Fic - Violated (Chapter 12)
Title: Violated
Author: Carole B.
Series: Torchwood
Characters: Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, PC Andy Davidson, Owen Harper
Pairings: Ianto/Jack, Owenp/Other
Gen/Het/Slash: Het, Slash
Warnings: Torture, Forced Sex, Violence, Language
Rating: R/NC-17 for the Prologue
Crossover: None
Word Count: 15,600
Beta: Time Hound
Summary: A serial killer has been flouncing around Cardiff, using the name Jack Harkness. When the team starts investigating the murders, they have doubt whether it is really Jack or not. To their shock, they find out it is someone really close to them, someone who shouldn’t exist.
Author’s Notes: Written for the 2011 tw-bigbang. Big thank you to my awesome artist hollymarchosias. Thanks to my friends who pushed this to get down, and thanks to Liz who gave me last minute line changes. The Prologue is very dark and graphic - if you wish you can skip over the Prologue and start with Chapter 1.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Artwork by hollymarchosias
Chapter 12
“You can’t be serious Jack!”
“Do you think I’m kidding?”
“But that’s Owen down there.”
Jack leaned against the desk, folding his arms across his chest. Ianto didn’t look at him, just continued to stare at the computer monitor by his workstation. When Jack looked at Gwen, he didn’t need to be psychic to tell how she felt: her fists clenched at her side, her eyes glistening as she tried to not cry, her nose flaring with each heavy breath. It was days like this he resented coming back. Not because of them, but because of the choices he had to make regarding his team, his family.
“Gwen, it’s my decision, and that’s final.”
Gwen picked up a nearby clipboard, looking at the papers as her shoulders started to shake. She threw the clipboard at her chair, sending papers scattering around them, as she nearly ran straight for the door to the cells. Jack bolted after her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her back against him.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“We have to try and help him!” Gwen punched at his hands, trying to pull away, but Jack held tight to her. Her fists pelted his own hands for a minute, until she relented, and hung limp in his arms. She learned her head back against his chest, crying. “It’s Owen. Doesn’t he deserve everything we can do to help him? Doesn’t he deserve that much from us after what you did to him?”
Jack lead her back to her chair, where Ianto had already picked up the papers, and sat her down. He brushed a hand through her hair and gave her a small peck on the top of her head. Standing up, Jack came face-to-face with Ianto behind her. It hadn’t been any easier to convince Ianto of what needed to be done.
“Gwen,” Ianto said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not him. Whatever is left isn’t really Owen. We need to let him go.”
“Like you did with Lisa?” Gwen didn’t look at either man.
Ianto stepped back from her and walked away from both of them, watching the water in the retention pond. Jack ran a palm across his face and let out a sigh. He turned around and headed for the cells, and for this version of Owen Harper.
“It may not be him, but what if he still has all of Owen’s memories? He told me things down there… what if Owen could still live through him?” Gwen’s words stopped Jack in his tracks.
“It’s not all his memories,” Jack said, swallowing hard.
Before anyone else could try and convince him otherwise, Jack scurried down the stairs and to the cells. He entered the lone section that held Owen. As soon as he exited the stairwell, he could feel Owen’s eyes watching him, boring through him. Jack took a steadying breath and marched up to the glass, never taking his own eyes off Owen.
“Stand back,” Jack coldly said.
Owen shuffled back until his knees hit the bunk and stopped. He grinned at Jack, never once not looking away from him. Jack keyed in the code and the door opened. He stepped into the cell with Owen and closed the door. Taking up a position on the other side of the cell, Jack kept some distance between them.
“Nice try.”
“At what?”
“Stealing a human essence. But you got yourself mixed up.”
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
“So now what? You’re going to kill me? Shoot me in the head like I did you?”
“I already did that once today. Didn’t like your little nap?” Jack took a steadying breath. “Tell me, is that memory his or mine? Who’s perspective do you really see it from?”
“You won’t kill me. You love me. I know that.”
Jack lunged forward, his hands wrapping around Owen’s neck, pushing him against the wall. His fingers grew tighter around the other man’s throat, digging into the warm flesh. Owen started to choke, his hands clawing at Jack’s wrists, trying to get leverage. Jack pushed him down onto the bunk as Owen struggled for breath. Suddenly Owen’s eyes glowed a crimson orange as his nails dug into Jack’s arms.
“Is this the real you coming out then?” Jack said, nearly spitting out each word.
A hissing echoed from Owen’s throat as Jack pressed harder, feeling the muscles under his hands tighten. Owen’s hand shot out between Jack’s arms and punched him in the solar plexus, making the breath in Jack’s throat catch, forcing him back with the shock, his hands loosening enough for Owen to squirm away. Owen scrambled off the bunk and over by the glass, breathing heavily, eyes still alight.
Jack stepped back, assessing Owen. He stepped closer, watching as Owen moved to his left. Jack feinted left and then charged to his right, body slamming Owen into the wall. Owen tried to push away, bringing his elbow crashing into Jack’s throat. Jack stumbled back, and then brought his head forward, cracking it against Owen’s head, making the younger man’s head bounce off the concrete. Jack grabbed Owen in a chokehold. He could feel his own arms tightening, but he didn’t break the hold as he slid Owen’s body along the wall until he was lying face down on the floor. Planting a knee in Owen’s back, he pinned his former medic down. Wrapping an arm around Owen’s throat, he stretched the other man out, yanking up on him.
“Just tell me, why him? Of all the humans you could have chosen, why him?”
Owen leered at him, looking back over his shoulder. “Thoughts that needed a body. No mistakes. It was easy to steal an essence that was just waiting for me. No need to go after a body right away to get what I needed.” Owen seemed to be speaking with ease, despite Jack’s hold on his throat. “I didn’t have to waste any energy as soon as I came to this planet. And oh, the energy, the life in these humans. And the memories, the essence, the sweetness of it all.”
“Too bad. I’m the barkeep and this is last call.”
“You wouldn’t dare. I can see it in you. This one meant a lot to you.”
“Meant is right.”
“Think about it. He can live again in me.”
“And what do you propose? We let you wander the city randomly murdering people to get high?”
“The city? How about the world?”
“Wrong. Owen Harper was a brave man who gave his life many times over to stop things like you. If you think I am going to let you parade around wearing his skin and killing innocent humans you guessed wrong.”
“Owen Harper?”
Jack leaned in close next Owen’s face, digging his knee into the kidney. “You screwed up. You didn’t just pick up on Owen’s essence, you got some of mine when you went hunting at Turnmill. That’s why you called yourself Jack. That’s why your memories aren’t really his. That’s why you think you can breathe and live, and you will eventually die.”
“You don’t know how to kill me.”
Jack quickly moved his hand to Owen’s forehead and pressed his palm hard against the skull, drawing Owen’s body and neck up. He dug into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out the same metallic knife they had seen Owen using on Andy. Bringing it around, Jack pressed the side and the blade slithered out of the handle, nearly humming in front of Owen’s face.
“I can start with this. If I remember correctly this radiation helps draw in the ‘essences’. Plus, you’re still in human form, so I should at least be able to gut you like you did those poor girls, and don’t even get me started on what you did to Andy. If this doesn’t work, I can always devise other ways of killing you, because you’re not leaving this cell until you are dead.”
Owen struggled under Jack, hands smacking his arms, trying to push him off. Jack brought the blade down, slicing along one arm, watching as it started spouting blood in Owen’s flailing and fell limp as he severed a couple of muscles and tendons. The other arm grabbed his wrist, trying to move the blade towards Jack. Grimacing, Jack turned his wrist, slicing into Owen’s other arm, making that fall. He held tight to Owen’s head, the neck muscles taut, and brought the blade across them, hitting both carotid arteries.
For several long minutes, Jack kept Owen pinned down as he watched the life leave this body. He barely remembered to breathe throughout that time. The knife’s blade seemed to grow even more brilliant, so bright that Jack had to look away. It wasn’t until Owen’s body started to grow cold did he sheath the knife and slowly stood up, Owen’s blood all over him. Jack flipped open his wrist strap and keyed in the code that opened the door to the cell.
Stepping through it, he pocketed the knife once more and closed the door. He turned around and leaned against the glass, watching Owen’s lifeless body. No breathing, no hair moving, not even a twitch of a finger. Jack slid down along the glass, finding himself sitting on the floor, just watching to see if Owen came back again. If he did… well, Jack would have to deal with it then. If it was truly Owen locked in that alien, and he came back, Jack figured Owen would understand.
Dropping his head down, chin in his chest, Jack turned his hand over in front of his face. The blood wasn’t even sticky anymore. But it was blood. It was something their Owen hadn’t had before he died. His eyes trailed along the floor to the pool of blood in the cell. He hoped he was right. He hoped everything he had told Gwen and Ianto was right. Propping up one knee, and leaning his head against it, Jack also knew it was his responsibility, no one else’s. So many people had died. That could never be Owen. He couldn’t even kill Ed Morgan when he had the chance. Jack finally let the tears come.
“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Author: Carole B.
Series: Torchwood
Characters: Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, PC Andy Davidson, Owen Harper
Pairings: Ianto/Jack, Owenp/Other
Gen/Het/Slash: Het, Slash
Warnings: Torture, Forced Sex, Violence, Language
Rating: R/NC-17 for the Prologue
Crossover: None
Word Count: 15,600
Beta: Time Hound
Summary: A serial killer has been flouncing around Cardiff, using the name Jack Harkness. When the team starts investigating the murders, they have doubt whether it is really Jack or not. To their shock, they find out it is someone really close to them, someone who shouldn’t exist.
Author’s Notes: Written for the 2011 tw-bigbang. Big thank you to my awesome artist hollymarchosias. Thanks to my friends who pushed this to get down, and thanks to Liz who gave me last minute line changes. The Prologue is very dark and graphic - if you wish you can skip over the Prologue and start with Chapter 1.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Artwork by hollymarchosias
Chapter 12
“You can’t be serious Jack!”
“Do you think I’m kidding?”
“But that’s Owen down there.”
Jack leaned against the desk, folding his arms across his chest. Ianto didn’t look at him, just continued to stare at the computer monitor by his workstation. When Jack looked at Gwen, he didn’t need to be psychic to tell how she felt: her fists clenched at her side, her eyes glistening as she tried to not cry, her nose flaring with each heavy breath. It was days like this he resented coming back. Not because of them, but because of the choices he had to make regarding his team, his family.
“Gwen, it’s my decision, and that’s final.”
Gwen picked up a nearby clipboard, looking at the papers as her shoulders started to shake. She threw the clipboard at her chair, sending papers scattering around them, as she nearly ran straight for the door to the cells. Jack bolted after her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her back against him.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“We have to try and help him!” Gwen punched at his hands, trying to pull away, but Jack held tight to her. Her fists pelted his own hands for a minute, until she relented, and hung limp in his arms. She learned her head back against his chest, crying. “It’s Owen. Doesn’t he deserve everything we can do to help him? Doesn’t he deserve that much from us after what you did to him?”
Jack lead her back to her chair, where Ianto had already picked up the papers, and sat her down. He brushed a hand through her hair and gave her a small peck on the top of her head. Standing up, Jack came face-to-face with Ianto behind her. It hadn’t been any easier to convince Ianto of what needed to be done.
“Gwen,” Ianto said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not him. Whatever is left isn’t really Owen. We need to let him go.”
“Like you did with Lisa?” Gwen didn’t look at either man.
Ianto stepped back from her and walked away from both of them, watching the water in the retention pond. Jack ran a palm across his face and let out a sigh. He turned around and headed for the cells, and for this version of Owen Harper.
“It may not be him, but what if he still has all of Owen’s memories? He told me things down there… what if Owen could still live through him?” Gwen’s words stopped Jack in his tracks.
“It’s not all his memories,” Jack said, swallowing hard.
Before anyone else could try and convince him otherwise, Jack scurried down the stairs and to the cells. He entered the lone section that held Owen. As soon as he exited the stairwell, he could feel Owen’s eyes watching him, boring through him. Jack took a steadying breath and marched up to the glass, never taking his own eyes off Owen.
“Stand back,” Jack coldly said.
Owen shuffled back until his knees hit the bunk and stopped. He grinned at Jack, never once not looking away from him. Jack keyed in the code and the door opened. He stepped into the cell with Owen and closed the door. Taking up a position on the other side of the cell, Jack kept some distance between them.
“Nice try.”
“At what?”
“Stealing a human essence. But you got yourself mixed up.”
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
“So now what? You’re going to kill me? Shoot me in the head like I did you?”
“I already did that once today. Didn’t like your little nap?” Jack took a steadying breath. “Tell me, is that memory his or mine? Who’s perspective do you really see it from?”
“You won’t kill me. You love me. I know that.”
Jack lunged forward, his hands wrapping around Owen’s neck, pushing him against the wall. His fingers grew tighter around the other man’s throat, digging into the warm flesh. Owen started to choke, his hands clawing at Jack’s wrists, trying to get leverage. Jack pushed him down onto the bunk as Owen struggled for breath. Suddenly Owen’s eyes glowed a crimson orange as his nails dug into Jack’s arms.
“Is this the real you coming out then?” Jack said, nearly spitting out each word.
A hissing echoed from Owen’s throat as Jack pressed harder, feeling the muscles under his hands tighten. Owen’s hand shot out between Jack’s arms and punched him in the solar plexus, making the breath in Jack’s throat catch, forcing him back with the shock, his hands loosening enough for Owen to squirm away. Owen scrambled off the bunk and over by the glass, breathing heavily, eyes still alight.
Jack stepped back, assessing Owen. He stepped closer, watching as Owen moved to his left. Jack feinted left and then charged to his right, body slamming Owen into the wall. Owen tried to push away, bringing his elbow crashing into Jack’s throat. Jack stumbled back, and then brought his head forward, cracking it against Owen’s head, making the younger man’s head bounce off the concrete. Jack grabbed Owen in a chokehold. He could feel his own arms tightening, but he didn’t break the hold as he slid Owen’s body along the wall until he was lying face down on the floor. Planting a knee in Owen’s back, he pinned his former medic down. Wrapping an arm around Owen’s throat, he stretched the other man out, yanking up on him.
“Just tell me, why him? Of all the humans you could have chosen, why him?”
Owen leered at him, looking back over his shoulder. “Thoughts that needed a body. No mistakes. It was easy to steal an essence that was just waiting for me. No need to go after a body right away to get what I needed.” Owen seemed to be speaking with ease, despite Jack’s hold on his throat. “I didn’t have to waste any energy as soon as I came to this planet. And oh, the energy, the life in these humans. And the memories, the essence, the sweetness of it all.”
“Too bad. I’m the barkeep and this is last call.”
“You wouldn’t dare. I can see it in you. This one meant a lot to you.”
“Meant is right.”
“Think about it. He can live again in me.”
“And what do you propose? We let you wander the city randomly murdering people to get high?”
“The city? How about the world?”
“Wrong. Owen Harper was a brave man who gave his life many times over to stop things like you. If you think I am going to let you parade around wearing his skin and killing innocent humans you guessed wrong.”
“Owen Harper?”
Jack leaned in close next Owen’s face, digging his knee into the kidney. “You screwed up. You didn’t just pick up on Owen’s essence, you got some of mine when you went hunting at Turnmill. That’s why you called yourself Jack. That’s why your memories aren’t really his. That’s why you think you can breathe and live, and you will eventually die.”
“You don’t know how to kill me.”
Jack quickly moved his hand to Owen’s forehead and pressed his palm hard against the skull, drawing Owen’s body and neck up. He dug into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out the same metallic knife they had seen Owen using on Andy. Bringing it around, Jack pressed the side and the blade slithered out of the handle, nearly humming in front of Owen’s face.
“I can start with this. If I remember correctly this radiation helps draw in the ‘essences’. Plus, you’re still in human form, so I should at least be able to gut you like you did those poor girls, and don’t even get me started on what you did to Andy. If this doesn’t work, I can always devise other ways of killing you, because you’re not leaving this cell until you are dead.”
Owen struggled under Jack, hands smacking his arms, trying to push him off. Jack brought the blade down, slicing along one arm, watching as it started spouting blood in Owen’s flailing and fell limp as he severed a couple of muscles and tendons. The other arm grabbed his wrist, trying to move the blade towards Jack. Grimacing, Jack turned his wrist, slicing into Owen’s other arm, making that fall. He held tight to Owen’s head, the neck muscles taut, and brought the blade across them, hitting both carotid arteries.
For several long minutes, Jack kept Owen pinned down as he watched the life leave this body. He barely remembered to breathe throughout that time. The knife’s blade seemed to grow even more brilliant, so bright that Jack had to look away. It wasn’t until Owen’s body started to grow cold did he sheath the knife and slowly stood up, Owen’s blood all over him. Jack flipped open his wrist strap and keyed in the code that opened the door to the cell.
Stepping through it, he pocketed the knife once more and closed the door. He turned around and leaned against the glass, watching Owen’s lifeless body. No breathing, no hair moving, not even a twitch of a finger. Jack slid down along the glass, finding himself sitting on the floor, just watching to see if Owen came back again. If he did… well, Jack would have to deal with it then. If it was truly Owen locked in that alien, and he came back, Jack figured Owen would understand.
Dropping his head down, chin in his chest, Jack turned his hand over in front of his face. The blood wasn’t even sticky anymore. But it was blood. It was something their Owen hadn’t had before he died. His eyes trailed along the floor to the pool of blood in the cell. He hoped he was right. He hoped everything he had told Gwen and Ianto was right. Propping up one knee, and leaning his head against it, Jack also knew it was his responsibility, no one else’s. So many people had died. That could never be Owen. He couldn’t even kill Ed Morgan when he had the chance. Jack finally let the tears come.
“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN