The Power of Six- Part 2

The warehouse was in chaos. Soldiers were yelling orders and firing at the cubes, unable to damage them while the cubes flew around in the air, shooting different colored lasers at the soldiers. "Brian!" I yelled through the chaos.

I heard a cough, then, "Here!" Brian stuck his head up, briefly, and then ducked down, barely missing a shot from the cubes. The was a good thirty feet between us.

"Hold on! I'm coming. Don't move!" I yelled, picking up a gun that was next to an unconscious soldier, who I moved behind some boxes.

"I wasn't going to!" Brian yelled back.

I dashed to the next box and leaned up against it as some of the cubes broke off from firing at the soldiers and started firing at me. I sighed. At this rate It would take forever to get Brian out of here. I peered over top of the box and fired a couple rounds before ducking back behind the box. This is impossible. I thought. There was no way I could make it to the next box without being hit. Brian was only two boxes away. I reprogrammed my vortex manipulator to bring me right next to brian. I then fired some more rounds at the cubes and then disappeared and reappeared next to Brian, startling him. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"A bit shaken but that's it." Brian said. "They just... I don't know. Activated themselves." Brian was still shocked.

"It's alright, Brian. It wasn't your fault."

"But I was in charge."

I looked at Brian pointedly. "This was always going to happen, if you had been in charge or not."

Brian sighed. "Can you just get me out of here?"

I nodded, I typed in the coordinates of the meeting room, pressed the go and… nothing happend. "What the hell?" I fiddled with it more. Nothing. "Damnit. Nice time for you to break." I looked at Brian. "We're going to have to fight our way out."

"What?!" Brian exclaimed.

I peered around the box, trying to see the door. It was only fifty feet away. "Crap. Not enough cover." I said. I got out my cell and called Kate.

"Susan, what happened, why aren't you back yet?" Kate asked hurriedly. "You're husband's currently giving me the evil eye."

"My vortex manipulator isn't working properly. I'm not going to risk it. Tell your soldiers to give me cover fire so I can get Brian out of the regular way."

"On it. Here's your husband. Perhaps you can calm him down." Kate said, then handed the phone to Jack.

"Susan, get the hell out of there."

"Don't you think I am trying." I retorted.

Jack sighed, frustrated. "Brilliant day for me to leave my vortex manipulator at home."

I snorted. "Always wear yours. That's what I've been doing."

"Just be safe. I don't want you regenerating just yet."

"Neither do I. I rather like this body."

"I'll wait for you outside the warehouse. I don't think they would let me in."

I smiled faintly. "See you soon." Then I ended the call. I turned to Brian.

"You had a cell phone call during a war zone." Brian stated as he stared at me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "So?" I grabbed my gun tighter. "See that open door?" I asked Brian. Brian nodded. "I want you to run to it. Don't look back and don't stop."

"What about you?" Brian asked frantically.

"I'll be fine. Just get out of here." I crouched, in position to start providing Brian some cover fire. "Go on three." Brian nodded. "One. Two. Three!" I stood up and fired at the cubes, walking the opposite direction of the door. "Hey cubes! Over here!" About ten cubes broke off and started firing at me. I ducked down behind a different crate, farther from the door.

I looked around and saw that Brian had made it out. I let out a sigh. Now I just had to get the other soldiers out and seal the warehouse. I took out my cell and called Tosh. Time to ask her if she completed her project. "Hey, Tosh. How's it going?"

"Is that gunfire?" Tosh got right to the point.

"Possibly. I'm in UNIT's warehouse. I need you to activate… what we have been working on and get everyone out of here."

"But we haven't even tested it yet!" Tosh cried.

"This can be our test. I wouldn't turn to this unless I had any other choice, you know that Tosh. I won't have anymore soldiers dying today."

"What happened!?"

"The cubes activated, like I said they would. Get us out of here." I said, then fired some more at the cubes and ducked back down. "Now!"

"Alright! Starting up the sequence, now!"

I held my breath as I disappeared from the warehouse and reappeared, along with every soldier, dead or alive, outside the warehouse. "Close the door!" I yelled / commanded. Four soldiers ran to the side of the warehouse and started to push the door closed.

Jack ran over to me as three laser blasts got through as the door slammed shut. The laser blasts flew overtop of our heads and exploded the building behind us, making the people standing closer to that building get knocked down by the blast. I stumbled a bit.

"You!" I grabbed a shoulder of a soldier running by. "Do you know warehouse number two?"

"Y-yes." He replied, recognizing me instantly.

"Get the Particle Force Field and set it up around this warehouse."

"But-"

"NOW, Soldier!" I yelled at him. He couldn't have been more than twenty-one.

The soldier gulped and ran in the direction of warehouse number two. Jack came up to me. "What are you doing?"

I turned to face my husband. "Making sure the cubes don't break out." I said. I looked around and people were running everywhere. Ambulances had shown up now. They were UNIT ambulances to take people who had been severely hurt to a hospital run by both UNIT and Torchwood. This was something both organizations could agree to.

It looked highly disorganized, people running to an fro, but I knew it was the most organized that we were going to get at this point. The warehouse door that the cubes were in, had a constant banging, as if the cubes were trying to get out. Around ten soldiers were holding the door closed.

My cell phone rang and I answered it. It was Jason Kipplar, an arrogant Captain of UNIT, whom I hated and he despised me with a passion. "I found a soldier breaking into warehouse two, saying he was under orders from you. Is that true? If not, he faces court Marshal charges."

I gritted my teeth. "Yes. I asked him to bring and set up the Particle Force Field around the warehouse so the cubes don't break free and wreak havoc among the civilian population. Let him go. NOW or I will have your job." I growled.

"This isn't over, Mrs. Harkness."

"And I wouldn't want it to be." I spat out. He hung up.

"Mr. Kipplar?" Jack guessed. He was the only one here that I had a serious problem with.

I sighed. "Yes. Let's hope that his interference didn't cost us time."

"Brian's out of the way. He's outside the property, heading to our Torchwood Facilities."

I smiled slightly. "Good." I sighed. "Why couldn't Kate just listen? None of this would have happened. People wouldn't have died." I crossed my arms, the gun that I borrowed still in my right hand.

Jack kissed me lightly on the cheek. "Humans are stubborn, you know that, Susan."

"Yes, but her stubbornness caust lives."

"Ma'am!" Someone yelled. I looked around for the voice and saw that it was the soldier from earlier whom I told to get the Particle Force Field. "Sorry, I got held up." He breathed. "Captain Kip-

"No time to talk." I said, interrupting him. I grabbed two small black pillars and gave one to Jack and kept the other. "We have to set these at the four corners of the building for it to work. The wood won't hold much longer. I will activate it."

Jack and I ran to one side of the building while the soldier ran to the other side with the other two. Jack ran to the far end while I set the small black pillar up at the closest corner. Are you ready? I asked Jack.

Ready. Jack responded, and I could see him placing his pillar down on the ground. What about the other side?

I'll wait another moment. I waited one more minute then flipped open a black cover and started pressing buttons. I pressed the command and a yellowish orange force field surrounded the building and the banging on the inside grew significantly softer. I breathed out and stepped back. It worked.

Torchwood Complex

The soldier, who I found out later was called Keith Locrin, was a new recruit. I immediately asked if he wanted a position at Torchwood. He agreed and I put him in Torchwood Team Eco for basic training. To say Captain Kipplar was pissed was an understatement.

I was in my office at the Torchwood Complex, getting off a phone call when Amelia burst through the door, back from her time at Sarah Jane's. "Mum! I saw what happened at UNIT on the news!" She ran around the desk and threw herself at me, hugging me. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart." I said, rubbing her back. I sighed. "The cubes activated."

Lia pulled back, shocked. "But Kate declared them provisionally safe!"

"Ms. Stewart, Lia." I reprimanded her. Lia sighed. "I told her that they were dangerous. We're just lucky that they weren't in the hands of civilians.

The phone rang. It was Kate. I sighed and picked it up. "Ms. Stewart, how may I help you?"

"The cubes are counting down."

I sat up straight. "What?"

"Mum?" Lia asked. "What's happening?"

"We have a live security feed into the cube warehouse. All the cubes had the number five on them. Then they switched from five to four."

"I'm coming over." I said. "Is The Doctor there yet?"

"No, but I am heading out to the William residence to collect him."

I sighed. "It's Pond, Kate. I'll meet you at UNIT HQ."

Tower of London, side entrance

Jack, Amelia and I waited outside the door to UNIT HQ and saw a black van pull up. Kate, The Doctor and Amy Pond came out. "Every cube activated at the same moment." Kate said. "Started a shooting match with our soldiers. Ten died and I'm not happy about it."

"You sent me a message to my psychic paper. You know what? I'm almost impressed." The Doctor commented, nodding to us as Jack, Lia and I followed them inside, behind Amy.

UNIT H.Q.

"Secret base beneath the Tower. Hope we're not here because we know too much." The Doctor joked.

"Yes, I've got officers trained in beheading. Also ravens of death." Kate commented.

"I like her." Amy said and I rolled my eyes.

They enter an area with lots of individual armoured cubicles, each containing a cube. I rounded on Kate, glaring at her. "I thought you had all the cubes in the warehouse!"

Kate didn't reply but said, "There are fifty being monitored. I don't know how useful it is. Every cube is behaving individually. There's no meaningful pattern. Some respond to proximity. Some create mood swings."

Amy touches one cubicle and the cube produces a flames. In another, a woman weeps. "Er, what's this one?"

"Try the door." Kate said and I crossed my arms. I did not like how Kate was handling this situation. Amy opens the door and the Birdie Song starts playing. "On a loop!" Amy shuts the door again quickly. "This is the latest."

"Oh. Systems breach at the Pentagon, China, every African nation, the Middle East." Jack said, staring at the screen.

"I've got government's screaming for explanations and no idea what to tell them. I'm lost, Doctor. We all are." Kate said. "The Press are all having a field day too. One reporter got passed the gates and filmed the tail end of the fight at the warehouse."

"Well, if you wanted help, all you had to do was ask me." I said, still glaring at her.

"Don't despair, Kate. Your dad never did. Kate Stewart, heading up UNIT, changing the way they work. How could you not be? Why did you drop Lethbridge?"

"I didn't want any favours. Though he guided me, even to the end. Science leads, he always told me. Said he'd learned that from an old friend." Kate said.

The Doctor stared at Kate for a moment, then said, "We don't let him down. We don't let this planet down."

"They've stopped." A researcher said. "All the cubes in the warehouse. They just shut down."

Kate scoffed. "Active for forty seven minutes, and then they just die?"

"Not dead. Dormant, maybe."

"Then why shut down?" Lia asked.

"I don't know. I don't know. I need to think. I need some air. Who has an underground base? Terrible ventilation."

The Doctor and Amy left to go take a breather. Jack, Lia and I stayed in the room. I turned to Kate. "You went behind my back."

"I did what I thought was right." Kate said, defending herself.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, look what that got you. Ten dead soldiers. Why were people even in the cube warehouse to begin with? And you let Brian near them, a civilian!"

Kate narrowed her eyes. "How dare you!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Jack's. "Susan, perhaps you should let this go."

"Let this go? People have died! Brian could have died! If you don't want my help, fine. We're leaving. See if Torchwood ever helps you again." I snapped, grabbed Lia's hand and marched out of UNIT HQ, Jack running after us.

Jack was driving our black car. Lia was in the back and I was in the passenger seat. "Perhaps you shouldn't have been so harsh." Jack said.

"People died, Jack. Innocent people died because Kate couldn't do as I said. We're going to Rory's Hospital." Jack looked at me, questionably. I sighed. "There is a hidden Spaceship, one that can scramble our sensors. The way on it is at the Hospital."

Hospital

Jack, Lia and I walked up to the central desk. "Hello, I need to speak to Nurse Williams."

"And who are you?" The blond haired clerk asked.

"Susan Jane Harkness." I slid my psychic paper forward. "Torchwood." Her eyes widened. "Don't worry, he's not in any trouble. We're old friends."

The blond clerk pressed something and her voice came over the speakers. "Nurse Williams to the central desk. Nurse Williams to the central desk please." She let off her finger. "He should be on his way now.

Jack, Amelia and I only had to wait three minutes before Rory came around the corner and stopped at the sight of us. Then he sped up quickly to us and hissed, "What are you doing here? This is my job!"

"Sorry, Rory, but I have reason to believe that there is a wormhole somewhere in this hospital."

"A wormhole?" Rory whisper yelled. "I give up!"

"Did you bring Biran here?" I asked, rather suddenly.

"No, why?" Rory asked me. "After what happened at UNIT, I'm keeping him locked up in my house."

My eyes widened. "Nothing. Now, err, I'm looking for a hallway with an elevator at the end of a corridor."

"There's a load of them." Rory deadpanned.

I sighed. "Okay, we split up. Look for the hallway that has little to no people in it and has an elevator at the end. Once you find it, do not do anything. Call me and I'll come running."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Harkness, you can't go any further than the patient's lounge without a proper-" The blond clerk cut off when I gave her a nasty glare.

"I'm Torchwood. I have clearance from The Queen and The PM to do whatever I need to get the job done. Currently, you're in my way." The clerk gulped and sat back down in her chair. "Thank you. Now, let's go."

Empty Hallway

It took about two minutes, but I found the hallway that looked familiar to the television show. Suddenly I am nearly pushed over as two Doctors push a trolley. I knew who they were. Jack, I found it. I said and sent him an image of the hallway I was in. Out loud, I said, "Sorry. Er, excuse me? I'm looking for the supplies cupboard." They didn't stop and I chased after them, grabbing one of their shoulders. "I said, I'm looking for the supplies cupboard."

They turned to face me, narrowing their eyes as they went. Then they started to advance. Jack, sorry about this. That was all I had time to send as they grabbed me, put a cloth over my mouth and nose. I grew weary and sleepy.

I collapsed, unconscious.

Spaceship

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and realized that I was on the Spaceship. Jack was lying unconscious next to me. Rory was about to roll me away when I said, "Stop. I'm fine." Rory let go of my bed.

I swung my feet over the edge of the bed, stood up and collapsed. Lia caught me, saying, "Mum!"

"Ugg, what did they give me?" I groaned, using my right fist to hit my legs, trying to get them working again.

"Doctor! What do I do?" Lia asked, still holding me up.

The Doctor turned around. "Get your parent's out of here. We'll deal with this."

Lia nodded and said to me, "Come on, Mum. Let's get you back on that gurney." Amelia helped me to stand up and I put my hands on the gurney, helping my daughter lift me up back on the gurney.

Breathing heavily, I got out, "Thanks Lia."

Lia smiled sadly. "Any time, Mum." And then rolled me out of the spaceship and into the hallway where I was attacked before. "Stay here, Mum. I'm going back for Dad."

"Lia!" I called as she was about to step back into the elevator.

Lia turned around. "Yes?"

I smiled. "You'll do good."

Hospital, Room 216

Rory wouldn't let either Jack or I leave the hospital until he was certain that the drugs the alien had pumped into our legs wore off, which wouldn't be until Friday. Two more days in the Hospital… Yay.

At least Rory put Jack's bed right next to mine and we shared a room. No other Doctor or Nurse or Hospital staff was allowed in here except by invitation.

Lia was sleeping in a cushioned chair by the window and Jack had just fallen asleep in the bed next to me. I sighed and reopened the book I was reading, The Lion Witch and The Wardrobe. It was a classic, but I loved it, nevertheless. I bought a set of the series for Lia and planned on giving it to her once we got back home.

"Ah, C.S. Luis." Came Kate Stewart's voice from the doorway. "Always loved his books."

I sighed, put my bookmark back where I had left off and put it down next to me. "What are you doing here, Kate?"

Kate Stewart looked pained as she said, "I'm sorry."

My eyes widened. "What?"

Kate took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I was stubborn and an idiot and that cost lives, which is inexcusable."

I looked at Kate, puzzled. "What changed between earlier today and now?"

Kate looked down. "I… I had to write letters home to their families explaining what happened."

We were silent for a couple minutes. "I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Kate looked up. "Are we still friends?" She asked hesitatingly.

I smiled and gave a brief nod. "Friends."

A/N: Is college supposed to make you want to pull out your hair?...

Review:

alwaystherereading: Thanks! Yep, Brian's fine. :)