3
Jack was now part of the underground movement against the Visitors. In memory of Gray and the trees that were left scorched and charred after the bright light had thrown him into them with such …. Venom… that the sand had turned to glass.
The entire world was prepared for the next encounter… on the third visitation, or the second anniversary of first contact, depending on your perspective. At the tender age of nineteen, the Gifted were on edge, their nerves frayed by the unknown.
The Visitors had not returned those they had taken, claiming that these individuals were the cream of the crop, now engaged in marvellous activities on distant worlds. Boldly venturing to new planets, or so they said. Jack, however, did not buy into these tales, nor did Ianto. The unofficial word was that the Visitors remained silent, unresponsive to pleas for communication or for the return of those abducted. By now, those who worked in the shadows knew the grim truth. They were gone, never to return, and this was merely the beginning of the reaping. No, if the Visitors could do this, what horrors might they unleash next?
Jack had now become an integral part of the underground resistance movement against the Visitors. In memory of Gray and the trees that had been left scorched and charred by that blinding light which had hurled him into them with such… venom… that the sand beneath had turned to glass. The searing heat had engraved the memory of loss and defiance into the very landscape, and Jack vowed to protect his people from further abductions.
He named his movement Torchwood and lived in the sewer systems underground. Although he was not one of the Gifted, he was still one of them—a freak. You see, the strange light that had done something to the Gifted as they were taken, had done something to Jack as well. He healed at an extraordinarily fast rate, and although he felt pain, it didn't last long.
Jack saw the others as his responsibility, his people. The loss of Gray had been harsh, and it weighed on him heavily. To that end, he saw all the Gifted as needing his protection so none of them were taken again.
And now, as the anniversary approached, Jack did what he knew was the right thing to do. He gathered as many as he could into the underground facility—the Human Underground Bunker, or HUB. His girlfriend Lucia, however, thought he was being overbearing and refused to go underground with everyone else.
So, with a strange feeling of impending doom, Jack closed the doors and waited it out.
And hoped Mankind would not be a victim tonight.
.
.
"Lisa, come on!" Ianto grumbled with annoyance, his brow furrowed in frustration. "We're late."
"You go ahead. I am NOT stepping out with this stupid hat not folding right," she muttered as she tried to refold the large felt hat with delicate fingers.
"Lisa… they are coming. I mean it, we need to get down below before they close the doors," Ianto huffed, his tone growing more urgent.
"Awww, piss off!" she snorted, waving him off dismissively. "I am not afraid of them. After all… I am only a level five."
A level five was on the low end of the spectrum if you are wondering. A level one is unheard of now. They were what was taken and only the fours and fives were left behind, the ones and twos gone in the Reaping.
Well… most of them. The underground and those hiding in WWII shelters, however, missed that cull. And now you know what this is all about. It seems the one who hides himself and those he loves is more than he lets on… well… they both are. And those they gather around are also higher on the spectrum than anyone might think.
This is where you catch up to the events that unfolded on the night of the third anniversary of their First Contact visitation… the fourth time here to wreak havoc, and it was not another reaping… oh no. This was something far… far… more important.
And it was also… horribly predictable. After all… Ianto had predicted it and he knew everything.
Right?
.
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"LISA!" Ianto roared with a voice laced in a mix of panic and determination. "That's enough. They are coming!"
"They are coming… they are coming… you've been spouting that for the last three days, Tootie patootie," she laughed, her defiance evident even as she reluctantly began to walk out the door beside him. Her hand reached for his instinctively, seeking reassurance despite her bravado.
The air suddenly shifted, an almost imperceptible change, but Ianto felt it with a certainty that left no room for doubt. Before Lisa could even process what was happening, he had scooped her up effortlessly in his arms, his stride breaking into a desperate sprint. Not for the waiting taxi that would take them to the underground HUB; it was far too late for that. Ianto ran for the stairwell, each step echoing with the urgency of their plight, descending towards the only place that might offer them a semblance of safety now.
But it was too late.
The invaders had arrived, their presence an inescapable reality.
.
.
"Incoming" someone yelled and Jack looked at the screens as the ships broke the cloud bank and descended on the cities, then everyone gasped as the bright light seemed to break the cameras, only to come back later with everyone blinking against the glare.
"What the fuck" someone said softly.
The lights on the vessels kept pulsing and although they could not feel it, they sort of felt … something. "I'm going up."
"Lucia…no!" Jack swung to grab at his girlfriend but she was already gone, racing up to the underground parking level where she could go out through the rolling mesh doors to find out what was going on.
By the time she felt the first tendrils of pain… it was too late.
.
.
Lisa was screaming, Ianto's breath coming in short bursts as he raced down the levels, the strange burst of light through the window of each level as they passed only seemed to harm her more and she writhed in his arms as she begged him to stop.
But he knew… there was no stopping.
And he had been too late.
He slammed into the underground bunker and looked at the two already in there as finally Andy scoffed "Fuck Toto. You're late."
"Yeah… too late I think" Ianto said softly as he laid Lisa on the camp bed, her groaning softer now as she seemed to settle and take a deep shuddering breath.
"God… that hurt" she finally admitted sitting up "What the fuck was that?"
"Nothing good" came the reply "Reports are coming in of other women having seizers or something… we have multiple ships doing this and…."
"Another sowing"
"What?" everyone swung to look at Ianto who stood with a look of horror as he stared at Lisa.
"The kids they took… told them they were on the right track so… they've done it again. And I hazard a guess that they chose to impregnate those already Gifted to… enhance that like… the offspring of two Gifted is going to be a super Gifted one and with this enhancement… what the hell did they want next.