Fic: All the Myths are True 15/? [PG] Torchwood/Abney Park crossover
Title: All the Myths are True
Author: A Lanart
Fandom: Abney Park/Torchwood
Pairing: None (background Jack/Ianto - kind of)
Characters: Abney Park circa 06-08 - Robert, Kristina, Magdalene, Finn, Nathaniel, Jean-Paul, Daniel. Torchwood Team, Rhys
Rating: PG
Warnings/Spoilers: crack!fic Mid S2 in the Torchwood scheme of things. Pre Reset.
Summary: Abney Park are a steampunk band with alter-egos as Airship Pirates. It just so happens that in this universe, all the myths are true; this is the story of one Captain Robert, his merry band and how they acquired the Airship Ophelia from a certain top-secret government agency, and then had to explain it decades later...
Disclaimer: None of this is mine except for the freaky plot bunny and none of it is used with permission either. I even nicked the title from Abney Park - it kind of seemed appropriate.
Previous parts on LJ:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine
Part Ten
Part Eleven
Part Twelve
Part Thirteen
Part Fourteen
~*~
~15~
*
The next morning, they were met outside the hotel - guesthouse, Robert reminded himself - by Rhys in a minibus.
"Ianto thought it would be more comfortable than the van, see," Rhys said to Robert with a smile as he gave them all a hand to clamber in. "And if you need your gear I can come back to get it - one of the lads can help me."
"I don't think we'll need to do that, Glyn and Lowri said it will be quite safe - they've locked it up and given us the spare key."
"No concert on the Plass today, then?"
"No." Robert thought it highly likely that the 'concert on the Plass' idea had been firmly put aside in favour of 'concert at Ty Llwyd' in both his and Ianto Jones' mind.
"Never mind. Best get you to the Bay I suppose, before someone in Torchwood gets it into their head that you're not going to turn up and comes to fetch you instead."
As if to prove his point, Robert's wrist strap let out a plaintive beep, though the message was a relatively innocuous 'ready when you are' which considering that Robert had gained the impression that Jack Harkness lived at the Torchwood base - officially at least - probably meant that he was getting impatient. There was no need for Harkness to worry; Robert bet he wanted to be out of Torchwood's hair as much as Torchwood wanted him - and the Ophelia - out of Cardiff.
Robert was not in the slightest bit surprised when Ianto met them as they clambered out of the vehicle. He was surprised at the open and friendly smile on his face; obviously Ianto Jones at least hadn't changed his mind that the Ophelia and her crew weren't just a problem that needed solving. More than ever, Robert wished he could persuade Ianto to join the crew but he knew that would never happen, not while Jack Harkness was in charge of Torchwood and for more than one reason. Instead of dwelling on the impossible Robert made a point of greeting Ianto's welcoming smile with one of his own as they all followed after Ianto, leaving Rhys to deal with the minibus.
"Ready to get started?" Ianto asked as he held the door of the dingy office that was Torchwood's cover open for them as they trooped through.
"Sure," Robert replied. "But I know we wouldn't object to some of your to die for coffee."
"It's already brewing - we've all had an early start today." Ianto let them through to the hidden corridor but Robert didn't miss him locking the outer door first, though that could have been just a general precaution and not specifically related to them.
By the time Robert and the others were ensconced back in the Torchwood Hub conference room the day had taken on an almost familiar tone; Ianto provided coffee with a smile and few words, Jack bounded in enthusiastically said about as much as Ianto but with more words and a great deal more volume and Tosh almost immediately started chatting with Kristina. Robert noticed with disappointment that she wasn't wearing the corset from the day before but she *was* wearing the bloomers and boots with what he presumed was her more normal attire as well as one of the hair clips; he rather liked the effect. Owen and Gwen briefly showed their faces but it appeared they were only after Ianto's coffee as they soon disappeared once they had cups in their hands - not that Robert blamed them, he wouldn't really want to start a day without Ianto's coffee either once he'd gotten used to having it on a regular basis.
They made good progress through the morning, enough that Robert was confident that they would be able to fit in a rehearsal and the impromptu concert the next day. He'd been so engrossed with the repair work that he hadn't really been paying much attention to the intermittent presence of the Torchwood team and it was only when Ianto almost manhandled Tosh from the room to have a low voiced but intense conversation with her that Robert realised he'd not seen any of the others for some time. He glanced at the rest of the Ophelia crew, relieved to find them still hard at work, then Kristina caught his eye and gestured for him to follow Ianto and Tosh, her meaning clear enough that he could almost hear her say "if there's a problem, sort it; you're the Captain."
He wasn't exactly nervous as he left the room but he did wonder how well they would receive his interference in Torchwood matters.
"Is there a problem, guys? Can I help?" He asked.
The answer was contradictory.
"No."
"Yes," Tosh replied, frowning at Ianto while he threw a glare at her for presumably answering in the affirmative. Robert turned his head and cleared his throat to prevent a threatening smile from appearing on his face. When he turned back Tosh was still frowning, but Ianto's glare had thawed somewhat.
"Well there is a problem Ianto, potentially at least, and Robert could help." Robert silently thanked Tosh for her faith in him while wondering what he'd done to deserve it.
"I'm sure he could, I'm just not sure Jack would be very happy about it." Ah, so *that* was Ianto's issue, not that Robert exactly blamed him.
"So what's the potential problem?" He queried, unsure whether he'd receive an answer or not. Ianto and Tosh shared a look and Ianto sighed before he straightened.
"The rest of the team are out on a job, which just got a whole lot more complicated."
"They could do with both of us as back up," Tosh added, "but..."
"You can't leave me and my crew unattended in the Hub. I understand."
Tosh nudged Ianto with an elbow.
"See, I told you he would."
"Yes, yes. But it doesn't solve the underlying issue does it?"
They both looked at him, frustration and concern for their friends evident on their faces. Robert shrugged, then smiled as he thought of a way round the situation.
"I can think of an alternative, though I'm not sure how happy you'll be with it," he said. Ianto and Tosh shared another look.
"Go on," Ianto prompted.
"I go with whichever one of you heads out, the other stays here and keeps a weather eye on the rest of the crew. We're all under supervision and when you're a time-travelling airship pirate you're used to improvising, and the odd fight." Robert paused briefly. "Very odd, some of them," he added with a grimace. He didn't completely understand the rapid fire non-verbal conversation between Ianto and Tosh that followed but the gist was clear when Tosh pushed past him to head towards the conference room and Ianto took off in the opposite direction.
"Well come on then," Ianto said. Robert was fairly certain he wasn't supposed to hear the muttered 'Jack is going to kill me' that followed though it didn't exactly surprise him. He *was* surprised when Ianto pressed a weapon into his hands, a stun gun, he realised after a second or two. "Know how to use that?" Ianto asked. Robert nodded his confirmation as he checked the stun gun over, he would also have been able to use the gun that Ianto was currently loading that hadn't been passed to him but if their positions had been reversed *he* wouldn't have given Ianto a firearm either and he was surprised that the guy trusted him enough with any sort of weapon. Robert noted that the grip of the stun gun was well worn, and that there were signs of heavy use even though it was obviously in perfect working order. That meant there was only one reason Ianto had been carrying it, as well as the more usual gun.
"This is yours, isn't it?" Robert asked. Ianto nodded.
"I don't particularly like guns, more chance of people getting caught in the crossfire." Robert bet he was still an excellent shot though. Ianto nodded at the weapon in Robert's hand as they made their way through the hub corridors. "I like the close control that affords."
"I think you have too much conscience for a Torchwood agent."
"Maybe I'm just a control freak," Ianto added with a glimmer of a smirk.
"Or maybe you've just seen too much damage done in Torchwood's name," Robert replied, deciding as he did so that he had probably cut a little too close to the bone judging by the narrow eyed frown that Ianto gave him. The rest of their journey passed in silence and Ianto led them to what appeared to be an underground parking lot. There were only 2 cars in there and Robert wasn't surprised when Ianto headed toward the stylish sedan rather than the neat 2 seater sports car. The earpiece Ianto passed him once they were seated in the car was more unexpected but Robert took it, and fitted it, without comment.
"You're only patched in to hear Tosh for now," Ianto said. Robert neglected to mention that with his wrist strap he could easily override the earpiece but he suspected that Ianto was quite aware of that fact.
"Thanks," he said instead and left it at that.
*
Author: A Lanart
Fandom: Abney Park/Torchwood
Pairing: None (background Jack/Ianto - kind of)
Characters: Abney Park circa 06-08 - Robert, Kristina, Magdalene, Finn, Nathaniel, Jean-Paul, Daniel. Torchwood Team, Rhys
Rating: PG
Warnings/Spoilers: crack!fic Mid S2 in the Torchwood scheme of things. Pre Reset.
Summary: Abney Park are a steampunk band with alter-egos as Airship Pirates. It just so happens that in this universe, all the myths are true; this is the story of one Captain Robert, his merry band and how they acquired the Airship Ophelia from a certain top-secret government agency, and then had to explain it decades later...
Disclaimer: None of this is mine except for the freaky plot bunny and none of it is used with permission either. I even nicked the title from Abney Park - it kind of seemed appropriate.
Previous parts on LJ:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine
Part Ten
Part Eleven
Part Twelve
Part Thirteen
Part Fourteen
~*~
~15~
*
The next morning, they were met outside the hotel - guesthouse, Robert reminded himself - by Rhys in a minibus.
"Ianto thought it would be more comfortable than the van, see," Rhys said to Robert with a smile as he gave them all a hand to clamber in. "And if you need your gear I can come back to get it - one of the lads can help me."
"I don't think we'll need to do that, Glyn and Lowri said it will be quite safe - they've locked it up and given us the spare key."
"No concert on the Plass today, then?"
"No." Robert thought it highly likely that the 'concert on the Plass' idea had been firmly put aside in favour of 'concert at Ty Llwyd' in both his and Ianto Jones' mind.
"Never mind. Best get you to the Bay I suppose, before someone in Torchwood gets it into their head that you're not going to turn up and comes to fetch you instead."
As if to prove his point, Robert's wrist strap let out a plaintive beep, though the message was a relatively innocuous 'ready when you are' which considering that Robert had gained the impression that Jack Harkness lived at the Torchwood base - officially at least - probably meant that he was getting impatient. There was no need for Harkness to worry; Robert bet he wanted to be out of Torchwood's hair as much as Torchwood wanted him - and the Ophelia - out of Cardiff.
Robert was not in the slightest bit surprised when Ianto met them as they clambered out of the vehicle. He was surprised at the open and friendly smile on his face; obviously Ianto Jones at least hadn't changed his mind that the Ophelia and her crew weren't just a problem that needed solving. More than ever, Robert wished he could persuade Ianto to join the crew but he knew that would never happen, not while Jack Harkness was in charge of Torchwood and for more than one reason. Instead of dwelling on the impossible Robert made a point of greeting Ianto's welcoming smile with one of his own as they all followed after Ianto, leaving Rhys to deal with the minibus.
"Ready to get started?" Ianto asked as he held the door of the dingy office that was Torchwood's cover open for them as they trooped through.
"Sure," Robert replied. "But I know we wouldn't object to some of your to die for coffee."
"It's already brewing - we've all had an early start today." Ianto let them through to the hidden corridor but Robert didn't miss him locking the outer door first, though that could have been just a general precaution and not specifically related to them.
By the time Robert and the others were ensconced back in the Torchwood Hub conference room the day had taken on an almost familiar tone; Ianto provided coffee with a smile and few words, Jack bounded in enthusiastically said about as much as Ianto but with more words and a great deal more volume and Tosh almost immediately started chatting with Kristina. Robert noticed with disappointment that she wasn't wearing the corset from the day before but she *was* wearing the bloomers and boots with what he presumed was her more normal attire as well as one of the hair clips; he rather liked the effect. Owen and Gwen briefly showed their faces but it appeared they were only after Ianto's coffee as they soon disappeared once they had cups in their hands - not that Robert blamed them, he wouldn't really want to start a day without Ianto's coffee either once he'd gotten used to having it on a regular basis.
They made good progress through the morning, enough that Robert was confident that they would be able to fit in a rehearsal and the impromptu concert the next day. He'd been so engrossed with the repair work that he hadn't really been paying much attention to the intermittent presence of the Torchwood team and it was only when Ianto almost manhandled Tosh from the room to have a low voiced but intense conversation with her that Robert realised he'd not seen any of the others for some time. He glanced at the rest of the Ophelia crew, relieved to find them still hard at work, then Kristina caught his eye and gestured for him to follow Ianto and Tosh, her meaning clear enough that he could almost hear her say "if there's a problem, sort it; you're the Captain."
He wasn't exactly nervous as he left the room but he did wonder how well they would receive his interference in Torchwood matters.
"Is there a problem, guys? Can I help?" He asked.
The answer was contradictory.
"No."
"Yes," Tosh replied, frowning at Ianto while he threw a glare at her for presumably answering in the affirmative. Robert turned his head and cleared his throat to prevent a threatening smile from appearing on his face. When he turned back Tosh was still frowning, but Ianto's glare had thawed somewhat.
"Well there is a problem Ianto, potentially at least, and Robert could help." Robert silently thanked Tosh for her faith in him while wondering what he'd done to deserve it.
"I'm sure he could, I'm just not sure Jack would be very happy about it." Ah, so *that* was Ianto's issue, not that Robert exactly blamed him.
"So what's the potential problem?" He queried, unsure whether he'd receive an answer or not. Ianto and Tosh shared a look and Ianto sighed before he straightened.
"The rest of the team are out on a job, which just got a whole lot more complicated."
"They could do with both of us as back up," Tosh added, "but..."
"You can't leave me and my crew unattended in the Hub. I understand."
Tosh nudged Ianto with an elbow.
"See, I told you he would."
"Yes, yes. But it doesn't solve the underlying issue does it?"
They both looked at him, frustration and concern for their friends evident on their faces. Robert shrugged, then smiled as he thought of a way round the situation.
"I can think of an alternative, though I'm not sure how happy you'll be with it," he said. Ianto and Tosh shared another look.
"Go on," Ianto prompted.
"I go with whichever one of you heads out, the other stays here and keeps a weather eye on the rest of the crew. We're all under supervision and when you're a time-travelling airship pirate you're used to improvising, and the odd fight." Robert paused briefly. "Very odd, some of them," he added with a grimace. He didn't completely understand the rapid fire non-verbal conversation between Ianto and Tosh that followed but the gist was clear when Tosh pushed past him to head towards the conference room and Ianto took off in the opposite direction.
"Well come on then," Ianto said. Robert was fairly certain he wasn't supposed to hear the muttered 'Jack is going to kill me' that followed though it didn't exactly surprise him. He *was* surprised when Ianto pressed a weapon into his hands, a stun gun, he realised after a second or two. "Know how to use that?" Ianto asked. Robert nodded his confirmation as he checked the stun gun over, he would also have been able to use the gun that Ianto was currently loading that hadn't been passed to him but if their positions had been reversed *he* wouldn't have given Ianto a firearm either and he was surprised that the guy trusted him enough with any sort of weapon. Robert noted that the grip of the stun gun was well worn, and that there were signs of heavy use even though it was obviously in perfect working order. That meant there was only one reason Ianto had been carrying it, as well as the more usual gun.
"This is yours, isn't it?" Robert asked. Ianto nodded.
"I don't particularly like guns, more chance of people getting caught in the crossfire." Robert bet he was still an excellent shot though. Ianto nodded at the weapon in Robert's hand as they made their way through the hub corridors. "I like the close control that affords."
"I think you have too much conscience for a Torchwood agent."
"Maybe I'm just a control freak," Ianto added with a glimmer of a smirk.
"Or maybe you've just seen too much damage done in Torchwood's name," Robert replied, deciding as he did so that he had probably cut a little too close to the bone judging by the narrow eyed frown that Ianto gave him. The rest of their journey passed in silence and Ianto led them to what appeared to be an underground parking lot. There were only 2 cars in there and Robert wasn't surprised when Ianto headed toward the stylish sedan rather than the neat 2 seater sports car. The earpiece Ianto passed him once they were seated in the car was more unexpected but Robert took it, and fitted it, without comment.
"You're only patched in to hear Tosh for now," Ianto said. Robert neglected to mention that with his wrist strap he could easily override the earpiece but he suspected that Ianto was quite aware of that fact.
"Thanks," he said instead and left it at that.
*