26

Ianto stood in front of Lisa, his face showing his sorrow as he stared at the blinking lights on the medical unit.

"She's going" he finally said softly "It's OK love. Go on."

Jack had driven like a man possessed, not afraid of the consequences as he got Ianto back to the warehouse as quickly as possible. As they stood watching her slowly wind down, each light blinking out another loss as Ianto hitched his breath with the last light going dark, then turned to face Jack.

"I sacrificed for you. I love you… I love you to death. And now… now we must face this new day" Ianto said softly "Where do you stand?"

"Beside you."

"Good."

.

.

The lights were bright, bulbs were flashing as they stood in front of the cameras.

Jack stepped forward "I am Captain Jack Harkness and today… earlier today there was a terrible… ah…"

Ianto watched Jack's face change and knew he had just looked at the piece of paper in his hand, the list of human victims, lost due to their dependence on augmentation. He was silently staring at the two at the bottom. A six-year-old girl... a three-month-old baby… babies.

Jack could not compute.

Ianto stepped forward and moved to stand beside Jack, reaching out to take his hand as he whispered "Beside you… Always."

Jack took a dep shuddering breath.

OK.

"My name is Doctor Ianto Jones… this is the real me. In the flesh. Yes, this is the first time you are all seeing the real me. Not a Sim. I am here today to explain the events that took place earlier this afternoon." Ianto took a moment to find the words, then he soldiered on "A man called Harold Saxon kidnapped Jack and our dear colleague here, Doctor Owen Harper."

Owen stepped forward and into Jack's range so Jack pulled him in close, as a big brother would.

"The purpose of this was to lure me out. Saxon built a Sim Killer. A bomb that would wipe out any and all Sims in the large radius that… in the end… he did. He did this because he wanted to see the real me. He warned that any and all Sims would perish so I could not use one, he made sure I came in the flesh. Then he taunted me, told me that turning it up all the way would kill me too. As he knew I was augmented due to an injury some years ago, which is why I prefer to use a Sim."

Ianto gave them a moment to compute, then he powered on. "Upon realising that this was a trap and that he no doubt intended to kill me anyway, I initiated a prototype I have been reworking for years and had no idea if it would work. I knew there was a chance I was going to die but… to try and save the man I have fallen in love with, and the man I consider a brother… it was worth it for me."

Owen straightened slightly a Jack's grip tightened on him, shock evident as Ianto showed himself to the world, his lovely damaged self that Jack loved so much.

"Saxon turned on the device and made a drastic mistake. He underestimated the power of it… or the range… or maybe he thought he was just invincible. After so long claiming to be a Human fighting for Humanity… he forgot he was augmented too. Why he is on the list of the dead." Ianto held up the piece of paper Jack had bene trying to read "He does not belong on here. His name should not be with the names of his victims."

Ianto let it sink in as he stood there, then he said calmly "The leader of Humans for Humanity was augmented. He was fighting against… well… himself. Think about it. Wanting to be the big man, the leader of this new world where he would own and control over half the city, he would be The Man. Well. He is dead now and I do not mourn for him, I mourn the innocents that had to die for hi madness."

"Doctor Jones" one of the reports hesitantly called out "All those sims… almost four hundred…"

"Everyone needs to check their warranties. This was an act of terrorism. And terror attacks are not covered by the Repair or Replace Policy. Sorry. The government has a Terrorist Task Force that hold a large Terrorism fund for this reason. Those who want to get another Sim to replace their burnt-out model has to apply to the find, who will then authorize payment to us for a replacement." Ianto shrugged like it was just the way of things.

Goddess on a Donkey… Jack had not even considered this. The monetary loss they could have faced if there was not a clause for… well. Of course there was. This man was a fucking steel trap.

"If there are any words of comfort for those afraid of more reprisals from H4H tonight?" another one shouted out.

"H4H tried to catch a Tiger by the tail only to find at the last moment that they had in fact seized the tail of a sleeping dragon. Well… poke the dragon and see what you get" Ianto straightened up and his face became stern "For this Dragon be awake now… this Dragon smells you… sees you… and this Dragon will hunt you down and eat your fuckin bones! For I be the Dragon and you be tasty with ketchup!"

silence, a bird in the distance… everyone frozen as Ianto snarled out across the crowd, then he cleared his throat "I mean... as someone a little OCD I think the best thing to do is to clean house. So H4H needs to be prepared. They wanted a war… they will face an army. There is nothing to fear, by this time tomorrow there will be no more H4H. In consultation with the government and local police we are going to shut this crap down once and for all."

"To that end, the city is under curfew from eight pm tonight." Gwen Cooper stepped forward now, her head high "This will remain in effect until 8am tomorrow morning."

Ianto was already trying to exit the stage, Jack and Owen following as Ianto's words echoed.

They wanted a war… they will face an army.