Fic: Red Shift (S2: Chap 1, SoI 16), Jack/Ianto
Chapter Title: Red Shift (S2: Chap 1, SoI 16)
Author: sarcasticchick
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: R
Spoilers: TW S1
Fluffers/Betas: lilithilien, fivealive
Summary: You know, you're not Jack....
A/N: This is the start of my Series 2, blatantly disregarding any spoilers from TW S2 or DW S3. I repeat - no spoilers, no plot from TW S2 or DW3. Short chapter, I know. At least short for me. ;) Next week is shaping up to be a doozy and I didn't want to break it up. So... a relatively short chapter.
For Shades of Ianto series information, please see Prologue, Chapter 1
Previous Chapters:
Prologue: Chapters 1-7 (Complete)
Series1: Chapters 1-8 (Complete)
"You know, you're not Jack."
Ianto grimaced as Owen tugged with what he deemed was more force than necessary at the stitches he was lacing in Ianto's cheek. It wasn't that bad of a gash, really, more a scratch, but Owen had demanded to see to Ianto's injuries before either of them went home.
Tosh and Gwen had claimed business to attend to at the Hub as well.
The creature had taken them all by surprise, waiting outside the pub they frequented every Monday and Thursday eve as well as after every near-victory, a tradition borne by desperation and the resolve to carry on. They had first gone after Gwen had almost been taken by an alien with green horns and tail with a penchant for freckles. Then it happened again, and again, and eventually became pattern. Ianto took it out of Torchwood's budget as "team bonding exercises." What did it matter, he signed off on all the requests at any rate. And it did help. Except when they left and ran into an alien wielding a slim blade (claw?) with a deadly reach. Two people had died before they got involved; Owen would very nearly have followed if not for Ianto's timely shove. Ianto had been the focus instead, though he found the alien's attack remarkably similar to fencing and was quick enough to avoid the slashes. For the most part. Tosh had killed it with her pepper spray; its skin reacted poorly to the chemical mist, rather like a fatal case of hives.
And so Torchwood Three functioned, by the skin of their teeth and a little dose of luck.
Sometimes, Ianto thought they only survived because they were anxiously waiting for Jack's return, unwilling to lose the fight before they saw him swagger into the Hub, broadly grinning on a high from his latest adventures from beyond this space and time. At this point, six months after Jack's disappearance (departure, really, since Ianto knew he had left by choice), Ianto didn't really care if he ever returned. At first he had been angry, then he mourned, and then he found himself in his current state of apathy. He should replace Jack, but unlike the others who didn't ask for Jack to be replaced because that would mean admitting he was gone and never returning, he didn't replace Jack simply because he couldn't be bothered with it. He had other things to worry about than replacing an arrogant, deserting, selfish, shallow man who cared nothing more for anyone else than what it got for him in the next breath.
The children were still missing.
Six months had gone by since Jack had left, nearly nine since Avalon had been destroyed. Ianto refused to lose hope and give in to the fear that they were lost forever, but he could see it creeping into Jean-Luc and Stephen's faces. Time had long since run out -- like a forest after a fire, Avalon actually housed two new students under the tutelage of Stephen and Jean-Luc. Tosh could find nothing new on the whereabouts of Torchwood Four -- that idea was all but thrown out as far as an explanation and Ianto was out of options, though he never quit scouring the Archives. Whoever had Avalon had them well-hidden and was somehow blocking the kids' abilities -- one of them would surely have enough strength to shout out to anyone listening otherwise.
Although the resident Boy Wonder was currently disabled and wasn't "listening" like normal.
Ianto couldn't blame Jean-Luc his fears and reservations, but it was frustrating to witness. He supposed he himself had dealt with trauma after London (and dealt rather poorly, if hiding a Cyberman in the basement of the Hub was any indication) but it felt as though they didn't have time for Jean-Luc to work through his issues. But no matter how they pushed, Jean-Luc remained as mentally "paralyzed" as the general populous.
With Avalon Two rebuilt and Stephen taking up teaching, "Mr. Black" fell out of the sight and mind, for all Torchwood knew. Stephen still phoned occasionally, pretending to check in, but for the most part Ianto bore in quiet the duties of the office with the same obsessive order as he did Torchwood Three. Five more countries had been brought into the shaky alliance -- India, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, and Canada -- creating a network of thirteen who all swore to assist if one or more were to fall to alien threat. It wasn't much, but it was a start. The United States had been the closest to needing assistance; Colonel Sheppard had regaled the story of the alien invasion of the zombie creatures who fed on brains (the hippocampus, in specific). The way Sheppard had told it had made Ianto laugh while he drank a scotch in Jack's office, no laughing matter but Sheppard had described the aliens as "slug-faced lemurs with mouths like Jaws and ears like Batman."
If Ianto cared, he would note that Sheppard reminded him a lot of the Captain, but he didn't. And if he enjoyed his late-night conversations with Sheppard, then it was simply because Sheppard was entertaining and took him away from the pains of the day and the hollow echo of the Hub.
The shadows still moved and Ianto still picked up petals before the team arrived in the morning. It was oddly comforting -- Ianto believed that if the faeries ever stopped watching, it was time to be concerned.
Fingers snapped in front of his face and Ianto blinked, realizing he had never answered Owen's statement. You're not Jack. Yes, Ianto was painfully aware of that fact and was reminded every morning when the team looked to him during their morning meeting with respect that was merely biding its time until Jack returned. It stung a bit, knowing they'd rather have Jack. Ianto was only human after all. But he did the best he could.
He wondered, briefly, if this was how Jack felt in the Doctor's presence. Ianto was no fool -- the interviews, the hand, Gwen's statement that Jack was looking for the "right kind of doctor" -- he put two and two together to equal "The Doctor," nemesis and bane of Torchwood, for whatever that was worth. The others hadn't grown up with the dedication to the capture of the elusive man, but Ianto was beginning to doubt some of Torchwood's most impassioned creeds against aliens, but not their tech. If he wasn't mistaken, the Doctor had assisted during the Battle. He had at least been within the building and Ianto didn't think he would have assisted either Dalek or Cyberman, but perhaps he had done nothing at all and if that were true, Ianto hoped the Doctor would roast eternally in whatever existed as hell for Time Lords. All was possible, though Ianto reserved judgement until he questioned the Doctor himself.
Ianto had heard tales of the presence of the Time Lord, and privately wondered if Jack wasn't trying to emulate the Doctor, or if it was a natural, inherent quality from whatever distant land and time they came from. Just as the others would drop everything and follow Jack, so would Jack do with the Doctor. It was quite depressing, actually. Ianto knew he had none of that. But he did the best he could.
Yet he still wasn't Jack. "Yes, not only was he abysmal at paperwork, but he couldn't brew a decent pot of coffee even if it got him laid."
"That's not..." There was another tug at his cheek and Ianto heard Owen's tools clatter on the metal tray. "You're bloody mortal, you twat. Don't think we haven't noticed. I'd wager the job came with a death wish, only you can actually die."
Owen handed him two pills that Ianto recognized as antibiotics and a tiny paper cup of water. He took both without question -- he knew what the sedatives looked like and Owen had only tried it that once. Owen leaned against the edge of the counter and watched with arms crossed as Ianto swallowed both. Really, Ianto didn't need another smothering him. He had Elaine already doing that. "Then learn to move faster. That creature nearly skewered you."
"This isn't about me."
"It's not?" Ianto rose from the exam table and gathered his suit coat, not bothering to look in any reflective surface. He grabbed the regimen of antibiotics as well -- he knew now well enough what the pattern was. He was lucky the things still worked for him. "If I die, then leadership rests on you, unless you pass it off again." Low, but truth.
"I don't give a damn about that!" Owen spluttered for a moment, starting and stopping repeatedly while Ianto watched impassively. Finally Owen looked like he gave up on whatever he was trying to say, for which Ianto was rather glad. He was tired of trying to interpret Owen's half-starts. "Forget it! Take your bloody antibiotics and come to me before your cheek turns black and your face falls off."
Ianto watched as Owen stormed out of the room and shouted his goodbyes to Tosh and Gwen. When Ianto finally climbed the stairs and joined the others, he kindly told them to go home. Gwen's protest was interrupted by a yawn and Tosh simply agreed, handing Ianto a stack of reports on oddities she'd noticed coinciding with the increase in Rift activity over the past two years. The numbers swam in front of Ianto, but he would look them over before he went home. He took them to Jack's office, setting them on the desk but he didn't look, just rested his forehead on his arms. And if he later went to sleep on Jack's bed, it was merely because he was too exhausted to drive home, not for any other reason.
***
"Ianto!"
Tosh's squeal had Ianto's heart leaping into this throat as he fed Myfanwy, but he quickly realized it was not Tosh-in-pain or Tosh-in-danger, it was Tosh-extremely-excited. He finished setting up Myfanwy's evening meal (he knew better than to short the poor girl a meal -- a Pterodactyl scorned was not a pretty sight) and stripped off the gloves and raced to Tosh's desk, slowing when he didn't see her. Her voice had come from this locale, but she wasn't there. "Tosh?" His eyes scanned Jack's office, the conference room, the other desks, feeling more and more unnerved as the hairs on the back of his neck rose in response to being watched (not the faeries, it had a different feel). Knowing that Owen and Gwen were out investigating a reported flying alien sighting and lacking a better weapon, he grabbed a pen from Tosh's desk, knowing the small puncture would be harmless in most cases, but if whatever was in the Hub had eyes, he could possibly do some damage. His fingers were on the keyboard to send the Hub into lock-down when he caught movement to the side of him. Spinning, pen clutched as a dagger, Ianto froze. He saw that it was Tosh, staring with wide-eyes and clutching a device in her hands.
"It's me!" Tosh rushed, holding her hands up in defense or peace, Ianto wasn't sure.
Ianto looked around warily, unsure where the unseen eyes had vanished to. Maybe Tosh's added presence had frightened it off. He started a scan of the Hub at any rate on Tosh's computer, using the one monitor to which wasn't scrolling numbers at a furious pace. "Sorry. Thought I ... " Ianto couldn't explain it without sounding mental, so he just pressed on. "What did you find?"
"It's shifted! That's why we can't see it, it's out of phase. I'm still running calculations, but I noted-"
Tosh kept talking, Ianto knew she was, but the sound was bouncing off the bubble so only warped distorted syllables reached his mind. He tried to fight the urge to vomit or run, or both would be a viable option. Ghost shifts....out of phase...enough energy to power Britain...so many dead...not again not bloody again, can't be, no army to fight it, there's only four...
"Ianto!" The sharp sting on his face snapped him out of the hysteria building in his mind. Dazed, he noted that now he had two pains in his cheeks, one side still stitched from the previous night's confrontation, the other a remarkable hand-shaped sting. "I'm so sorry! You were ... "
Once his surroundings came into focus, Ianto realized he was sitting in Tosh's chair, hands shaking violently as he tried to not remember running through the halls of Torchwood One, hiding from those wishing to convert every human into desensitized metal shells bent on conquering and destroying. He'd panicked, he belatedly realized, embarrassed to find himself clinging as much to Tosh as she was to him as she apologized over and over. He had to pull himself together. Not only was he acting head of Torchwood Three, he was the head of all Torchwood. If there was to be another invasion, he would lead them. He had to. It was his duty.
"I"m fine, Tosh, really." Ianto peeled himself away from her and stood, taking a deep breath and centered himself (and his balance, as that was precarious at best on knees that still trembled). He shoved his fear aside. Fear was irrational and, while warranted, it was useless now. Rubbing a hand over his face to provide a tactile sense of self (and numbing the sting still in his cheek), Ianto calmed and hid behind the front he knew would have to remain steady until death or victory. "How long until the incursion begins?"
"How do you do that?"
Her question gave Ianto pause. "Do what?"
"You...never mind." Tosh shook her head then pointed at the monitors. "That's just it. It's not an incursion."
Ianto scowled, trying to make sense of the numbers flashing by on the screens. That didn't make sense -- Cybermen didn't come for tea. "You said shift."
"Shift?" He could see the moment she found her answer to her question, a look which bordered on compassion altering her features. "No, oh, no. It's not the Cybermen, Ianto. It's them. At least, I think so. I've been running numbers to compare frequencies and-"
"Who's them?" Ianto couldn't hide his wince at the sound of that name spoken by Tosh. Cybermen. That was a name no one on Earth should ever have to speak again. It almost sounded ugly coming from Tosh, who could turn even the most nefarious term into a sweet sound.
Tosh gestured to one screen with a diagram of a building with rooms and halls labeled by Ianto himself as the original blueprints lacked some of the changes which had been made after construction. "It's Torchwood Four."
Ianto's attention honed in on what Tosh had said, though he had to remind himself that this meant nothing in regards to Avalon. It was just a desperate theory on his part, though few would know Ms. White enough to hate unless they were Torchwood or Avalon. And even fewer would have the resources and numbers to do what had happened. "Tell me."
She ran through her notes, her calculations. She'd first noticed odd frequencies connected with activity in the Rift -- not after Rift activity, but before. A slow frequency, like a red shift on a time-scale. Tosh spoke quickly, counting on Ianto to follow through her formulas and theories. An alteration in time which pushed everything out of phase with "current" time. Objects and people appeared to disappear from current time, but they were still there, just progressing at a different rate of time than the surroundings. For all intents and purposes, invisible. From theory she went into practice -- holding up the device Ianto recognized from the Archives. She'd tweaked it, she said, once she realized what the odd, slow frequencies meant.
And then she demonstrated it.
Tosh disappeared, leaving Ianto staring into empty space and once again feeling the hair on the back of his neck rise as he felt himself being watched. He resisted the urge, this time, to grab a pen to defend himself. But only just.
"Where?" He asked once she shifted back to "his" time, though she insisted that it affected everything around her, not herself, with the time shift. "Oxford?"
"No," she hesitated and he knew he would not like her answer. "They moved it, somehow, perhaps setting up a containment field surrounding the altered time, you wouldn't be lifting any mass at all but displacing-"
"Tosh! Where."
"The Beacons." She pulled up a map of the area, pointing to a location where time lines running parallel like a topographic map of the region started running perpendicular, creating a crosshatch nearly outlining what Ianto could almost make out as being "building-shaped."
Ianto cursed his luck, cursed every deity he knew of in this world and others, then followed it up with a curse directed at Ms. White and Jack. He had made his promise to Tosh, though. "I need you to stay here and continue finding out everything about this location. Update me with everything you learn. Thank you, this is brilliant work." Ianto felt lighter than he had for the past year. It may not be the answer, it may not even be the source of the missing kids, but it was the first concrete lead they'd had. Not to mention, solved a nearly twenty-year-old mystery.
He grabbed the device, noting the dials for range and frequency. He hoped it would be strong enough to get him and Stephen and Jean-Luc inside. Ignoring Tosh's protests, Ianto punched in the code for the weapons housing, pulling what he knew he could carry and a little more. Stephen and Jean-Luc had weapons of their own at Avalon, he didn't need to bring everything in the arsenal.
"Owen and Gwen-"
"Will be back whenever they get back. I'm just going to go poke around, I'll call for backup if I need it." Ianto didn't miss the disbelieving look on Tosh's face, but now that he had a location and a method, he refused to wait any longer when the kids could be there. He'd plan their attack on the way -- he'd pick up Jean-Luc and Stephen and head out to the Beacons. It was a bit of a drive -- plenty of time to figure out what to do once they go there and shifted everything back into "current" time.
God, that would explain why Jean-Luc couldn't find them. Phased into another time, even his strong gifts wouldn't be able to follow.
"Ianto, be careful."
She set one of Owen's energy bars and one of her own chocolate bars on his ammunition. Not a bad idea; the adrenaline was going to wear off at some point from his earlier panic, and he was going to crash. Hopefully later rather than sooner. Not that the bars were going to do much for that, but it might help. He was glad she didn't try to argue against him leaving. In fact, she had remained remarkably calm about his leaving alone. Though, he supposed she didn't have any choice -- he was the boss. Disregarding his usual aloofness, Ianto gave Tosh a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, grinning when she blushed. "If this is what I think it is, I won't be able to thank you enough, Tosh."
"Just come back to us."
Ianto's smile wavered, just slightly, remembering the last time he'd been told that and hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come. "Owen would be more than capable in my absence, though you may find the coffee rather poor." He winked and she laughed, a light sound filling his heart.
He gathered his things and took off for his car, knowing that Owen and Gwen had the SUV loaded with equipment, tossing everything into the passenger seat before jumping into the driver's. He dialed Stephen as he pealed out of the lot, tearing open the protein bar as he sped off towards Avalon.
"Stephen, I think we've found them."
***
Three figures dressed in black strode purposefully out of Avalon towards the car park, loaded to the teeth with weapons and ammunition. Ianto had told them they could be mistaken, it could be the wrong place, but on a gut-level, he knew this was right. It was the only explanation why the children had never been found, despite Jean-Luc's searching. Ianto hadn't seen the purpose in changing into some of Stephen's clothes ("If I'm sneaking around a building, I would rather appear as one of them, not a trespasser, could I draw more attention in this?") but the other two had insisted, pointing out that it was night (in this time, at any rate) and if they had to sneak into the building, dark clothing would blend far better than Ianto's light grey suit.
Ianto felt like he was going to a club dressed in leather, not sneaking into a building technically falling under his management but Stephen swore they were the only other black articles of clothing he owned, and Jean-Luc's certainly wouldn't fit.
He rather believed his two friends had planned it.
As they walked towards their vehicles, Ianto froze when he saw another walking towards them, long coat trailing behind them as they walked quickly to join the trio. Three pairs of guns were out before Ianto could second guess his actions, all directed at the lone figure and for a brief moment, Ianto believed Jack had returned.
"I'm coming with you."
Toshiko. Dressed in equally dark clothing, her hair pulled back and looking fierce as Ianto had ever seen her with weapons tucked into holsters at her hips and if he wasn't mistaken, at her calves. Ianto stared speechless before dropping his guns, motioning for Stephen and Jean-Luc to do the same. Of course, her figure was all wrong for Jack, and it was foolish of him to hope that it was the captain. Jack had left. And they were dealing without him. "How did you find me?"
"I tracked your car."
Of course. Ianto really had to consider removing the tracking device from the vehicle, as well as leaving his phone behind when he went to Avalon. He hated the notion of retconning one of his own. "I told you to keep looking into everything you'd found."
"And you never ask for help. I'm offering." Before Ianto could protest, Tosh continued with a bow towards Stephen but how Tosh knew...Ianto wasn't ashamed to admit he hadn't the slightest notion how she knew. "Mr. Black. So this is where you moved Avalon?"
Six guns whipped up, no caution taken as Ianto tried to figure out if she was friend or foe. Avalon hadn't had a lot of friends, lately.
Tosh, bless her, didn't even blink. "My cousin, Akira Takahashi has attended Avalon for five years. My family is very proud of our gifted Akira and has been desperate to find her after Avalon's destruction." She nodded at Ianto, careful not to make any sudden movements, Ianto assumed. So that was why she had agreed so easily when he'd left. Tosh wasn't to be underestimated. Not that he'd ever considered that, but he had missed that relation.
Tosh continued, speaking to Ianto. "I knew you were involved after your 'migraine' and absence when Ms. White was killed and Avalon destroyed. I recognized Mr. Black's voice -- I'd met you years ago when I brought my cousin to the school. I assumed your interest in Torchwood Four was connected and did what I could to help." She paused for a moment, flailing a bit when the guns never lowered. "She had an invisible friend when she was little, a cat named Keiko. She's frightened of lightning and she ate so much birthday cake she got sick on her ninth birthday and ended up with the healers instead of having fun with her friends."
Ianto didn't know the truth to any of Tosh's statements, so he asked Jean-Luc, who often knew the kids better than any of the adults. "Jean-Luc?"
Jean-Luc lowered his weapons, tucking them back into the holsters. "Yeah, she's alright. 'Kira told me about her cat friend. Wanted to know if I could see if Keiko had travelled with her to Avalon."
"You're Jean-Luc?" Tosh seemed surprised as Stephen and Ianto followed Jean-Luc's actions. "Of course, that's how you knew to come for Ianto after..." Her eyes darted to Ianto with apology and Ianto just shrugged his acceptance. His earlier reactions led him to believe he wasn't as "over it" as he thought himself to be, but he wasn't still so traumatized he couldn't speak of Lisa. Or his horrendous misjudgment.
"At your service, madam. So you've heard of me?" Jean-Luc bowed and thickly layered his French accent which most times disappeared.
"Akira had a few things to say about a certain Jean-Luc." Tosh giggled (she giggled! Ianto was going to have a word with Jean-Luc) and turned to Ianto. "There's just one question...you're not...?"
Jean-Luc stepped in before Ianto could even respond. "No, he's not. Boy's not got a gifted bone in his body."
"Big talk, coming from you, Jean-Luc," Stephen chimed in finally, having remained silent through most of the exchange.
"He hit his head during the attack on Avalon," Ianto supplied for Tosh. "Gifts have been a bit blinkered ever since."
"Blinkered!? You mock my injuries. Can we go now? I'd like to get the kids back, if you don't mind."
"You do realize..." Ianto started, turning to Tosh. His nerves were already beginning to shake, though they had yet to leave the car park.
"If you are going, then so can I," Tosh raised her chin defiantly, the return trip to the Beacons not exactly high on either of their priority lists. Stephen and Jean-Luc were watching the exchange, but they didn't comment. They didn't know, and Ianto preferred not to inform either of them of the horrors that had met Tosh and he in the Beacons the last time they had ventured to that part of the countryside. "Akira's family."
Ianto smiled and nodded, understanding Tosh's commitment. He would do anything for family. Problem was, he was having a harder and harder time defining the limits of his family.
Next Chapter
Author: sarcasticchick
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: R
Spoilers: TW S1
Fluffers/Betas: lilithilien, fivealive
Summary: You know, you're not Jack....
A/N: This is the start of my Series 2, blatantly disregarding any spoilers from TW S2 or DW S3. I repeat - no spoilers, no plot from TW S2 or DW3. Short chapter, I know. At least short for me. ;) Next week is shaping up to be a doozy and I didn't want to break it up. So... a relatively short chapter.
For Shades of Ianto series information, please see Prologue, Chapter 1
Previous Chapters:
Prologue: Chapters 1-7 (Complete)
Series1: Chapters 1-8 (Complete)
"You know, you're not Jack."
Ianto grimaced as Owen tugged with what he deemed was more force than necessary at the stitches he was lacing in Ianto's cheek. It wasn't that bad of a gash, really, more a scratch, but Owen had demanded to see to Ianto's injuries before either of them went home.
Tosh and Gwen had claimed business to attend to at the Hub as well.
The creature had taken them all by surprise, waiting outside the pub they frequented every Monday and Thursday eve as well as after every near-victory, a tradition borne by desperation and the resolve to carry on. They had first gone after Gwen had almost been taken by an alien with green horns and tail with a penchant for freckles. Then it happened again, and again, and eventually became pattern. Ianto took it out of Torchwood's budget as "team bonding exercises." What did it matter, he signed off on all the requests at any rate. And it did help. Except when they left and ran into an alien wielding a slim blade (claw?) with a deadly reach. Two people had died before they got involved; Owen would very nearly have followed if not for Ianto's timely shove. Ianto had been the focus instead, though he found the alien's attack remarkably similar to fencing and was quick enough to avoid the slashes. For the most part. Tosh had killed it with her pepper spray; its skin reacted poorly to the chemical mist, rather like a fatal case of hives.
And so Torchwood Three functioned, by the skin of their teeth and a little dose of luck.
Sometimes, Ianto thought they only survived because they were anxiously waiting for Jack's return, unwilling to lose the fight before they saw him swagger into the Hub, broadly grinning on a high from his latest adventures from beyond this space and time. At this point, six months after Jack's disappearance (departure, really, since Ianto knew he had left by choice), Ianto didn't really care if he ever returned. At first he had been angry, then he mourned, and then he found himself in his current state of apathy. He should replace Jack, but unlike the others who didn't ask for Jack to be replaced because that would mean admitting he was gone and never returning, he didn't replace Jack simply because he couldn't be bothered with it. He had other things to worry about than replacing an arrogant, deserting, selfish, shallow man who cared nothing more for anyone else than what it got for him in the next breath.
The children were still missing.
Six months had gone by since Jack had left, nearly nine since Avalon had been destroyed. Ianto refused to lose hope and give in to the fear that they were lost forever, but he could see it creeping into Jean-Luc and Stephen's faces. Time had long since run out -- like a forest after a fire, Avalon actually housed two new students under the tutelage of Stephen and Jean-Luc. Tosh could find nothing new on the whereabouts of Torchwood Four -- that idea was all but thrown out as far as an explanation and Ianto was out of options, though he never quit scouring the Archives. Whoever had Avalon had them well-hidden and was somehow blocking the kids' abilities -- one of them would surely have enough strength to shout out to anyone listening otherwise.
Although the resident Boy Wonder was currently disabled and wasn't "listening" like normal.
Ianto couldn't blame Jean-Luc his fears and reservations, but it was frustrating to witness. He supposed he himself had dealt with trauma after London (and dealt rather poorly, if hiding a Cyberman in the basement of the Hub was any indication) but it felt as though they didn't have time for Jean-Luc to work through his issues. But no matter how they pushed, Jean-Luc remained as mentally "paralyzed" as the general populous.
With Avalon Two rebuilt and Stephen taking up teaching, "Mr. Black" fell out of the sight and mind, for all Torchwood knew. Stephen still phoned occasionally, pretending to check in, but for the most part Ianto bore in quiet the duties of the office with the same obsessive order as he did Torchwood Three. Five more countries had been brought into the shaky alliance -- India, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, and Canada -- creating a network of thirteen who all swore to assist if one or more were to fall to alien threat. It wasn't much, but it was a start. The United States had been the closest to needing assistance; Colonel Sheppard had regaled the story of the alien invasion of the zombie creatures who fed on brains (the hippocampus, in specific). The way Sheppard had told it had made Ianto laugh while he drank a scotch in Jack's office, no laughing matter but Sheppard had described the aliens as "slug-faced lemurs with mouths like Jaws and ears like Batman."
If Ianto cared, he would note that Sheppard reminded him a lot of the Captain, but he didn't. And if he enjoyed his late-night conversations with Sheppard, then it was simply because Sheppard was entertaining and took him away from the pains of the day and the hollow echo of the Hub.
The shadows still moved and Ianto still picked up petals before the team arrived in the morning. It was oddly comforting -- Ianto believed that if the faeries ever stopped watching, it was time to be concerned.
Fingers snapped in front of his face and Ianto blinked, realizing he had never answered Owen's statement. You're not Jack. Yes, Ianto was painfully aware of that fact and was reminded every morning when the team looked to him during their morning meeting with respect that was merely biding its time until Jack returned. It stung a bit, knowing they'd rather have Jack. Ianto was only human after all. But he did the best he could.
He wondered, briefly, if this was how Jack felt in the Doctor's presence. Ianto was no fool -- the interviews, the hand, Gwen's statement that Jack was looking for the "right kind of doctor" -- he put two and two together to equal "The Doctor," nemesis and bane of Torchwood, for whatever that was worth. The others hadn't grown up with the dedication to the capture of the elusive man, but Ianto was beginning to doubt some of Torchwood's most impassioned creeds against aliens, but not their tech. If he wasn't mistaken, the Doctor had assisted during the Battle. He had at least been within the building and Ianto didn't think he would have assisted either Dalek or Cyberman, but perhaps he had done nothing at all and if that were true, Ianto hoped the Doctor would roast eternally in whatever existed as hell for Time Lords. All was possible, though Ianto reserved judgement until he questioned the Doctor himself.
Ianto had heard tales of the presence of the Time Lord, and privately wondered if Jack wasn't trying to emulate the Doctor, or if it was a natural, inherent quality from whatever distant land and time they came from. Just as the others would drop everything and follow Jack, so would Jack do with the Doctor. It was quite depressing, actually. Ianto knew he had none of that. But he did the best he could.
Yet he still wasn't Jack. "Yes, not only was he abysmal at paperwork, but he couldn't brew a decent pot of coffee even if it got him laid."
"That's not..." There was another tug at his cheek and Ianto heard Owen's tools clatter on the metal tray. "You're bloody mortal, you twat. Don't think we haven't noticed. I'd wager the job came with a death wish, only you can actually die."
Owen handed him two pills that Ianto recognized as antibiotics and a tiny paper cup of water. He took both without question -- he knew what the sedatives looked like and Owen had only tried it that once. Owen leaned against the edge of the counter and watched with arms crossed as Ianto swallowed both. Really, Ianto didn't need another smothering him. He had Elaine already doing that. "Then learn to move faster. That creature nearly skewered you."
"This isn't about me."
"It's not?" Ianto rose from the exam table and gathered his suit coat, not bothering to look in any reflective surface. He grabbed the regimen of antibiotics as well -- he knew now well enough what the pattern was. He was lucky the things still worked for him. "If I die, then leadership rests on you, unless you pass it off again." Low, but truth.
"I don't give a damn about that!" Owen spluttered for a moment, starting and stopping repeatedly while Ianto watched impassively. Finally Owen looked like he gave up on whatever he was trying to say, for which Ianto was rather glad. He was tired of trying to interpret Owen's half-starts. "Forget it! Take your bloody antibiotics and come to me before your cheek turns black and your face falls off."
Ianto watched as Owen stormed out of the room and shouted his goodbyes to Tosh and Gwen. When Ianto finally climbed the stairs and joined the others, he kindly told them to go home. Gwen's protest was interrupted by a yawn and Tosh simply agreed, handing Ianto a stack of reports on oddities she'd noticed coinciding with the increase in Rift activity over the past two years. The numbers swam in front of Ianto, but he would look them over before he went home. He took them to Jack's office, setting them on the desk but he didn't look, just rested his forehead on his arms. And if he later went to sleep on Jack's bed, it was merely because he was too exhausted to drive home, not for any other reason.
***
"Ianto!"
Tosh's squeal had Ianto's heart leaping into this throat as he fed Myfanwy, but he quickly realized it was not Tosh-in-pain or Tosh-in-danger, it was Tosh-extremely-excited. He finished setting up Myfanwy's evening meal (he knew better than to short the poor girl a meal -- a Pterodactyl scorned was not a pretty sight) and stripped off the gloves and raced to Tosh's desk, slowing when he didn't see her. Her voice had come from this locale, but she wasn't there. "Tosh?" His eyes scanned Jack's office, the conference room, the other desks, feeling more and more unnerved as the hairs on the back of his neck rose in response to being watched (not the faeries, it had a different feel). Knowing that Owen and Gwen were out investigating a reported flying alien sighting and lacking a better weapon, he grabbed a pen from Tosh's desk, knowing the small puncture would be harmless in most cases, but if whatever was in the Hub had eyes, he could possibly do some damage. His fingers were on the keyboard to send the Hub into lock-down when he caught movement to the side of him. Spinning, pen clutched as a dagger, Ianto froze. He saw that it was Tosh, staring with wide-eyes and clutching a device in her hands.
"It's me!" Tosh rushed, holding her hands up in defense or peace, Ianto wasn't sure.
Ianto looked around warily, unsure where the unseen eyes had vanished to. Maybe Tosh's added presence had frightened it off. He started a scan of the Hub at any rate on Tosh's computer, using the one monitor to which wasn't scrolling numbers at a furious pace. "Sorry. Thought I ... " Ianto couldn't explain it without sounding mental, so he just pressed on. "What did you find?"
"It's shifted! That's why we can't see it, it's out of phase. I'm still running calculations, but I noted-"
Tosh kept talking, Ianto knew she was, but the sound was bouncing off the bubble so only warped distorted syllables reached his mind. He tried to fight the urge to vomit or run, or both would be a viable option. Ghost shifts....out of phase...enough energy to power Britain...so many dead...not again not bloody again, can't be, no army to fight it, there's only four...
"Ianto!" The sharp sting on his face snapped him out of the hysteria building in his mind. Dazed, he noted that now he had two pains in his cheeks, one side still stitched from the previous night's confrontation, the other a remarkable hand-shaped sting. "I'm so sorry! You were ... "
Once his surroundings came into focus, Ianto realized he was sitting in Tosh's chair, hands shaking violently as he tried to not remember running through the halls of Torchwood One, hiding from those wishing to convert every human into desensitized metal shells bent on conquering and destroying. He'd panicked, he belatedly realized, embarrassed to find himself clinging as much to Tosh as she was to him as she apologized over and over. He had to pull himself together. Not only was he acting head of Torchwood Three, he was the head of all Torchwood. If there was to be another invasion, he would lead them. He had to. It was his duty.
"I"m fine, Tosh, really." Ianto peeled himself away from her and stood, taking a deep breath and centered himself (and his balance, as that was precarious at best on knees that still trembled). He shoved his fear aside. Fear was irrational and, while warranted, it was useless now. Rubbing a hand over his face to provide a tactile sense of self (and numbing the sting still in his cheek), Ianto calmed and hid behind the front he knew would have to remain steady until death or victory. "How long until the incursion begins?"
"How do you do that?"
Her question gave Ianto pause. "Do what?"
"You...never mind." Tosh shook her head then pointed at the monitors. "That's just it. It's not an incursion."
Ianto scowled, trying to make sense of the numbers flashing by on the screens. That didn't make sense -- Cybermen didn't come for tea. "You said shift."
"Shift?" He could see the moment she found her answer to her question, a look which bordered on compassion altering her features. "No, oh, no. It's not the Cybermen, Ianto. It's them. At least, I think so. I've been running numbers to compare frequencies and-"
"Who's them?" Ianto couldn't hide his wince at the sound of that name spoken by Tosh. Cybermen. That was a name no one on Earth should ever have to speak again. It almost sounded ugly coming from Tosh, who could turn even the most nefarious term into a sweet sound.
Tosh gestured to one screen with a diagram of a building with rooms and halls labeled by Ianto himself as the original blueprints lacked some of the changes which had been made after construction. "It's Torchwood Four."
Ianto's attention honed in on what Tosh had said, though he had to remind himself that this meant nothing in regards to Avalon. It was just a desperate theory on his part, though few would know Ms. White enough to hate unless they were Torchwood or Avalon. And even fewer would have the resources and numbers to do what had happened. "Tell me."
She ran through her notes, her calculations. She'd first noticed odd frequencies connected with activity in the Rift -- not after Rift activity, but before. A slow frequency, like a red shift on a time-scale. Tosh spoke quickly, counting on Ianto to follow through her formulas and theories. An alteration in time which pushed everything out of phase with "current" time. Objects and people appeared to disappear from current time, but they were still there, just progressing at a different rate of time than the surroundings. For all intents and purposes, invisible. From theory she went into practice -- holding up the device Ianto recognized from the Archives. She'd tweaked it, she said, once she realized what the odd, slow frequencies meant.
And then she demonstrated it.
Tosh disappeared, leaving Ianto staring into empty space and once again feeling the hair on the back of his neck rise as he felt himself being watched. He resisted the urge, this time, to grab a pen to defend himself. But only just.
"Where?" He asked once she shifted back to "his" time, though she insisted that it affected everything around her, not herself, with the time shift. "Oxford?"
"No," she hesitated and he knew he would not like her answer. "They moved it, somehow, perhaps setting up a containment field surrounding the altered time, you wouldn't be lifting any mass at all but displacing-"
"Tosh! Where."
"The Beacons." She pulled up a map of the area, pointing to a location where time lines running parallel like a topographic map of the region started running perpendicular, creating a crosshatch nearly outlining what Ianto could almost make out as being "building-shaped."
Ianto cursed his luck, cursed every deity he knew of in this world and others, then followed it up with a curse directed at Ms. White and Jack. He had made his promise to Tosh, though. "I need you to stay here and continue finding out everything about this location. Update me with everything you learn. Thank you, this is brilliant work." Ianto felt lighter than he had for the past year. It may not be the answer, it may not even be the source of the missing kids, but it was the first concrete lead they'd had. Not to mention, solved a nearly twenty-year-old mystery.
He grabbed the device, noting the dials for range and frequency. He hoped it would be strong enough to get him and Stephen and Jean-Luc inside. Ignoring Tosh's protests, Ianto punched in the code for the weapons housing, pulling what he knew he could carry and a little more. Stephen and Jean-Luc had weapons of their own at Avalon, he didn't need to bring everything in the arsenal.
"Owen and Gwen-"
"Will be back whenever they get back. I'm just going to go poke around, I'll call for backup if I need it." Ianto didn't miss the disbelieving look on Tosh's face, but now that he had a location and a method, he refused to wait any longer when the kids could be there. He'd plan their attack on the way -- he'd pick up Jean-Luc and Stephen and head out to the Beacons. It was a bit of a drive -- plenty of time to figure out what to do once they go there and shifted everything back into "current" time.
God, that would explain why Jean-Luc couldn't find them. Phased into another time, even his strong gifts wouldn't be able to follow.
"Ianto, be careful."
She set one of Owen's energy bars and one of her own chocolate bars on his ammunition. Not a bad idea; the adrenaline was going to wear off at some point from his earlier panic, and he was going to crash. Hopefully later rather than sooner. Not that the bars were going to do much for that, but it might help. He was glad she didn't try to argue against him leaving. In fact, she had remained remarkably calm about his leaving alone. Though, he supposed she didn't have any choice -- he was the boss. Disregarding his usual aloofness, Ianto gave Tosh a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, grinning when she blushed. "If this is what I think it is, I won't be able to thank you enough, Tosh."
"Just come back to us."
Ianto's smile wavered, just slightly, remembering the last time he'd been told that and hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come. "Owen would be more than capable in my absence, though you may find the coffee rather poor." He winked and she laughed, a light sound filling his heart.
He gathered his things and took off for his car, knowing that Owen and Gwen had the SUV loaded with equipment, tossing everything into the passenger seat before jumping into the driver's. He dialed Stephen as he pealed out of the lot, tearing open the protein bar as he sped off towards Avalon.
"Stephen, I think we've found them."
***
Three figures dressed in black strode purposefully out of Avalon towards the car park, loaded to the teeth with weapons and ammunition. Ianto had told them they could be mistaken, it could be the wrong place, but on a gut-level, he knew this was right. It was the only explanation why the children had never been found, despite Jean-Luc's searching. Ianto hadn't seen the purpose in changing into some of Stephen's clothes ("If I'm sneaking around a building, I would rather appear as one of them, not a trespasser, could I draw more attention in this?") but the other two had insisted, pointing out that it was night (in this time, at any rate) and if they had to sneak into the building, dark clothing would blend far better than Ianto's light grey suit.
Ianto felt like he was going to a club dressed in leather, not sneaking into a building technically falling under his management but Stephen swore they were the only other black articles of clothing he owned, and Jean-Luc's certainly wouldn't fit.
He rather believed his two friends had planned it.
As they walked towards their vehicles, Ianto froze when he saw another walking towards them, long coat trailing behind them as they walked quickly to join the trio. Three pairs of guns were out before Ianto could second guess his actions, all directed at the lone figure and for a brief moment, Ianto believed Jack had returned.
"I'm coming with you."
Toshiko. Dressed in equally dark clothing, her hair pulled back and looking fierce as Ianto had ever seen her with weapons tucked into holsters at her hips and if he wasn't mistaken, at her calves. Ianto stared speechless before dropping his guns, motioning for Stephen and Jean-Luc to do the same. Of course, her figure was all wrong for Jack, and it was foolish of him to hope that it was the captain. Jack had left. And they were dealing without him. "How did you find me?"
"I tracked your car."
Of course. Ianto really had to consider removing the tracking device from the vehicle, as well as leaving his phone behind when he went to Avalon. He hated the notion of retconning one of his own. "I told you to keep looking into everything you'd found."
"And you never ask for help. I'm offering." Before Ianto could protest, Tosh continued with a bow towards Stephen but how Tosh knew...Ianto wasn't ashamed to admit he hadn't the slightest notion how she knew. "Mr. Black. So this is where you moved Avalon?"
Six guns whipped up, no caution taken as Ianto tried to figure out if she was friend or foe. Avalon hadn't had a lot of friends, lately.
Tosh, bless her, didn't even blink. "My cousin, Akira Takahashi has attended Avalon for five years. My family is very proud of our gifted Akira and has been desperate to find her after Avalon's destruction." She nodded at Ianto, careful not to make any sudden movements, Ianto assumed. So that was why she had agreed so easily when he'd left. Tosh wasn't to be underestimated. Not that he'd ever considered that, but he had missed that relation.
Tosh continued, speaking to Ianto. "I knew you were involved after your 'migraine' and absence when Ms. White was killed and Avalon destroyed. I recognized Mr. Black's voice -- I'd met you years ago when I brought my cousin to the school. I assumed your interest in Torchwood Four was connected and did what I could to help." She paused for a moment, flailing a bit when the guns never lowered. "She had an invisible friend when she was little, a cat named Keiko. She's frightened of lightning and she ate so much birthday cake she got sick on her ninth birthday and ended up with the healers instead of having fun with her friends."
Ianto didn't know the truth to any of Tosh's statements, so he asked Jean-Luc, who often knew the kids better than any of the adults. "Jean-Luc?"
Jean-Luc lowered his weapons, tucking them back into the holsters. "Yeah, she's alright. 'Kira told me about her cat friend. Wanted to know if I could see if Keiko had travelled with her to Avalon."
"You're Jean-Luc?" Tosh seemed surprised as Stephen and Ianto followed Jean-Luc's actions. "Of course, that's how you knew to come for Ianto after..." Her eyes darted to Ianto with apology and Ianto just shrugged his acceptance. His earlier reactions led him to believe he wasn't as "over it" as he thought himself to be, but he wasn't still so traumatized he couldn't speak of Lisa. Or his horrendous misjudgment.
"At your service, madam. So you've heard of me?" Jean-Luc bowed and thickly layered his French accent which most times disappeared.
"Akira had a few things to say about a certain Jean-Luc." Tosh giggled (she giggled! Ianto was going to have a word with Jean-Luc) and turned to Ianto. "There's just one question...you're not...?"
Jean-Luc stepped in before Ianto could even respond. "No, he's not. Boy's not got a gifted bone in his body."
"Big talk, coming from you, Jean-Luc," Stephen chimed in finally, having remained silent through most of the exchange.
"He hit his head during the attack on Avalon," Ianto supplied for Tosh. "Gifts have been a bit blinkered ever since."
"Blinkered!? You mock my injuries. Can we go now? I'd like to get the kids back, if you don't mind."
"You do realize..." Ianto started, turning to Tosh. His nerves were already beginning to shake, though they had yet to leave the car park.
"If you are going, then so can I," Tosh raised her chin defiantly, the return trip to the Beacons not exactly high on either of their priority lists. Stephen and Jean-Luc were watching the exchange, but they didn't comment. They didn't know, and Ianto preferred not to inform either of them of the horrors that had met Tosh and he in the Beacons the last time they had ventured to that part of the countryside. "Akira's family."
Ianto smiled and nodded, understanding Tosh's commitment. He would do anything for family. Problem was, he was having a harder and harder time defining the limits of his family.
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