Hidden Identity-Chapter 11
Title: Hidden Identity- Chapter 11/13 + Epilogue
Author: Iantojjackh
Rating: PG
Summary: Jack and Ianto have returned to Earth and brought the 456 with them. It's just another day in the adventures of Jack and Ianto and the identity of the shadowy figure is revealed.
Characters: Jack Harkness, Alonso Frame, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams, Rhiannon Davies, Ianto Jones, Tenth Doctor, Twelfth Doctor,
Spoilers: CoE compliant fix-it and The End of Time (DW)
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. I just borrowed them for a short spell. I wish I owned them so there wouldn't be the need to write fix-its like this.
Word Count: ~26k
Beta: timelordshines
Notes: this originally started off as a prompt from jo02 from the torchwood-fest member created fest way back earlier this year. Written for longliveianto big bang round 2. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. Only two more chapters after this one. I hope that you are all still enjoying this tale. Please don't forget to leave a comment.
Chapter 11
"What are you doing here?" Ianto said, anger seeping into his voice. "You're dead."
Jack reached for his gun which was not there and instead lunged for the intruder.
"The same can be said for you Mr. Jones, I mean Mr. Frame." John Frobisher said with a sardonic smile.
"What are you playing at, Frobisher?" Jack pulled the man up from the bed and threw him against a wall.
"I guess I deserve that."
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't snap your neck?" Jack was blind with rage as he crushed the other man into the wall.
"Because if it was not for me, Ianto would never have got out of Thames House."
Ianto gasped as the realisation hit him. "It was you. You were there, weren't you?"
"Very astute of you, Mr Jones. You always had an eye for detail."
"What's going on?" Jack asked as he turned to Ianto, knowing the truth would never come from the one to blame for the whole situation.
"I always felt there was someone else on the TARDIS besides the Doctor when I was recovering. But why you? Everything was your fault. If it wasn't for you none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have died. Was this your way to atone for your transgressions? Why did you call me Mr Frame? How do you know that name?" Ianto was the angriest he had been in a long time and a deep seeded rage boiled within.
"Yes, I understand both your anger. However those events had to happen exactly as they did for everything to work." John tried to explain, but it was obvious neither man was listening to him, blinded by rage and hatred. "I was the one who came up with the idea to create Alonso and use that holographic chip in your neck. But you broke one of my rules to never come back to Earth and with that you brought back the creatures that killed you in the first place." Frobisher reached into his coat and pulled something out. "I'm sure you recognise what this is, Jack?"
"I've got one of those too," Ianto said unimpressed, and with a roll of his eyes. "Is that a pocket watch or stop watch?"
Jack's reaction was very different as he watched in awe interlaced with seething anger. "That's no ordinary watch, Ianto. It's a special kind of fob watch." He knew with his husband's knowledge of the archives that he would understand what me meant; the kind of fob watch that locked away a Time Lord’s essence , making them human. "You're a bastard." Jack took a hard swing at the man he now realised was the Doctor.
The Time Lord let the punch connect once. Jack had lost and hurt the most from his actions and he still owed the Captain a lot for everything he had put the immortal man through.
"Jack, let me explain." The Doctor held his hands up in defence to stop another blow.
"Why should I? Give me one reason why I should listen to anything you have to say?"
"Because I changed time twice to save the millions that would have died and to stop this planet from turning in on itself." The Doctor began to explain.
"Twice?"
"The first time the 456 came they did not even speak through the children. They just took twenty five percent of the children without warning. The World’s government were caught completely off guard. They had no way to track or identify the aliens and no idea how to deal with them. The loss of all those children caused the world to spin into chaos and everyone turned on each other. UNIT blamed Torchwood and Ms. Cooper and Mr. Jones were tried and convicted and publicly executed by firing squad. It was a farce of a trial. It really was a tribunal consisting of UNIT top brass whom had already had only one verdict in mind. It was their way to make rationalize and clear their conscious about executing two innocent people. As for you Captain, you were sent to uncharted territory in Antarctica with nothing resembling cold weather gear. It was barbaric, but with a quarter of the children, people wanted to blame someone and Torchwood was the scapegoat."
"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Ianto growled. As if he could believe a story like that.
"Believe what you want, Mr. Jones. You are proof that what I said is the truth. Well proof that I changed, a prior regeneration at least, the timeline once. The one that came before the one that came before me was a smug bastard. The first time the regeneration between us did not exist. He was only created because I decided to not let all those children be taken. As much as the Doctor hated what the Time Lords stood for, he was more like them then he cared or dared to admit. In order to stop the children from being taken, I had to put my Time Lord essence into this fob watch and make sure I was in a position to deal with the 456 when they arrived."
Both Ianto and Jack's heads were spinning, not sure what was fact and what was fiction. The tale weaved by the doctor was like a jumble of knots trying to pass itself of as a beautiful pattern. It just didn't work and it made no sense. "But why didn't you save me yourself then?"
"I couldn't directly interfere more than I already had. The resulting temporal storm could have wiped out a large part of this section of space. So I put some pressure on my previous self. I told him what happened the first time with the children. However I miscalculated the impact that losing you and Steven would have on Jack. Having you die in his arms created all these cracks in him and then being forced to sacrifice his grandson fractured those cracks and started the decent into the dark oblivion you were told about. My two selves ran countless simulations and the only way to save all those people was for Jack to have his moral compass back in his life and there was only one way to do that."
"I'm hardly fit to be someone's moral compass." Ianto shook his head. He and Jack were good together but he wouldn't call himself a moral compass for his husband.
"You have been good for Jack. You've changed him. What make it work is because you'd never asked him to change, you accepted him for who he was and yet are capable of putting Jack in his place when he needs it. He changed because he wanted to and that's the only time a person can really change." The Time Lord gave Jack a fond but sad smile.
Jack and Ianto exchange bemused looks as the Doctor talked about their relationship. He was unlike any previous regenerations and it made Ianto wonder if some of the Time Lord's attitude was because of guilt over his previous treatment of Jack.
"You aren't going to put Ianto into stasis because we broke your rule of never returning to Earth?" Jack asked, gripping Ianto's hand tightly afraid of the answer.
"Of course not. While I'm disappointed that you did not listen to me, I can see why you did what you did. You wanted to say goodbye to the place that was your home. You are only human after all."
"And look how we screwed that up," Ianto sighed. "I never expected the 456 to follow us here. How did they even know I was alive?"
"Because a connection was made with you once you were infected with the virus. They sensed the moment both of you returned to Earth."
"If we had stayed travelling the universe and never came home, they would never have returned."
"Precisely. Right now they are only looking for revenge, but that can change at any moment which is why we have to deal with them as soon as we can. And don't even think about surrendering yourselves. They will torture you for eternity."
"Then how are we going to get rid of them this time."
"Simple! The same way you got rid of them the first time," the Doctor grinned.
"I'm not sacrificing another child to do it. I couldn't live with myself if I had to do that again."
Ianto wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder, offering silent support.
"You won't. Like I said both of you are connected to them. You can be used as the conduits to send a construct wave back to them. I'll have to do some calculations, but using two full grown men who happen to be immortal, the feedback signal should be strong enough to not only kill the ones orbiting the planet but also those in other parts of the universe."
"Are you sure?" Ianto asked. It sounded like the Doctor had made up most of what he said on the spot.
"Dear, boy, don't you listen? I said I had to do the calculations. It may take some time, but it will get done. I then have to build the necessary equipment so we can send back the signal. Shame they dismantled the other one. I'll contact you when everything is complete. Relax and enjoy being newlyweds. Congratulations by the way. Many years of happiness. This will all be over soon." The Doctor swept out of the room before either man could say anything.
The Doctor had a plan and there was no option but to go along with it. All they could do was wait until the Time Lord was ready for them. Over the next few days Jack and Ianto made sure they kept a low profile which included switching hotels to avoid an irate Gwen. Neither doubted that she would tear apart Cardiff looking for them, but they were better at hiding and it helped that the couple never left the room until four days later the Doctor showed up and told them it was time.
To be continued... Chapter 12
A/n: When I started posting this I did not realise how perfectly this would time with introducing the new Doctor.
Previous Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Author: Iantojjackh
Rating: PG
Summary: Jack and Ianto have returned to Earth and brought the 456 with them. It's just another day in the adventures of Jack and Ianto and the identity of the shadowy figure is revealed.
Characters: Jack Harkness, Alonso Frame, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams, Rhiannon Davies, Ianto Jones, Tenth Doctor, Twelfth Doctor,
Spoilers: CoE compliant fix-it and The End of Time (DW)
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. I just borrowed them for a short spell. I wish I owned them so there wouldn't be the need to write fix-its like this.
Word Count: ~26k
Beta: timelordshines
Notes: this originally started off as a prompt from jo02 from the torchwood-fest member created fest way back earlier this year. Written for longliveianto big bang round 2. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. Only two more chapters after this one. I hope that you are all still enjoying this tale. Please don't forget to leave a comment.
Chapter 11
"What are you doing here?" Ianto said, anger seeping into his voice. "You're dead."
Jack reached for his gun which was not there and instead lunged for the intruder.
"The same can be said for you Mr. Jones, I mean Mr. Frame." John Frobisher said with a sardonic smile.
"What are you playing at, Frobisher?" Jack pulled the man up from the bed and threw him against a wall.
"I guess I deserve that."
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't snap your neck?" Jack was blind with rage as he crushed the other man into the wall.
"Because if it was not for me, Ianto would never have got out of Thames House."
Ianto gasped as the realisation hit him. "It was you. You were there, weren't you?"
"Very astute of you, Mr Jones. You always had an eye for detail."
"What's going on?" Jack asked as he turned to Ianto, knowing the truth would never come from the one to blame for the whole situation.
"I always felt there was someone else on the TARDIS besides the Doctor when I was recovering. But why you? Everything was your fault. If it wasn't for you none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have died. Was this your way to atone for your transgressions? Why did you call me Mr Frame? How do you know that name?" Ianto was the angriest he had been in a long time and a deep seeded rage boiled within.
"Yes, I understand both your anger. However those events had to happen exactly as they did for everything to work." John tried to explain, but it was obvious neither man was listening to him, blinded by rage and hatred. "I was the one who came up with the idea to create Alonso and use that holographic chip in your neck. But you broke one of my rules to never come back to Earth and with that you brought back the creatures that killed you in the first place." Frobisher reached into his coat and pulled something out. "I'm sure you recognise what this is, Jack?"
"I've got one of those too," Ianto said unimpressed, and with a roll of his eyes. "Is that a pocket watch or stop watch?"
Jack's reaction was very different as he watched in awe interlaced with seething anger. "That's no ordinary watch, Ianto. It's a special kind of fob watch." He knew with his husband's knowledge of the archives that he would understand what me meant; the kind of fob watch that locked away a Time Lord’s essence , making them human. "You're a bastard." Jack took a hard swing at the man he now realised was the Doctor.
The Time Lord let the punch connect once. Jack had lost and hurt the most from his actions and he still owed the Captain a lot for everything he had put the immortal man through.
"Jack, let me explain." The Doctor held his hands up in defence to stop another blow.
"Why should I? Give me one reason why I should listen to anything you have to say?"
"Because I changed time twice to save the millions that would have died and to stop this planet from turning in on itself." The Doctor began to explain.
"Twice?"
"The first time the 456 came they did not even speak through the children. They just took twenty five percent of the children without warning. The World’s government were caught completely off guard. They had no way to track or identify the aliens and no idea how to deal with them. The loss of all those children caused the world to spin into chaos and everyone turned on each other. UNIT blamed Torchwood and Ms. Cooper and Mr. Jones were tried and convicted and publicly executed by firing squad. It was a farce of a trial. It really was a tribunal consisting of UNIT top brass whom had already had only one verdict in mind. It was their way to make rationalize and clear their conscious about executing two innocent people. As for you Captain, you were sent to uncharted territory in Antarctica with nothing resembling cold weather gear. It was barbaric, but with a quarter of the children, people wanted to blame someone and Torchwood was the scapegoat."
"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Ianto growled. As if he could believe a story like that.
"Believe what you want, Mr. Jones. You are proof that what I said is the truth. Well proof that I changed, a prior regeneration at least, the timeline once. The one that came before the one that came before me was a smug bastard. The first time the regeneration between us did not exist. He was only created because I decided to not let all those children be taken. As much as the Doctor hated what the Time Lords stood for, he was more like them then he cared or dared to admit. In order to stop the children from being taken, I had to put my Time Lord essence into this fob watch and make sure I was in a position to deal with the 456 when they arrived."
Both Ianto and Jack's heads were spinning, not sure what was fact and what was fiction. The tale weaved by the doctor was like a jumble of knots trying to pass itself of as a beautiful pattern. It just didn't work and it made no sense. "But why didn't you save me yourself then?"
"I couldn't directly interfere more than I already had. The resulting temporal storm could have wiped out a large part of this section of space. So I put some pressure on my previous self. I told him what happened the first time with the children. However I miscalculated the impact that losing you and Steven would have on Jack. Having you die in his arms created all these cracks in him and then being forced to sacrifice his grandson fractured those cracks and started the decent into the dark oblivion you were told about. My two selves ran countless simulations and the only way to save all those people was for Jack to have his moral compass back in his life and there was only one way to do that."
"I'm hardly fit to be someone's moral compass." Ianto shook his head. He and Jack were good together but he wouldn't call himself a moral compass for his husband.
"You have been good for Jack. You've changed him. What make it work is because you'd never asked him to change, you accepted him for who he was and yet are capable of putting Jack in his place when he needs it. He changed because he wanted to and that's the only time a person can really change." The Time Lord gave Jack a fond but sad smile.
Jack and Ianto exchange bemused looks as the Doctor talked about their relationship. He was unlike any previous regenerations and it made Ianto wonder if some of the Time Lord's attitude was because of guilt over his previous treatment of Jack.
"You aren't going to put Ianto into stasis because we broke your rule of never returning to Earth?" Jack asked, gripping Ianto's hand tightly afraid of the answer.
"Of course not. While I'm disappointed that you did not listen to me, I can see why you did what you did. You wanted to say goodbye to the place that was your home. You are only human after all."
"And look how we screwed that up," Ianto sighed. "I never expected the 456 to follow us here. How did they even know I was alive?"
"Because a connection was made with you once you were infected with the virus. They sensed the moment both of you returned to Earth."
"If we had stayed travelling the universe and never came home, they would never have returned."
"Precisely. Right now they are only looking for revenge, but that can change at any moment which is why we have to deal with them as soon as we can. And don't even think about surrendering yourselves. They will torture you for eternity."
"Then how are we going to get rid of them this time."
"Simple! The same way you got rid of them the first time," the Doctor grinned.
"I'm not sacrificing another child to do it. I couldn't live with myself if I had to do that again."
Ianto wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder, offering silent support.
"You won't. Like I said both of you are connected to them. You can be used as the conduits to send a construct wave back to them. I'll have to do some calculations, but using two full grown men who happen to be immortal, the feedback signal should be strong enough to not only kill the ones orbiting the planet but also those in other parts of the universe."
"Are you sure?" Ianto asked. It sounded like the Doctor had made up most of what he said on the spot.
"Dear, boy, don't you listen? I said I had to do the calculations. It may take some time, but it will get done. I then have to build the necessary equipment so we can send back the signal. Shame they dismantled the other one. I'll contact you when everything is complete. Relax and enjoy being newlyweds. Congratulations by the way. Many years of happiness. This will all be over soon." The Doctor swept out of the room before either man could say anything.
The Doctor had a plan and there was no option but to go along with it. All they could do was wait until the Time Lord was ready for them. Over the next few days Jack and Ianto made sure they kept a low profile which included switching hotels to avoid an irate Gwen. Neither doubted that she would tear apart Cardiff looking for them, but they were better at hiding and it helped that the couple never left the room until four days later the Doctor showed up and told them it was time.
To be continued... Chapter 12
A/n: When I started posting this I did not realise how perfectly this would time with introducing the new Doctor.
Previous Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10