Venom - part 1
Venom
Part 1: Operation
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, some Owen/Ianto Friendship.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to cyberwoman
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood... believe me... if i did Jack and Ianto would walk around in nothing but tight pants (and a tie for Ianto) The BBC own it. so as much as i love it i don't own it :(
Summary: The Weevil population is evolving into a dangerous venomous species. But when Owen and Ianto journey down into the sewers to investigate, a serious accident occurs.
Owen and Ianto stood side-by-side as they stalked through the sewers, guns pointed and ready. The two men gagged at the unusual and unhygienic smell coming from the other end of the tunnel that wafted towards them. They had been down in the sewer for half an hour and their white boiler suits had turned a murky shade of brown.
The under ground tunnel was dark and dingy, and even with the light of the two powerful torches that rested on their shoulders Owen and Ianto could hardly see a foot in front of them. The dampness of the odorous tunnel was apparent and every time a drop of liquid fell from the roof onto them they cringed at the thought of what it may contain.
“This place is disgusting Jack,” Owen moaned through his headset, “the next time you want a sample of Weevil shit you're doing it yourself. It's fucking vile down here.”
“Its not Weevil shit Owen,” Jack's voice crackled as it came through the comms system, “it's Weevil venom.”
“Oh well that's all right then.”
“Just get the Weevil and subdue it, make the incision and extract the gland,”he explained, “in-out in-out shake it all about and back in time for dinner.”
“Yeah, well we're going to the pub and you're buying,” he said.
Ianto creased up his nose and almost gagged as they edged closer to the foul smell that seemed to be somewhere between Weevil shit and rotting corpses, with a hint of sweetness that caught in his throat as though it was trying to choke him.
“Remind me never to piss Jack off again,” Ianto mumbled as he stepped in something that looked like Weevil shit, smelt like Weevil shit and felt like Weevil shit. He was pretty sure that it was, in fact, Weevil shit.
“Yeah well you were the one who wanted to be a little more hands-on,” Owen chuckled, and stopped when he gagged and almost threw up, “learnt your lesson now haven't you?”
“I'm just happy that I changed first,” he said gesturing to the white boiler suits that they wore, “It's not exactly the height of fashion but I think I may have cried if I just stood in what I just stood in with my shoes on.”
“You and your precious suits,” Owen grumbled, “they're not exactly practical.”
“They're fine if I'm not knee-deep in Weevil excrement.”
“Plus, you just love the attention Jack gives you,” he said, “undressing you with his eyes twenty-four hours a bloody day. It's sick.”
“That is not the reason I dress that way.”
“The hell it's not.”
“Could you two stop your bickering for one moment and concentrate on the job in hand?” Jack's voice filtered into their headsets, “eyes and ears open. These Weevils are evolving and even I don't know what we're dealing with here.”
“Sorry, Jack,” they mumbled, and continued to edge forward carefully down the odorous tunnel.
Owen looked around and scanned with his eyes for any Weevils; they used to be creatures that you could subdue with a chemical spray, but in the past few weeks things had changed significantly. The Weevils had gone from alien annoyance, to alien threat. There had been an influx of Weevil attacks recently, mainly on domestic animals, that left them whimpering and needing to be put down. The effect on humans wasn't yet known and he had no intention of finding out.
“There!” Ianto said in a whisper, shining the light towards a Weevil that stood no more than a foot away. “It looks distracted.”
“You clamp it and I'll spray,” Owen whispered back, slowly reaching for the spray in his pocket. Ianto found the hand clamps and held them in his hands. Quietly, they put their guns away and stalked towards it. The creature was too preoccupied with mauling its food to look in their direction and didn't even notice the two men as they approached it, Ianto closing in on his left side, and Owen at its right.
Owen took his chance and sprayed the Weevil in the eyes whilst Ianto wrestled it to the ground and clamped it securely, holding it against the ground with Owen's help. The creature struggled against them and Ianto sat on its back whilst it bucked, and thrashed around trying t break free. The spray no longer worked as much as it used to, and instead of knocking thee creatures out just seemed to confuse it and weaken it slightly. Owen removed his bag from his back and lay it on the ground, taking out a syringe. He thrust the thick needle into the Weevils neck and waited a few moments until it relaxed and stopped bucking.
They looked at each other and slowly let go, turning the Weevil onto its back.
“Nice work Ianto,” Owen said breathless, “I suppose you do come in useful once in a while.”
“Not so bad yourself.”
“Aww, so sweet,” Jack's voice said through the headset, “maybe you two can go on a date later, right now why don't you turn to the job at hand before it wakes up.”
Ianto and Owen collectively rolled their eyes and crouched down either side of the subdued creature. Ianto took both of the torches and illuminated Owen's bag whilst he prepared his equipment, then turned it onto the jaw of the creature.
“Just do it as quick as you can,” Ianto said, “I don't know how long I can stand this smell.”
“Next time we do this we should probably bring masks,” Owen commented as he made his incision and felt around for the gland.
“Next time?”
“There will be a next time,” he said, carefully cutting out the gland and placing it into a specimen jar. “There's always a next time.”
“Is that it?”
“It's all we need, but I think I'm going to take my chances and collect the other one. Just in case Maggie decides to attack.”
“Maggie?”
“She reminds me of my my first girlfriend,” Owen said, “Big teeth, B.O and a personality problem.”
“Bitter then?”
“Just a bit,” he said, “mind you, unlike the real Maggie, this one should be harmless once I remove the second gland.”
“How many do they have?”
“Probably two, although maybe just the one. But I'm not taking any chances,” he said, carefully making another incision and finding the other gland, placing it in the specimen jaw with the other. He looked up at Ianto and held up the jar shaking it around until the glands moved. “A doddle!”
“Good.”
“We better get packed up here before she wakes up,” Owen said, packing his things away in the bag and putting it back over his shoulders.
Ianto released the creature from its restraints and it flopped to its side, he handed Owen his torch back and turned to make their way down the foul smelling tunnel from where they had come from.
“We're on our way back,” Ianto told Jack through the headset, “and I couldn't be happier, I need a shower.”
“He does,” Owen agreed, “he stinks.”
“So do you.”
“You get me the sample back here and I'll put you in the shower myself,” Jack said, “I have soap on a rope and everything.”
“That won't be necessary, sir.”
Owen rolled his eyes and continued down the tunnel, walking one step ahead. Both men stopped and looked at each other when they heard a rustle and the low wail of a Weevil.
“I think we should get out of here quick,” Ianto whispered.
“Yeah, for once I think I agree with you,” the other man said, looking behind him at the creature who was now stirring as it awoke, with another Weevil crouched beside it, “Maggie looks a little lively for my liking and her friend is making me nervous.”
They picked up the pace a a little and continued down the tunnel, stopping again when they heard footsteps speed up behind them. Ianto spotted a gap in the wall and ducked into it, pulling Owen with him. He held the other man tightly against him in the confined space and waited until the Weevil passed by.
“If you tell anyone we were ever this close I'm going to kill you,” Owen said, letting out a deep breath and peeking out into the tunnel.
“It's not like I fancy you or anything, I was trying to stop you from getting mauled.”
“What's happening down there?” Jack asked.
“Everything is under control, sir,” Ianto said, “just a brief encounter with an unexpected Weevil but we're fine and we're heading back.”
“Do you two need some backup down there?”
“No,” Owen said, “we're fine, we have it all in hand. We'll be back in about ten minutes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Owen squeezed himself out from the tight gap and Ianto followed, they looked around and at Maggie who still crouched over in the corner, wailing to herself. Looking at each other they nodded silently and made their way back.
The low wail stopped and turned into a growl; it got louder and louder, causing Ianto to turn around slowly and tap Owen absently on the shoulder.
“Owen,” he said, pushing him in front of him down the tunnel, “if I were you I'd run.”
“Why?” he asked, turning around to see Maggie gaining on them, “shit!”
“Run!” Ianto shouted, pulling at Owen who stood, routed to the spot. “Owen!”
Ianto began to run, pulling Owen with him, picking him back up by the material of the boiler suit when his feet gave way beneath him; he pulled him alongside him until he was finally forced to run with him.
“She should not have the energy to do that after the sedative I just gave her!” Owen said breathlessly as he ran beside Ianto.
“Don't talk; run,” he said, “with the sedative inside of her and our advantage of speed if we move fast we should be able to outrun her.”
Owen was so busy running he didn't notice Ianto vanish from beside him until he heard him cry out in the background.
He turned around and gasped at the sight; Ianto lay on the ground covering his eyes whilst tying to Kick Maggie off him. He moved quickly, running over and putting a bullet through the creatures head at close range.
“Jack!” he shouted through his earpiece, “I need you down here.”
“What happened?”
“It's Ianto,” he said, moving towards him as he rolled around the floor in agony. He stopped when he saw the mass of thick grey gunge that covered his face. “It's the venom.”