HL50 Prompt - Years Highlander/Torchwood Crossover
This is set post Prodigal Son, and I imagine it as Richie and Duncan attempting to bond again after everything they’ve been through. In terms of Jack there’s a bit of a spoiler for Last of the Time Lords, but actually you won’t get it if you haven’t seen it, so it isn’t really a spoiler.
This may turn into a Denial AU at a later date but right now it's complete.
Un-betaed so any and all comments gratefully accepted.
Disclaimer: I own nothing; I’m simply borrowing it all for a bit of fun. Seriously, even the computer I’m writing it on is borrowed.
We’ll Meet Again
“Come on Mac, please?” Richie said and gave Duncan his most soulful ‘wounded puppy’ expression.
“I don’t see why you want to go there. And why now? You’ve got centuries to explore the globe. There are far more interesting and exotic places to visit first.” Mac replied, continuing to examine the sword he had just obtained at auction.
“To you, maybe, but it is exotic, half a world away to me. I thought it would be good to spend some time together, after all that’s happened. Besides, it’s where you come from.”
“We’re definitely not going to Scotland.” Mac said pointedly.
“So you mean we can go? To England I mean?” Richie said, grinning as he realised he had won the argument. Duncan let out a long sigh of resignation.
“We can drive up to St. Malo in the morning. We’ll be in England in time for the ancient and noble institution of teatime.” He replied with a certain level of sarcasm. Richie punched the air ecstatically.
Duncan hung up his phone and returned to packing his bag, when he felt the approach of another Immortal. He knew it was likely to be Richie, but he laid a hand on his sword in case. A moment later he heard Richie call out a greeting before his young student bounded through the door of the barge. Duncan suppressed a laugh as he saw a distinct resemblance to an over eager puppy. He turned back to his bag and stuffed the last few things in and zipped it up.
“Ready then? There’s a slight change of plan. I had a call from a friend in the antiques trade, says he has a piece I’d be interested in so we’re going to Wales instead.”
“Wales? Where’s that?” Richie asked innocently.
“Don’t worry it’s still in the UK. It’s about two hours from where we arrive.”
The ferry arrived in Poole Harbour without incident, it was one of the lesser ports and Duncan knew that they were unlikely to be searched by customs. If they had gone the more usual route via Dover there might have been awkward questions about their swords. Once they were out of the town, Duncan gunned the Citroen along the narrow country roads, and Richie stared out the window at the fields flashing past.
“There’s just something really…English about it isn’t there?” he said with a contented smile. Duncan spared his friend a glance and smiled before focussing back on the road.
They reached the Severn Bridge as the sun began to set. Richie paid the toll money to the attendant and they began to cross.
“It’s a little joke among the Welsh that the toll is only on one side of the bridge. You can leave for free, but you have to pay to enter Wales.” Duncan explained with a chuckle. Just then the heavens opened, the rain so torrential that they were forced to slow to a crawl.
“Hmm, I can see why.” Richie muttered.
They reached Cardiff and went to the closest pub for some dinner. They sat in the restaurant section at a table that had a clear view of the bar. Richie decided he was going to eat traditional British fare so he ordered pie and chips and a pint of beer, and an amused Duncan ordered the same.
They were almost finished eating their meal when Richie noticed that Duncan was staring intently at a corner of the bar.
“Mac? What is it?”
“It can’t be him. Can’t be. But he looks so much like…Must be his grandson.”
“Who?” Richie asked, following Mac’s gaze to a young man seated in a corner booth. He was dressed in Second World War military uniform, incongruous with the high-tech laptop in front of him.
“That man, he looks exactly like someone I knew in World War Two.”
“Well, that’s impossible; he’s not one of us is he?” Richie asked in a hushed voice, already knowing the answer. Duncan shook his head.
“No. But there is something…” Duncan said half to himself. He got up, leaving a confused Richie to finish eating and walked over to the corner booth. “Anyone sat here?” he asked.
“Help yourself mac.” He replied before looking up at Duncan.
Duncan smiled and sat down opposite the man. He was certain now that he was indeed the man he knew. The man was excellent at hiding his reaction, but there had been an instant of surprise and recognition before the mask had slammed into place.
“You remind me of someone I once knew.” Duncan commented casually.
“Yeah?” the stranger replied cautiously, “I get that a lot. Although I do feel that we’ve met before.”
“Except if it was when I think it was then really neither one of us should be sat here now.”
“I was kinda thinking the same thing. Tell you what, I’ll say who I think you are and you say who you think I am. If we’re wrong then we’ll laugh and walk away. If we’re right…well then we have more to discuss.”
“Okay. I think that you’re Captain Jack Harkness.” Duncan said cautiously.
“And I think you’re Duncan MacLeod.” Jack replied with equal caution.
“Then I think we have more to discuss, don’t you?” Duncan said, looking at Captain Harkness curiously.
“Yes, but not here. Come back to my office.” Jack said, turning off his computer and putting it back in its case.
“Alright, but my friend comes too.” Duncan said, indicating Richie. Jack looked at Richie, assessing him for a moment, then nodded.
Jack led them a short way to an old warehouse near the Cardiff docks. Inside, the building had been divided into several offices, but there was nobody occupying them at present. He led them into one of the larger cubicles and directed them to sit down. He sat behind the desk and looked at the Highlander.
“Mac is that really you? Wow, this is great! Are you a time-traveller too?” he asked with deadly earnest. Duncan snorted with laughter.
“Very funny Harkness. Have the past fifty years driven you batty? Time-traveller, honestly.” Duncan chuckled again. Jack looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.
“You mean? But you can’t be like me, can you? Are you telling me that you’ve lived since the war without getting older?”
“Since a long time before that Jack. I’m four hundred years old. I’m an Immortal.”
“So am I!” Jack blurted out.
“No you’re not. Well not like us anyway. What are you?” Richie said.
“Us? You mean you are too? How old are you?”
“Twenty.” Duncan replied. “Now quit stalling and answer the question.”
“Honestly Duncan, I’m just a man who has a hard time staying dead.” Jack said. “Now how do you know I’m not like you?” he asked, his excitement clear on his face. Duncan and Richie looked at each other and Richie shrugged before Duncan turned back to Jack with a sigh.
“Immortals know each other because of a…feeling. It’s hard to describe, like a pressure in your head. Neither of us felt it when we saw you in the pub. The fact that you looked blank just now when I described the feeling only confirms it.” Duncan explained. Jack looked crestfallen at the news. “Are you okay Jack?”
“I’m sorry, it’s just I’ve been alive about two hundred years now and this was the first time I thought I might get an explanation for why I can’t die.” Jack said, his voice full of loneliness and confusion that Duncan recognised. He could empathise with Jack; after all he himself had spent a long time not knowing what he was.
“I’m sorry we don’t have an answer for you Jack. You may be immortal, but you’re not an Immortal.” Richie said and gave Jack an apologetic smile.
“I think I must be immortal. I’ve lived so long, and died so many ways. I’ve been shot, stabbed, burned, pierced by a javelin…”
“Ouch!” Richie and Duncan said in unison.
“Yeah! And one time I was even decapitated!” Jack said with a laugh. Duncan and Richie threw a look at each other, but Jack didn’t notice. “Man, that one really hurt to come back from. Luckily for me someone thought to sew my head back on before I was buried or who knows what would have happened. Imagine being a disembodied head, floating in a jar or something!” Jack said and gave another laugh. Just then a device strapped to Jack’s wrist flashed and made a beeping noise. Jack flipped it open and examined it. “Do you to want to take a walk with me? I’ve got some business to attend to.”
Duncan looked to Richie, who gave a non-committed shrug .
“Sure. Why not?” Richie said.
“So, what do you guys do?” Jack asked nonchalantly as they walked along the street.
“Mac’s in antiques and I’m just starting out in motorbike racing. Track.”
“Yeah? That’s really cool,” Jack said with a flirtatious smile that bordered on predatory, “Guess it’s not so dangerous for someone like us.”
“No, but he still has to be careful. A public death can lead to some major headaches with the authorities.” Duncan said sternly.
“I know, I know. A whole new identity, not being able to come to France for a generation.” Richie said with a sigh.
“I’m guessing you’ve heard this speech before?” Jack said with a grin. Any further conversation was cut short by a scream from an alley up ahead. The three of them started to run and headed for the alley. They reached it in time to see a woman being cornered by what looked to Richie and Duncan like an oversized and very ugly ape. “Richie, you stay here, stop it trying to escape. Duncan, you take the left, I’ll take the right,” Jack tossed them both a small object that looked like a gun. “It’s just a tranquiliser dart, but try not to hit any friendlies, there’s enough in there to take down a rhino.” He started forward, followed closely by Duncan.
They crept up on the creature, which was still too interested in its quarry to notice their approach. Unfortunately the woman did spot them and cried out for help. This made the creature turn, it knocked the woman unconscious, and, shoving Duncan roughly out of the way, it headed straight for Richie.
“Aw crap.” Richie muttered, before aiming the tranquiliser gun and firing. His shot hit home, but only in the arm and to his amazement the creature kept coming. Jack raised his own weapon and shot a dart into the creature’s neck. It growled and leapt for Richie, just as the anaesthetic kicked in, and it landed at Richie’s feet, unconscious. Jack came up to the creature and tapped it with his shoe. When it didn’t stir he pulled out a radio and spoke into it.
“Weevil secured, location requires cleanup and victim requires Retcon.” He said and replaced the radio in his pocket before any reply came through.
“What the hell is that?” Richie said, pointing to the creature at their feet, as Duncan staggered up to join them.
“The woman’s okay, unconscious but okay.” Duncan said.
“Weevil. Nasty buggers, the city’s full of them.” Jack replied to Richie.
“Yes, but what are they?” Duncan insisted.
“They’re aliens.” Jack said. Richie snorted.
“But aliens don’t exist. Do they?” he asked.
“Immortals do,” Jack replied “trust me, the universe is a hell of a lot bigger than anyone imagined. There are aliens out there, and not all of them are friendly.”
“So this is what you do? Defend the Earth from unfriendly aliens?” Richie asked incredulously.
“Only Cardiff actually, but yes, this is what I do. Whether anyone knows it or not, there’s a war going on and someone has to make sure that Earth doesn’t lose.”
“I’m glad to see you’re still fighting the good fight.” Duncan said; a touch of irony in his voice.
“Somebody has to. You know Torchwood could always use more employees of our…abilities.”
“Thanks, but I’ve had enough of war.” Duncan replied.
“Richie?”
“Fighting aliens with lasers and spaceships?” Richie said excitedly, before noticing the disapproving look on Duncan’s face, “I’d really love to, but I’ve got a racing career taking off. Maybe in a few years, when I have to retire.” He gave a faint grin, which Jack returned.
“Fair enough.” Jack replied. “Ordinarily I’d have to wipe your memories, but I’m not even sure Retcon would work on you. I’m guessing that you aren’t going to mention any of this to anyone though are you?”
“Who would believe us?” Duncan said.
“You’d better go before my team arrives,” Jack said, “It was good to see you again Duncan, good to meet you Richie. If either of you change your mind, you know where I am.” Jack shook their hands and headed back up the alley to check on the Weevil’s victim. Richie and Duncan took one last look at the Weevil at their feet and headed back to their hotel.
“Jeez, life is just full of surprises isn’t it Mac?” Richie said with a grin as they walked along deserted streets.
“That it is Rich. Who’d have thought I’d run into Harkness after all these years?” Duncan said seriously. Richie looked at him for a moment before the two of them burst out laughing.