TW-DW Fic: Unasked For
Title: Unasked For
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Team, the Doctor.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Captain Jack Harkness’ superpower is one he never would have asked for and doesn’t want.
Word Count: 1038
Written For: Prompt 132 - Superpowers at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Captain Jack Harkness has a superpower. He’s like a real-life superhero, except that this is a power he wasn’t born with. It didn’t come from a scientific experiment gone wrong, a radioactive spider bite, or any of the usual suspects. Instead it was accidentally inflicted on him by a well-meaning friend, without his knowledge or consent, and because of it another friend, someone he’d trusted completely, looked up to as a role model, abandoned him among the bodies of the dead aboard a space station, with no means of escape.
He found a way off, because that’s what superheroes do. They solve problems, for themselves and others, and they always save the day. He made it to the nearest planet, which happened to be earth, waited around for over a century, and finally caught up with the friend who’d abandoned him, or at least a more recent version of that friend, only to be told he was wrong, no longer considered a person but an impossible thing that made his friend’s skin crawl. It wasn’t what he’d been hoping to hear. Worse, he was told he can’t be fixed. He’s stuck this way permanently. Literally, forever, until the end of time and possibly beyond. A fixed point, an unalterable fact.
Who in their right mind would want that kind of superpower, the kind that would keep them living while everyone they’d ever loved, everyone they ever met, every single living being in the entire universe would grow old and die while they themselves would just keep living, eternal and barely changing? Because that’s what he’s got; a bad case of immortality, unasked for and oh so completely unwanted. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, dragging him back to life every time he dies, the resurrection often more excruciating than the death that preceded it.
People who learn about his unique condition look at him and exclaim how wonderful that must be, always healing completely from any injury, never having to worry about dying… Such a convenient ability! His friend, the one he’d trusted so much, cheerfully throws him into danger, knowing he’ll probably be killed again, but that’s okay because he doesn’t stay dead. He’ll be fine in a little while; his death and resurrection are nothing to be concerned about. So he dies, in agony, and comes back the same way, and nobody asks him how he feels, or if he’s okay, because of course he is. He’s immortal, dead then not dead. His suffering gets handwaved away as inconsequential. It doesn’t matter because he always comes back.
His superpower proved useful to the organisation that conscripted him into service during the century and more he spent waiting to find his friend again. He was treated as expendable, because death had no hold on him. No matter how many times he was killed he continued to live; he could be thrown into the most dangerous situations imaginable and survive. The eternal soldier, a one-man army. Convenient, inexhaustible cannon fodder. He learned not to care about the torment he went through with every death and revival, simply because nobody else did.
His body heals, always, completely, but not all damage is visible to the eye. The absence of compassion has left Jack with scars inside that nobody can see, his suffering etched indelibly into his mind and his soul to the point that he views himself more often than not as something less than human. His superpower is far more effective against physical damage than the psychological kind. Inside, Jack is broken.
He does his best not to let that show, tries to keep people from discovering his secret identity as the Man who Cannot Die, and when he finds himself in charge of Torchwood Three after the entire team, aside from him, lose their lives in a tragic murder-suicide, he thinks perhaps this is his chance to start over.
His new team don’t know about his immortality. But inevitably, eventually, one at first and then the rest, they find out, and they take it as well as anyone can be expected to. Jack puts a brave face on it because what else can a superhero do?
He endures the teasing about his superhero costume being kind of dated. Period military isn’t exactly spandex. He laughs at Owen’s suggestion that he get the Torchwood logo printed on his underwear, or better yet, on the back of a cape. Superman has a big ‘S’ emblazoned in his, so why shouldn’t Jack have a ‘T’? Of course, Owen claims it should stand for Twat rather than Torchwood. The rest of the team snickers along, until Ianto points out that they’re supposed to be a secret organisation. Bad enough that it says Torchwood on the SUV without having Jack flashing the logo everywhere he goes. He’s not exactly inconspicuous as it is.
Ianto doesn’t make jokes about Jack’s superpower. Ianto doesn’t ignore Jack’s deaths either. Whenever he can be, he’s there when Jack revives, a comforting, reassuring presence, helping to ground him through the disorientation of returning to life. He brings Jack extra coffee and snacks afterwards, helping to replenish the energy his rapid healing uses up. When Jack gets dismembered, Ianto collects all the bits and puts them back in their correct places to help him knit back together. He always knows when Jack is suffering and provides painkillers to ease his post-resurrection aches and pains.
Jack isn’t the only one with a superpower, he decides. Ianto Jones has one as well, beyond his superlative coffee-making skills, and his almost telepathic ability to know what his colleagues need before they’re aware of it themselves. The quiet Welshman’s superpower is his compassion and empathy; he suffers whenever Jack does, and in so doing he eases the burden of Jack’s immortality, just enough to give him the strength and courage to keep going.
The thought of ever losing the steadfast support and love Ianto gives him so freely chills Jack to the bone. He’d never wish his superpower on anyone, not even his worst enemy, but in his weakest moments, Jack can’t help wishing he could keep Ianto with him forever, and never have to be alone and uncared for again.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Team, the Doctor.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Captain Jack Harkness’ superpower is one he never would have asked for and doesn’t want.
Word Count: 1038
Written For: Prompt 132 - Superpowers at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Captain Jack Harkness has a superpower. He’s like a real-life superhero, except that this is a power he wasn’t born with. It didn’t come from a scientific experiment gone wrong, a radioactive spider bite, or any of the usual suspects. Instead it was accidentally inflicted on him by a well-meaning friend, without his knowledge or consent, and because of it another friend, someone he’d trusted completely, looked up to as a role model, abandoned him among the bodies of the dead aboard a space station, with no means of escape.
He found a way off, because that’s what superheroes do. They solve problems, for themselves and others, and they always save the day. He made it to the nearest planet, which happened to be earth, waited around for over a century, and finally caught up with the friend who’d abandoned him, or at least a more recent version of that friend, only to be told he was wrong, no longer considered a person but an impossible thing that made his friend’s skin crawl. It wasn’t what he’d been hoping to hear. Worse, he was told he can’t be fixed. He’s stuck this way permanently. Literally, forever, until the end of time and possibly beyond. A fixed point, an unalterable fact.
Who in their right mind would want that kind of superpower, the kind that would keep them living while everyone they’d ever loved, everyone they ever met, every single living being in the entire universe would grow old and die while they themselves would just keep living, eternal and barely changing? Because that’s what he’s got; a bad case of immortality, unasked for and oh so completely unwanted. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, dragging him back to life every time he dies, the resurrection often more excruciating than the death that preceded it.
People who learn about his unique condition look at him and exclaim how wonderful that must be, always healing completely from any injury, never having to worry about dying… Such a convenient ability! His friend, the one he’d trusted so much, cheerfully throws him into danger, knowing he’ll probably be killed again, but that’s okay because he doesn’t stay dead. He’ll be fine in a little while; his death and resurrection are nothing to be concerned about. So he dies, in agony, and comes back the same way, and nobody asks him how he feels, or if he’s okay, because of course he is. He’s immortal, dead then not dead. His suffering gets handwaved away as inconsequential. It doesn’t matter because he always comes back.
His superpower proved useful to the organisation that conscripted him into service during the century and more he spent waiting to find his friend again. He was treated as expendable, because death had no hold on him. No matter how many times he was killed he continued to live; he could be thrown into the most dangerous situations imaginable and survive. The eternal soldier, a one-man army. Convenient, inexhaustible cannon fodder. He learned not to care about the torment he went through with every death and revival, simply because nobody else did.
His body heals, always, completely, but not all damage is visible to the eye. The absence of compassion has left Jack with scars inside that nobody can see, his suffering etched indelibly into his mind and his soul to the point that he views himself more often than not as something less than human. His superpower is far more effective against physical damage than the psychological kind. Inside, Jack is broken.
He does his best not to let that show, tries to keep people from discovering his secret identity as the Man who Cannot Die, and when he finds himself in charge of Torchwood Three after the entire team, aside from him, lose their lives in a tragic murder-suicide, he thinks perhaps this is his chance to start over.
His new team don’t know about his immortality. But inevitably, eventually, one at first and then the rest, they find out, and they take it as well as anyone can be expected to. Jack puts a brave face on it because what else can a superhero do?
He endures the teasing about his superhero costume being kind of dated. Period military isn’t exactly spandex. He laughs at Owen’s suggestion that he get the Torchwood logo printed on his underwear, or better yet, on the back of a cape. Superman has a big ‘S’ emblazoned in his, so why shouldn’t Jack have a ‘T’? Of course, Owen claims it should stand for Twat rather than Torchwood. The rest of the team snickers along, until Ianto points out that they’re supposed to be a secret organisation. Bad enough that it says Torchwood on the SUV without having Jack flashing the logo everywhere he goes. He’s not exactly inconspicuous as it is.
Ianto doesn’t make jokes about Jack’s superpower. Ianto doesn’t ignore Jack’s deaths either. Whenever he can be, he’s there when Jack revives, a comforting, reassuring presence, helping to ground him through the disorientation of returning to life. He brings Jack extra coffee and snacks afterwards, helping to replenish the energy his rapid healing uses up. When Jack gets dismembered, Ianto collects all the bits and puts them back in their correct places to help him knit back together. He always knows when Jack is suffering and provides painkillers to ease his post-resurrection aches and pains.
Jack isn’t the only one with a superpower, he decides. Ianto Jones has one as well, beyond his superlative coffee-making skills, and his almost telepathic ability to know what his colleagues need before they’re aware of it themselves. The quiet Welshman’s superpower is his compassion and empathy; he suffers whenever Jack does, and in so doing he eases the burden of Jack’s immortality, just enough to give him the strength and courage to keep going.
The thought of ever losing the steadfast support and love Ianto gives him so freely chills Jack to the bone. He’d never wish his superpower on anyone, not even his worst enemy, but in his weakest moments, Jack can’t help wishing he could keep Ianto with him forever, and never have to be alone and uncared for again.
The End