyes of Gwen and Jack on him, but he just stared at Mary. The transporter she was holding activated, Mary looked down at it confused before turning to face Jack.
"What's happening?" she asked.
"Oh that?" Jack smirked "I reprogrammed it for you. It's set to enable". Mary opened her mouth to respond but before she could she vanished in a flare of light, flying through the roof of the hub and out into space.
"Where did she, has she gone home?" Gwen asked.
"I reset the coordinates" Jack replied.
"Where to?" Toshiko spoke up curiously, she had stayed quiet through the whole exchange focusing more on shielding her thoughts from Gwen and Mary then trying to save Gwen but then again – Tosh didn't get along with the ex-policewoman and if Mary had killed her then she wouldn't be upset.
"To the centre of the sun. it shouldn't be hot. I mean we sent her there at night and everything" Jack said, walking over to Gwen barely sparing a glance at the rest of his team.
"You killed her" Gwen accused, she looked horrified. How could Jack betray her like this? He should have known that Mary would be important to her, it had to be Ianto's brainwashing – it was changing Jack into something she didn't recognise anymore. She had to save him and fast.
"To protect you Gwen, she had you at knife point. Are you okay? I know it can be traumatising" Jack said practically coddling Gwen. Ianto just stared at the floor, had nothing he said earlier effected Jack's choices at all. He still choose Gwen over the rest of the team.
"Oh, for god's sake Jack, she put herself in this situation she brought an alien into the hub who was killing people and you're just letting her get away with it again. When Ianto brought a cyberwoman into the hub he was suspended for a month and was given the cold shoulder when he returned. If I or Owen had brought her here you would have been harsh with us as well. Yet with Gwen your treating her like she a cut above everyone else. If this is going to be how you act from now on punishing us but letting Gwen get away with everything then I quit" Tosh snapped glaring at Jack, she couldn't believe Jack was still acting like this what control could Gwen bloody Cooper have over the immortal to make him practically bow down to her beck and call.
"How can you be having a go at me! Ianto the liar here! Keeping this dark secret from us. First with Lisa, then with being a chosen one and now this. We can't trust Ianto Jack, if he's going to keep lying then how do we know that he's not going to turn against us. For us to trust him then Ianto needs to be honest with us" Gwen snapped, she couldn't believe that Tosh was defending him when Ianto was lying to all of them.
"Ianto I understand that we've been through a lot lately and we're all allowed to have our own secrets, god knows I have plenty but I just want you to know that you can tell us anything if you want to" Jack said taking a step towards Ianto, Tosh was right, Gwen had brought that alien in and he was practically letting her off the hook when Ianto had been suspended for trying to save his girlfriend. He couldn't punish Ianto and not Gwen. He'd been letting Gwen get away with a lot and forgetting about the rest of his team. He'd been damaging his chances with Ianto, someone who he was serious about pursuing because he was so wrapped up with Gwen that he completely forgotten about the other members of his team. They were just as important as Gwen was, hell they had been at Torchwood longer, so they were more important to him.
"Jack I…" Ianto started ignoring the look he was getting from Gwen.
Gwen glared at Ianto; his presence was ruining everything good in her life. The telepathic necklace, her chances with Jack. He hardly looked her way when Ianto was in the room and that had to change. She was perfect for Jack; she knew his secrets that the others didn't. Jack trusted her over the others. If only Ianto wasn't here, then Jack would fall into her arms just where he belongs. If Ianto wasn't here she'd have the respect she deserved from Tosh and Owen. Ianto was the problem, Ianto had a secret, Ianto was untrustworthy. Ianto should be gone. Gwen grabbed her gun lifted it up towards Ianto and fired.