The Storms of Change Chapter Twenty-Two
Title: A Death In The Family
Story: The Storms of Change
Series: The Sentinels
Words: 1, 047
'Stupid humans,' Ianto thought as he slipped past the security guards and sprinted across the lot to enter the external building not connected to the rest of the complex. Jack had advised him that investigating it would no longer be a good idea, in the off chance that he got caught but Ianto reminded him that he'd once done this for a living. It wasn't that difficult anyways, these humans didn't expect anyone to be sneaking about and weren't really on guard.
Muscles tense but working fluidly he wondered what Aaron was doing. The older man had obviously recognized him, which the team had picked up on. In response he told them to search Dr. Ian Mitchell to get their answers. Owen hated him for the moment though Ianto expected it as Owen had been in awe of his work until he'd stopped publishing. Owen would get over it someday and they would be able to talk, to finally have something in common other than their job.
Taking out two of the guards, though only making them unconscious - he slipped into a large room where he felt most of the alien presences. Anger boiled within him as he saw what the room contained. Hatred for Aaron, whom he'd always liked, overtook his senses.
The room was lined, back to back with rows of different sized pods containing all manner of alien life. The most prominent were Weevils and Hoix but there were creatures that Ianto didn't really know but recognized from the archives.
We're coming in he read in his contacts. He nodded to let them know he'd gotten the message and quickly moved through the room to gather more data or them and give them the full layout. There was going to be a major cleanup operation, one he wasn't sure Torchwood could handle on their own. There was just too much here. Maybe he could convince Jack to give General Williams a call, one of the higher ups who was all about interagency cooperation and his UNIT Handler. Ianto briefly wondered why he still had a UNIT Handler when he was fully immersed in the aliens on Earth world but decided to deal with that later.
He froze and flattened himself into a crevice as an alarm went off.
"Uh, Tosh?" he asked.
They kno ur gone came the reply and he cursed. He couldn't be sure why they'd checked up on him, the only thing he could think of was Aaron.
He glanced around him then moved back the way he'd come. He had to find some place to hide out and wait for the rest of the team. As much as he wanted to finish this he was not a lone wolf anymore, and he had to remember that. He was no longer just watching his own back but theirs as well.
He heard an exclamation behind him in the hall and turned to see two security guards. They raised their weapons and fired. Ianto dropped to the ground and sprinted away, rounding the corner at such a fast pace that he couldn't stop himself from colliding with another two guards and sending them all crashing to the floor. As he rolled over he felt something slide into his thigh and immediately the darkness consumed him.
His system cleared the sedative out quickly, but not quick enough. When he woke he was tied down on an examination table and Aaron was standing over him.
"Mr. Jones," Aaron said with a smirk, "or should I say Dr. Mitchell? I want to understand what you are doing Ian."
Ianto closed and rolled his eyes. Aaron always wanted to know what he was up to. "I'm stopping you."
"Why?" Aaron demanded. "Once perfected this will cure the entire world of everything."
"At what cost?" Ianto countered. "You've killed people."
"Would you rather millions dies because we've done nothing?"
"Better than being a murderer. Find a more humane way and stop experimenting on aliens to do so," Ianto snarled.
Aaron shook his head and reached for a syringe. "Your blood is amazing Ian, raised beyond a normal human's levels yet acceptable in its abnormality. I do believe that you are the key to advancing our study."
He inserted the needle into Ianto's vein before he could say anything. Ianto's eyes rolled back as his body automatically reacted to the invasion. Aaron had changed too much and Ianto was not against taking him out when he got the chance. In fact he would enjoy it, if his hand was forced because Aaron deserved it.
He was only vaguely aware of his surroundings as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The Mayflys were putting up a fight, feeding on his body to grow and strengthen. At his age maximum healing came from slipping into sleep and letting his body focus on doing one thing but he wanted to stay awake.
The team came barging in. He could hear Jack's voice clearest, calling his name, arguing with Owen and Martha and yelling at Aaron. There were hands all over him, checking his vitals, caressing his face and gripping his hand. Owen and Martha were arguing over the use of something and whether or not it would be effective.
Next thing he knew Ianto was staring into Jack's smiling face and felt fine. "What happened?"
"Owen and Martha were about to use the Singularity Scalpel when your body suddenly fixed itself." Jack paused. "For a moment I thought it wouldn't."
"Jack," Owen interrupted before Ianto could say anything. "Where's Copley?"
They all looked around to see that they were the only ones in the room. Ianto sat up.
"Whoa, are you sure?" Jack demanded.
"Yes, now let's go."
Ianto prided himself on knowing and keeping track of everything but the events that took place outside the gates of the Pharm while it was going into lockdown, took him by surprise and make it just so impossible to follow correctly. Before he knew it Owen was dead, and Aaron was as well. But it was Owen that mattered and he hadn't reacted in time to save his life. He hadn't reacted, hadn't done anything and now he just didn't know what to do.
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