Author's note: I would really appreciate if you'll leave a review, telling me what you think about the fragment of Eliza's past and how it might affect the story in the future. :) Enjoy! And also, tell me what you think of the Mark/Eliza dynamic.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, only Elizabeth Hale and Mark Chase.
Chapter 7: Fragments part 2
...Once out of the warehouse, she collided with a man. His long coat fluttered with the impact. He gripped her shoulders for balance, but she quickly stepped back, yanking herself out of his arms terrified... The man let go of her shoulders, taking hold of her arms gently.
"Hey, hey, it's alright" A deep voice murmured, and the girl finally opened her eyes. The man had black hair and blue eyes, and a friendly smile "It's ok. I'm Jack. "Her right eye twitched slightly, as something called in her mind one word. Lie. But she didn't have time to ponder over it, as the man continued. "What's your name" The woman swallowed "A…Aderyn" She whispered. Jack nodded and looked at the warehouse, seeing only the sphere.
"What did you see inside, Aderyn?" She swallowed, gazing away. "A woman" She murmured "A blonde woman, and when the sphere opened, she fell from it. I tried to help, b-but she was dead. She was dead when I found her" She could feel tears start to gather in her eyes, and she sniffled and wiped her nose.
Jack nodded, just as an old man came to them. He had brown hair and kind green eyes, wearing a brown jacket with jeans and a white shirt under it. He smiled gently at the girl, offering his hand. "I'm John." She nodded and shook his hand. "Aderyn" She mumbled.
John looked at Jack "She touched it, hasn't she?" Jack murmured and the other one nodded. "Hartman would kill her" He scrunched his nose but Jack shook his head slowly "No, worse. She'll experiment on her" Aderyn looked confused and scared between the two, yet her heart wasn't racing.
John growled almost protectively "Like hell she'll do" He turned to look at Aderyn and offered a small smile "What do you say, sweetheart, would you like to come with me?" Aderyn's gaze move at his outstretched hand then face. She felt a tug, as if someone whispered in her ear 'go', and she did as she was told. She took the man's hand and nodded "Yes".
The 14 year old girl that left with John Hawthorne, the leader of Torchwood 4 from then, was thought dead, killed by her father that night. No one knew what happened to her. No one could know, since John erased everything about her, every information. No one could know, since in her place, Elizabeth Hale was created, the woman whose past was unknown even by the Interface. Aderyn died that day, and was soon forgotten by everyone, even Captain Jack Harkness.
-#-
Jack threw the rubble off Ianto, helping him up. "Ready?" He murmured in his ear, his hands gripping Ianto "One, two three…come on" Ianto groaned as Jack managed to haul him out of the rumble. "You ok?"
Ianto shook his head "My shoulder, I think it's dislocated" Jack's hands ghosted over his shoulder "Can you take this?" Ianto nodded "Take a deep breath" Jack instructed, and quickly fixed his shoulder. Ianto screamed, burying his face in Jack's coat "W-where…are the others?" he whispered.
"We need your help to get Toshiko out" Ianto looked up "Owen? Mark? Eliza?" Jack pursed his lips "No sign of Mark and Owen" Gwen replied for Jack.
"We'll help Rhys with Toshiko. Let us know when you find Owen and Mark. And be careful" Jack said to Gwen, who nodded. He looked at Ianto, resting a hand on his heart, checking "OK?" Ianto nodded, and both got up to walk to help Tosh.
-#-
Owen's eyes slowly opened, only to come face to face with a mop of black hair. He looked up, seeing Mark's slumped body, half over him. Managing to take his hand from under the rubble, he checked Mark's neck for a pulse, sighing in relief when he felt one. He was breathing as well, with no head wound. He gently shook the man, who slowly opened his eyes.
"W-what?" Mark whispered, looking at Owen who sighed in relief upon seeing him alright. "Alright, Mark, don't move, there's a window frame over our head" he mumbled "If we move, it falls" Mark looked up, his mouth opening and closing "Ok" he said quickly.
-#-
Mark Chase wasn't the brightest doctor, but he wasn't half bad either. His friendly personality and bright smile made anyone trust him immediately. That made him well-known by everyone from the hospital. But, when he came to the hospital where he was working, the last thing he thought of seeing was everyone with blank faces, walking around aimlessly, looking more like ghost. Until they saw Mark. Then, it seemed like a switch turned on, and they all walked towards him. Mark really felt like he was in one of those zombie movies, so he did the only rational thing. He ran. The exit being blocked, he ran upstairs.
But he soon found himself in a small office, surrounded by zombified patients who tried to reach him, groaning and moaning. Mark's eyes closed, and he prayed, thing he hasn't done for a long time. The door was knocked down. His eyes snapped open, and he swore he could hear angels singing in his mind. Or, maybe that was only his mind exaggerating. There was a woman there, her heeled boot on the door. A tall woman, black hair brushed in a ponytail, her turquoise eyes sharp. She had two guns, one in each hand, the one from her right gleaming slightly. Her clothes reminded him of Men In Black, or those agents he saw in most of action movies, with black pants and jacket.
The 'zombies' turned their attention from Mark to the new girl. They started to crawl towards her, but she was quick. She shot some in the heads with…they didn't look like bullets, they looked more like small syringes…and tugged Mark out of the room. She gave him the gun from her left hand, showing quickly how to load it, making him look at her stupidly.
"The gun is filled with the antidote" She explained, making Mark nodded "But…what happened to them?" He asked. The woman wasn't even looking at him. "They were infected with an alien virus"
Mark's eyes widened "Wait, alien? Like outer-space /alien/?" She nodded "Who /are/ you?" The woman shot another person, making it grunt and fall on the ground. More shots could be heard from the lower levels. "I'm Elizabeth, nice to meet you doctor Chase" His eyes widened "How do you know who I am?" he asked, slightly suspiciously.
The woman, Elizabeth, finally looked at him bemused "Your name is on your coat" She shrugged, making Mark blush at his own stupidity. "I'm Torchwood" She explained, shooting a doctor just as the doors opened, revealing more zombies. Mark loaded the gun, pointing at them and feeling like in one of those action movies. "And this is a normal day for you?" He asked, making Elizabeth chuckle "Nah." She looked at him with a smirk and a glint in her eyes "Sometimes it's better"
The two soon managed to get the zombies down, and went to the lower levers, where more people were, dressed just like the woman. He grinned at her, giving her the gun back "Where can I apply?"
-#-
Gwen quickly went to them. "How are the others?" Owen asked quickly "All right" Gwen said, but froze at Mark's call "Careful! If that falls…" He nodded towards the window and she nodded "Ok, it's not going to fall" It took a short sharp fall, stopping with a creak "Ok" Gwen repeated.
"Just be very careful" Owen mumbled as Gwen started to move some blocks. "It isn't going to drop on you" Gwen tried to reassure, only for it to creak once again "Stop saying that!" Mark hissed, managing to free his hands.
"Hold my hands!" Gwen called, and both Owen and Mark gripped a hand. With a deep breath, Gwen stumbled back, managing to take both men out of the pillar before it collapsed and fell where they once stood.
-#-
Owen, Gwen and Mark ran from the far end, meeting the others. Jack was carrying the limp body of Elizabeth. Mark's eyes widened and he sprinted, coming to a stop next to Jack as he gently put her on the ground. His hands checked her body for any other wounds as Owen looked at Tosh worriedly.
"You all right? Tosh, what happened?" He stepped closer, gently checking her of any deep wounds. "Broken arm, bruised ribs, about an inch away from being crushed by a girder" She mused and Owen sighed "You were lucky" he murmured, inspecting her hand tenderly.
"We all were" Ianto mused, as Mark called for Elizabeth. Their attention was drawn to him, as he cradled Elizabeth gently. "Not all" was Jack's quiet whisper.
"Lizzie?" Mark whispered, swallowing. Jack laid a hand on his shoulder "Eliza! Elizabeth!" He cried out, shaking her gently. Eliza remained limp in his arms, her head lolled to rest on his chest, lips slightly parted. He looked desperately at Jack, who squeezed his shoulder. Mark looked down once again, his head burying in Elizabeth's hair. Tosh leaned in Owen, swallowing back tears, while Jack and Ianto slipped their hands into each other's. Gwen covered her mouth, her face hiding in Rhys' chest.
"Why are you all looking so sad?" Elizabeth muttered, holding her head. She was looking at them with half-closed eyes. "Elizabeth!" Mark yelled in delight, making her cringe "Don't do that. My head is bleeding, I don't need my ears bleed as well" She muttered, making Mark laugh and hug her, kissing her forehead "Don't scare me like that" She chuckled and shrugged "Can't promise anything" She smirked, making him laugh once again.
Tosh gently laid a hand on Eliza's shoulders, as Owen knelt next to them, checking Eliza again. Jack laughed and kissed Ianto's cheek, walking to the group "You alright?" He asked Eliza, who nodded, getting up with the help of Mark and Owen.
Gwen smiled relieved but turned to Jack "Jack, who's done this?" Ianto came next to her "And where's the SUV?"
Jack opened his mouth but closed it, as his wrist strap started beeping "Oh, no" Ianto whispered. "What does he want?" Gwen asked, half annoyed.
Jack opened the hologram, letting it play "Oh, déjà vu! Or did I say that already? Hey, team. Course, there might be a few less of you by now. Don't know if you liked my little gift. Course, you can't die. And with all that life, all that time, you can't spare any for me. Oh! Say hi to the family" John grinned, touching his wrist strap to make a second hologram appear.
Jack's eyes widened "No…" he whispered shakily "It can't be" "Been a while since you've seen your brother, eh Jack?" Hart continued, the grin never falling from his lips. "Gray?" Jack murmured, his hand almost reaching for the hologram of the man.
"Ok, here's what's going to happen. Everything you love, everything you treasure, will die. I'm going to tear your world apart, Captain Jack Harkness, piece by piece. Starting now. Maybe now you'll wanna spend some time with me" John smirked darkly and blinked out.
The team looked at each other, grim.