The Vault

Pete's day usually started with meetings with the department heads before everyone separated. He held smaller meetings with his field teams. He knew every employee by name, as well as their contributions to the company. He also knew most of their families. Torchwood had become a household name since he took over. After Lumic, came the realizations that they could be betrayed by their own. Aliens suddenly didn't seem like such a problem any more.

Easily a third of the Earth's population had been wiped out by Lumic and his experiments. It was worse in the more developed countries, where almost everyone could afford the earbuds. England had loss an entire half of it's population. The Colonies had fared much worse, with almost two thirds of their population converted.

When England proposed the reopening of Torchwood, most of the world despised the idea. But instead of hiding alien invasions, like had been done in the past, Torchwood let the world see how things really were. It didn't take long for a branch to be established in most developed countries. Each worked independently from the other, but they all followed the same guidelines. With Rose's help, Earth quickly became one of the leading destinations in the solar system. While Earth didn't quite have the technology to go off-world yet, they held treaties with several civilizations which had led to scientists leaving to learn off-world. It was one of the achievements Pete was so proud of. This also gave them a chance to get quite a bit of "merchandise" from these peoples, all of which were currently in the Vault.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

The first time Joshua stepped into the Vault, he had to step back out again. The sheer immensity of it overwhelmed his senses. Inside, somewhere, was a Time Distorter. He hadn't seen one of those since the Time War. He gasped for breath and described it to Calvin. It took a bit of searching, but he finally found the device. Joshua quickly walked him through how to disable it. Joshua eyed the device warily once Calvin brought it back out.

"Why did this not affect me, Joshua?" Joshua slid down the wall to sit on the floor, cradling his head in his hands. His head was pounding and he'd only been exposed for a few seconds.

"You aren't Time sensitive. I never would have thought that a device like this would be in this Universe."

"But what does it do?" Joshua exhaled gruffly before continuing with his explanation.

"This was one of the more potent weapons against Time Lords to ever be developed. It distorts and warps Time around it, which can cause a Time Lord to fall unconscious. Even with this body being part human, I still have a fairly good Time sense and it drives me bananas. Ninety-nine percent of species in the Universe wouldn't be affected by it. It was the perfect weapon that could be disguised and no one would know it was there until a Time Lord stumbles upon it. The question is, how did it get here?"

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose while trying to make sense of what she was being told. Gloa was apparently going on a hunger strike as well as tormenting those who came near him. Rose wanted nothing more to integrate him into the populace, but he'd been aggressive and threatening to anyone who came near, no matter their species. He flat out refused to talk to Joshua or Rose, often lunging and barring his teeth like an animal. Pete was at his wit's end trying to deal with the savage. Their meeting was interrupted by Joshua bursting through the doors, Calvin on his heels.

"Do you have any idea the weapons of mass destruction you have in your Vault?!" Joshua was furious and close to shrieking. The Time Distorter had greatly unnerved him and he knew he was acting irrationally. That didn't stop Joshua from getting in Pete's face, a low growl issuing from his throat. Pete and Rose both sat, stunned. Calvin's eyes flitted back and forth. Rose lowered her eyes to the object in Calvin's hands and sucked in a sharp breath.

"I thought we destroyed that." Joshua backed away from Pete and spared a glance at Rose. She'd become deathly pale, staring at the contraption. "Pete, I thought we destroyed that. What the hell is it doing down in the Vault?"

"Rose, do you know what this is?" Joshua's voice had gone quiet and his eyes were searching hers. She looked him in the eyes and shook her head.

"The first time I saw it, I just thought it looked pretty. It stayed on my desk for a while. The script reminded me of the notes you kept in the console room. I knew it had to come from Gallifrey but I wasn't sure how it had gotten here. I foolishly thought that if I unlocked it's secrets, I'd be able to find a way back. It was Mickey to accidentally triggered it. I was on my way back from a meeting with Pete when I felt it turn on. I started having seizures. It took them almost an hour to figure out what it was I was having a reaction to. By that point I had already been heavily sedated and strapped to a bed. When I finally woke, I begged my father to have it destroyed. I didn't know at the time what it actually did, but I knew I was the only one affected. We always thought it was because of my prolonged exposure to the Vortex. Mickey and Mum didn't have that much. Mickey did end up getting a headache from handling it, so it sounded like a good theory." Pete had kept quiet this entire time. Simultaneously, Joshua and Rose looked at him and arched an eyebrow. If he hadn't already known about their bond, he would have been unnerved. As it was, he just squirmed in his seat a bit before replying.

"We've head and seen so many great things from you, Doctor. But we have all also seen how you work, how dangerous you can be. I didn't have it destroyed because if it's here, who is to say that there might not be other Time Lords? Some that aren't as friendly as you."

"I killed my entire race, Pete. I seriously doubt you will have to face another like me in your entire life. But this also caused Rose to get sick. Why on Earth would you keep it, especially after she asked you to destroy it?"

"I don't think you'd understand." Joshua narrowed his eyes at Pete.

"Try me." Pete sighed, defeated. He motioned for everyone to leave his office except Joshua and Rose. This stopped being about Torchwood long ago and more about him failing to protect his daughter.

"We kept it as a last resort in case we had Time Travelers come and mean us harm. It seemed to work on anyone who had traveled through the Vortex to an extent. Rose was by far the worst and yes, she asked me to destroy it. But I thought it best not in case something worse tried to attack us." Joshua hung his head. He knew Pete was right but it still angered him. He kept having flash backs to the Time War.

"I don't know how this got here, Pete, but it needs to be put away in a safer spot. Some place where only you have access. As much as I hate to admit it, you have a point. It just needs to be kept away from me and Rose. I think we're done for the day. I am, at least. I can't...not after feeling that." Pete glanced at his daughter. She glared at him and he sighed again. He hadn't wanted to hurt his family but protect it by any means necessary. Apparently, he'd managed to mess that up grandly.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Once home, Joshua curled into a ball on their bed. Rose nestled in beside him, offering what physical comfort she could. She brushed the edges of his mind and he whimpered. She didn't push to be let in but continued to send him soothing waves of comfort and love. Eventually, he uncurled himself and wrapped his arms around her. He still didn't let her in. He was still a bit too raw for that. Images of the Time War still flashed behind his eyelids. Those weren't scenes he wanted her to see right now.

Although his mind was still mostly Time Lord, the little bit of human in him made it more difficult for him to compartmentalize and lock away these bad memories. If Rose didn't know better, she would think he was having a psychotic break. However, there wasn't really anything either could do but let the episode play itself out.

Joshua couldn't help but think how weak he had become as a human. His wit was still as strong as ever, but between the hormones and the emotional swings he was having, he was starting to have a difficult time coping. For the first time since starting at Torchwood, he wondered if it were the best idea. Perhaps he should think about finding a more mundane job.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Pete stood in front of the broken cell, wondering what they could do now. Gloa, it seemed, had escaped. Security was rolling back tape to see if he had inside help or if their cells were really that shoddy. From just looking at it, it seemed that he had ripped two bars off and slipped through. Pete still wasn't sure how he'd escaped the complex. Security had swept the complex, scanning ever crevice and come up with nothing. All this just days before the Shadow Proclamation was to arrive and detain him pending his trial.

Pete resisted the urge to call Joshua or Rose. He understood more than anyone the issues a person faced while coping with a new identity. They had counselors specifically designed for that. They had to, with all the off-worlders who had integrated themselves into Earth's population. He pulled out his phone and sent Rose a text message.

'Gloa has escaped. Be on high alert. Call me this evening. -Dad'

After sending the text message, he called his head of security.

"Jason, I need a surveillance unit sent to Rose's residence. Send them each with a weapon with live rounds and one with tranqs. Brief them of the situation. The objective is still to take him alive unless it's a matter of life or death."

He hangs up the phone after a brief acknowledgment of orders. He runs his hand over his scalp, lightly massaging the back of his neck. Jake sidles up beside him, arms crossed.

"So, boss, what are we going to tell the Shadows when they get here?"

"With any luck, we will have him back in custody."

"And if we don't?"

"Well, if we don't then I guess it's time to get Ambassador Tyler to talk to them."