Torchwood/Fallout 4 Cross Over - Synthetic Tendencies
Title: Synthetic Tendencies
Crossover: Fallout 4 and Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Toshiko, Nick, Dogmeat
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: Nc-13
Spoilers: None
Summary: Detective Nick Valentine is out of his time and of all the places to end up, welcome to Torchwood 3
Notes: Not sure the popularity of a Fallout Crossover so just a gentle dabble to see what people think.
SYNTHETIC TENDENCIES ***************************
1. A Warm Morning ------------------------
The day had already started to feel warm and it wasn't even approaching midday yet. It was going to be a hot one, Gwen could tell and yet she had still insisted on wearing her black leather boots to work. They were her favourites so why not? After all she could still run in them and with the nature of her job she deemed it a rather important detail. Both efficient and stylish. She had arrived a little early for work this morning so decided to take a few extra minutes to lean on the rusty railing and lose herself in her thoughts for a bit. No better place to do that than looking out across the bay. Cardiff really was a beautiful city, dangerous, dont get me wrong she thought but absolutely beautiful. She thought about the garlic bread defrosting at home for tea tonight, Rhys had been insisting they have a lasagne alongside it so no matter what sort of day lay ahead of her at least she knew a hearty meal awaited on her return home. A lame thought perhaps but those were the normal things Gwen had to cling onto because some days were tougher than others and any scrap of normal made them just that little bit easier to handle. She checked her watch and sighed a deep sigh. Time for work...
2. Tomatoes
----------------------
“Even if I was still alive, I would not be eating that shit!” Owen grimaced, scrunching his nose up into an expression of pure disgust. When Owen was dissatisfied, which was usually a regular occurrence, he would speak louder than necessary so the others would hear him wether they wanted to engage in conversation or not. He prodded at the lone piece of watermelon with a plastic fork. “I've seen alien autopsies looking prettier than that!”
Ianto brashly took his fork back from Owen, "well it's a good job it's not your breakfast then isnt it?" he huffed, sitting down on the old moth eaten couch to eat his fruit salad.
"I miss bacon" Owen continued, "in a bap... now that's a real breakfast" he gestured purposefully as if leading a seminar, "not some slimy red slop in a bowl."
Ianto shot him a look, "fruit is good for you, part of your five a day and all that."
"I'm dead, nothing is good for me anymore" Owen retorted.
The giant cog security door rolled back to reveal Gwen arriving swiftly into work, just in the nick of time. She joined in with the conversations almost immediately. "Ooh I love a fresh fruit salad, looks nice Ianto." The Welsh woman plonked her stuff down carelessly in a heap and fired up her computer. "Morning all, anything exciting today?"
Tosh who had been quiet up till now looked over at Gwen, peeking above her glasses. "Nothing, no signs of even slight increases of rift activity this morning although there was a funny blip last night but it came and went at a ridiculous speed, sort of a mild disturbance."
"Anything to be concerned about?" Gwen asked.
Tosh shook her head, "I shouldn't think so, didnt last long enough to really upset my systems and luckily it was just above us by the Red Dragon Center so Jack popped out to have a quick check but it was all quiet."
"Well if anything dangerous has slipped through I'm sure we'll be made aware." Gwen replied.
"Where is the dashing hero this morning anyway?" Owen asked sarcastically, twiddling the rubix cube about in his hands. No matter what he did he just couldn't line up the last few green squares.
"Having a lie in" Ianto chipped in, "we had... he had... a late night so he's taking an extra hour. Ianto blushed slightly as Owen snickered at his expense.
Another voice joined the group from across the room, "couldn't sleep," Jack was stood slouched, leaning against the frame of his office door with his arms folded, a very typical Jack pose. "The bed got cold when you left Ianto." He winked and smiled with his signature Harkness grin causing Ianto to blush an even deeper shade of red and fiddle with his tie uncomfortably. "You all know my thoughts on a fruit salad" Jack continued.
Owen put his face in his hands "not the tomato thing again Jack" he rolled his eyes but Jack ignored him.
“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing to leave it out of a fruit salad.” Ianto had quirked his brow, but said nothing in response. The team had heard this one way too many times, it was almost as if Jack was proud of being able to summon these words for their demonstrative purpose. The captain gestured towards Ianto's bowl, “well, there’s clearly no tomatoes in there, which suggests to me that you’re both a wise and knowledgeable young man, Mr Jones.” This time it was Tosh who chipped back in. "If we feel like actually doing any Torchwood work today, I have spotted a man in a hat with a dog on our external CCTV systems."
"God it really is a slow day today," Owen muttered.
"Not uncommon" Jack said, shaking his head dismissively.
"Hear me out," Tosh protested, "the man looks a bit wrong, his dress code is a little out of time perhaps but certainly not standard attire." Jack rightened his posture and walked over to examine her screen. "Now see that has engaged my interest." He squinted as he tried to get a better look. "A long coat too, I admire that in a man."
"I know" Ianto grumbled a little louder than he intended. What was it about Jack and men in coats? The Doctor used to run around in that long brown trench coat too. Perhaps he should invest in one. Was he feeling jealous? It felt a bit like jealousy.
Jack swiftly removed his own great coat from the metal stand and quickly pulled it on, "Owen with me, we're going to talk to him."
"Why me?" he whined
"Because the man may be injured and you're our doctor. The rest of you stay here incase we need any back up." Jack promptly flew through the revolving cog door, gesturing for the doctor to follow him "Owen lets move!" His authority was final.
"Fine..." he shrugged and hurridly followed Jack out.
3. One 'Man' And His Dog ‐----‐-------------------------------
Jack and Owen quickly and cautiously made their way up through the plass towards the iconic water tower landmark. They could see the strange man in the distance but his attention was completely focused on the steady flow of traffic. What was he looking at? They could not see his face and he had not yet noticed their approach. His rather large German Shepard however had noticed them. Head low, teeth bared and ears back, the dog emitted a low growl as the two men approached, alerting his strange owner of their presence. He spun around whipping a pistol from the holster on his belt. His sandy trench cost was worn and tattered as was the dark moth-eaten fedora sat upon his head. He trained his gun on Jack, keeping a strong sideways stance. This man clearly knew how to handle his firearms. Owen visibly gasped at the sight of the man or... could he even be classed as a man at all? He was skeletal in structure. His pale face looked like cracked porcelain with working mechanics moving and rotating, completely exposed behind his missing cheek and neck. Was he a machine? One of his hands looked almost human but the other was metal, clawed like a robotic endoskeleton. Two glowing yellow eyes stayed fixated on the two men and without even lowering his gun, the strange mechanical man took a large drag from a lit cigar.
"Jack!" Owen whispered frantically and gestured with a nod of his head towards the inhaled cigar smoke which was now escaping rapidly from the gaping holes either side of the man's neck. "I don't think I'm the right sort of doctor for this" he added.
Finally he spoke with a thick accent. "One wrong move and I'll put a bullet between your eyes." He aggressively pointed the pistol at Jack's head, voice slightly slurred as he spoke around the circumference of his cigar. "That or I'll have Dogmeat here remove a couple of limbs for ya." The German Shepard growled again as if in acknowledgement of its master. "Dogmeat? Nice name" Owen said with obvious sarcasm, keeping his eyes fixated on the man's pistol. "Rover or Spot already taken?"
Jack held up both hands in surrender and rose his voice above Owen's. "Not much point in that," he reasoned. "See the thing is, I can't die and my friend here," (he gestured towards Owen,) "is already dead so lets just avoid going down that road completely, we just want to talk to you." Owen was shocked by Jack's admission. Usually he prefers to keep that information quiet. Or at least for a while.
"Talking without firearms doesn't always end particularly well where I come from," the man said, still gnawing slightly the end his cigar.
"And where exactly are you from? Is that a Chicago accent?" Jack asked. "Chicago born and bred."
"Born?" The captain raised his eyebrows.
"Long story"
"I've got time." Jack said firmly. "Lower your weapon, if you're lost we can help, it's what we do. I just need to know who you are." He lowered his hands hoping to initiate a stand down. With a sigh the man holstered his pistol and gestured for Dogmeat to settle down. Emitting a sad whimper, the canine sat down by his feet to await further instruction.
"The names Nick Valentine, I'm a lone detective operating in Boston." He took another drag.
"Explains the Sherlock Holmes get-up," Owen ventured, feeling a little bit braver since a gun was no longer being pointed at him...again. "What year are you from? Unless Boston are keeping some pretty big secrets I doubt its anytime soon."
Nick stuttered over his next words slightly. "What year am I from? The year 2287... but I'm under the assumption that is no longer the case having been asked such an outrageous question in the first place?" He frowned with obvious concern in his yellow eyes. "Where am I?... Or when am I? and how the hell have I ended up here?" He pointed at the floor.
"Come and talk with us back at headquarters," Jack coaxed gently, noticing the clear agitation. "As I said before, we can help you." A brief moment of silence as Nick wrestled with his options, it was obvious an inner debate was occurring.
"Ok" he finally nodded.
4. Always Underground ------------------------------------ Nick's yellow eyes seemed to glow even brighter in the dim lighting of the Hub. He panned around slowly as he took in all of the bizarre sights and sounds, was that an animal screech somewhere up high? Jack was under the impression their guest wasnt completely phased by what he was seeing. It was almost as it he had seen something of a similar nature before. "Another secret organisation in an underground base. I can't say I've had the greatest luck with those in the past." Nick turned to face Jack who was leaning nonchalantly against the cog door. "So who are you?"
"We're Torchwood." He strode across the hub to take point in front of his office and began to gesture towards the rest of his team. "You've already met Dr Owen Harper." Owen waved sheepishly. "Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato and Ianto Jones." Ianto was trying to maintain his prim and proper demeanor, especially in front of a stranger but was finding it increasingly difficult with a giant German Shepard playfully nibbling and therefore undoing, the shoelace on his right shoe. "I think we need to all sit down and have a talk." Jack gestured in the direction of the meeting boardroom.
"Dogmeat!" Nick suddenly ushered the dog away from Ianto's shoelace and patted the old sofa, coaxing him to jump up. Ianto shot him a half hearted thankyou as he crouched down to re-tie his shoe. He grimaced as his fingers touched the now slobbery lace. "Wait for me here buddy, I wont be long." Nick scratched Dogmeat behind one of his mighty ears causing him to pant happily.
"Ianto is Myfanwy locked away?" Jack asked, "I dont want us to return an hour later to find her chewing on a fresh pile of dog bones."
"What's Myfanwy?" Nick queried. He didnt seem concerned, just curious. Jack shrugged, "Pteranodon."
"Oh... well Dogmeat here has had Deathclaws for breakfast so I would worry too much," Nick scoffed
"All the same," Ianto pressed a large red button, wondering internally what monstrosity a Deathclaw was. "She's shut away with two packs of salmon and a bar of Cadbury's finest dark." "This way." Jack wanted no further delay.
5. War Never Changes -------------------------------------
The boardroom was dimly lit, a soft orange glow gently touched everyone's faces as Nick and the team sat around the table to Jack as he filled them in with the small details so far.
Gwen was keen to get started. "So your name is Nick Valentine and you're a detective from Boston in the year 2287 is that right?" She chewed the end of her pen in thought.
Nick nodded, "Indeed." He clutched at a slowly cooling cup of coffee in front of him. Nick had informed Ianto he did not need to sleep or eat but Ianto being polite had already provided him with a cup regardless. He hadn't been too sure on the dietary requirements of this peculiar metal man so thought it common decency to make him one just in case.
"So you're not an alien?" Owen asked. "No I am not, although I have had a run in with a Zetan before."
"Zetan?" Owen frowned, he hadn't heard of this species.
Jack piped up. "Think generic alien from kids cartoons, green skin, bug eyes, large head. Its thanks to those guys and their planet curiosity why aliens are drawn and portrayed the way they are but it seems like by the 23rd century they're not too subtle about their visits."
"No they're not. And a damn sight viscous too." Nick agreed.
Gwen was eager to learn more. "So if you're not an alien...what are you?" "I'm a Synth prototype. Nick Valentine was a good hearted cop from Boston but he underwent scientific experimentation and all of his memories, everything he was ended up being implemented into me. I'm just an old rust bucket."
"No, you said you're a detective?" Gwen smiled. She could sense a strive for humanity beneath the metallic infrastructure.
"People dont like Synths where I come from, many are shot and killed on sight but I was given a chance." Nick sighed, here he was dragging up the past again. "I rescued the mayor's daughter and soon enough people were coming to me with missing persons cases. I enjoyed doing it because it gave me identity, it gave me a purpose. I didnt charge for my work for a long time after"
Gwen was trying desperately to read the emotions on his face. "How did you end up here Nick?"
The detective shrugged, "I was out walking with Dogmeat when he suddenly bolted. It's a usual thing for him to do so I followed and sure enough he led me to a couple of dropped caps. There was a blinding flash, bright white light and then I was just stood up there." He pointed towards the ceiling.
"The Rift" Owen muttered.
"Caps?" Gwen quizzed, backtracking slightly.
"Caps, Nuka Cola caps... you know currency." He lent back in his chair and pulled a few rusty bottle caps from his pocket and sprinkled them on the table for Gwen to look at. He lit up his cigar, "no one minds do they?" Nobody objected. Not even when the smoke started eerily escaping from the sides of his neck again.
Toshiko scribbled down a few more notes, "Nick what exactly is it like in your time?"
He breathed out a puff of smoke. "A nuclear wasteland complete with oversized irradiated insects, groups of raiders and hideous beasts. It's a case of kill or be killed out in the commonwealth."
"Typical human race, always dropping bombs on eachother." Jack said sadly. Nick nodded, "war never changes, that's what a good friend once told me." He finally snuffed his cigar. "So where am I? Where is here?"
Ianto volunteered himself to speak. After all he did pride himself with his vast local knowledge. "Cardiff, Wales, The United Kingdom and the year is 2008."
"Hmm across the pond I see. But how am I here?"
Jack took a swig of his coffee. He will only drink it dark these days, anything else just tastes too sweet and makes his teeth tingle. "I think you need to stick around for a while Mr Valentine'" he said warmly, "it's going to be a long story and a bumpy ride."