60
Ianto was downing one of his special shakes, his throat working as he gulped it down and then he sighed happily as it filled his gut.
They had changed, no longer tiring him but invigorating him and he was now itching to do something so he raced from the house and decided to check the perimeters, the dogs falling into a pack around him as they raced around and around in circles until he felt himself start to settle.
Something was in the wind, he felt it.
When Toshiko chimed a warning he was walking through the kitchen and he headed for the wall that was now her home and watched with folded arms as she started to run grainy footage and files flicked along one side of the feed.
"How old is this?" Ianto asked, humming as he checked his mate coming in from the garden to wash his hands, the baby's little head lolling under the large sunhat on his tiny head as he slumbered in the front pack.
"What do we have?" Jack asked in hero pose, looking absurd with the front pack but Ianto didn't have time to make fun of him, turning back to frown at the screen.
"Shit" Rex muttered from behind them, "What's on their faces?"
"I don't know" Ianto was stepping closer, trying to see, "Tosh can you clean this up a bit love?"
The screen pixelated then cleared, showing a man lying on the ground with something over his face like some sort of gas mask or …like a blob of something. Pink. Pulsating.
"No" Ianto hissed, "Can't be, can't fucking be."
"Language love" Jack said automatically raising his hands to cover the baby's ears, "Wee man in the room."
"So. Predators are real, right?" Ianto swung to look at him and then looked down at the hands over the baby's ears and rolled his eyes, "right Cariad?"
"Yeah?" Jack grimaced, glancing again at the weird …mask?
"So…is this a face hugger?" Ianto swung back to stare at the screen with growing fear, "Is this the beginning? I need Maddy!"
He went to get the transmitter as Jack stepped closer to the screen.
Soon there were several Predators in the room and Jack felt himself bristle as Bix stepped closer to Ianto and reached out to touch his shoulder, then he watched as Ianto calmly step away and talk to Maddy.
"Aliens. Are you fucking kidding me …like …Ripley bastards?" Rhys huffed as Andy rolled close enough to touch the screen, reading some of the reports.
"Looks like it's in the underground system" Andy said softly, "Rail. Shit, they're using the tunnels, they could pop up anywhere. I can't tell how many there are."
"Right" Ianto said as he addressed Maddy, "Is this a standard hunt? Or are they off the reservation?"
"This is an unauthorised hatching" she answered softly, "We do not know how this has happened, likely one queen that arrived via other visitors."
"Great. So she will be in the basement" Andy huffed, "Natch! God I hate this job sometimes."
"Saving the planet is the greatest Job in the known universe" Jack said with his chest blown out, then he let out the breath and laughed, "Come on Andy. It's not boring, you gotta give it that."
"Yeah. Predators. Aliens. Dead people that aren't" Andy snorted, shaking his head as Rhys patted his shoulder.
"Well if we all need superhero names I am not gonna be called wheels!" Andy huffed and Rhys snorted.
"Flash" Jack barked, "You're Flash. Rhys can be Yogi Bear and Ianto is ….Tiger. Rex…."
"Give me a code name and I will shoot you in the fucking head, I know you hate that" Rex snarled as Ianto sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Maddy and the others are going in for a look, us humans can stay back" Ianto said to Jack then turned as Maddy patted his arm and frowned. "Oh, Maddy wants me to go too. Well, I will need Jack. We can move any civilians back tht are still down there."
Jack was already unbuckling the front pack and Mickey beat Rhys, claiming the little boy with glee.
Martha appeared dressed in black clothing and slapped her machine gun's magazine in, "Right. Let's go."
"God woman, but you are fierce" Mickey growled, "You wait for me!"
"No" Ianto said softly, "Martha is our medic, we have need of her. I don't want too many team members in the field, more of you means less concentration for me."
Mickey glanced at her and then nodded his agreement.
"Bedsides, there must be a ship somewhere they arrived on, piggybacking or stowaways." Jack said as he gave then a job to do, "Scan for anything, Tosh will help you and I want any and every idea for where to hunt for it when we get back."
They moved out and Ianto felt himself start to thrum with excitement.
Finally he was going to burn off some energy.
It was beginning.
Were they ready?