Death entry for Big Bang
Title: Death
Fandom: Torchwood
Character: Jack Harkness
Rating: PG-13
Every time Jack Harkness died it got a little bit easier, but it was never fully easy. Jack Harkness had died a total of 2041 deaths in what would traditionally be called his lifetime (though he often thought he should find a better phrase) and counting.
The first time he woke up after being killed was a total shock. If he knew one thing about the daleks (who were still somewhat of a mystery) it was that they left no survivors. It was do or die when it came to facing a dalek, and for most everyone it just happened to be die. But somehow he, very human Jack Harkness, had happened to escape certain death with only his wits about him, because everyone else seemed to be dead.
The vortex manipulator strapped to his wrist gave out after only one trip, leaving him stranded. A heady fate, for a time traveler. A man from the 51st century, with its advanced morality and pheromones, and here he was, stuck. In the 19th century of all times. At least the trip got him to civilization and that he didn't have to worry about transportation from wherever he had landed.
The second time he woke after being killed, Jack was still stunned. He had been shot in a bar fight point blank, and there was no way anyone could have survived that. However, to the amazement of the crowd Jack stood up and punched out the other guy, blood still dripping down his forehead. After this, he knew that waking up after being killed by the daleks was no coincidence, and that he wasn't just immune to whatever was in the dalek death beams.
The third, fourth and fifth times that Jack Harkness woke up after dying were experiments. Risky ones, to be sure, but Jack was nothing if not a risk taker. He was able to justify them in that he was already supposed to be dead twice, that dying for a third, fourth or fifth time wouldn't hurt. And sure enough, it didn't. No matter how, no matter the situation, it seemed to be that Jack Harkness could not die.
It was about ten years into what he considered the imprisonment of the 19th century that he noticed he wasn't aging. By then he had joined Torchwood in hunting down aliens in Cardiff for a living. There were times he disliked the work and the people, but it was the closest he could get to his home in the 51st century so he took what he could get. But as time passed he began to notice the people around him aging; people got wrinkles in places they hadn't been before, hair started to become more and more grey, and the people that lived long enough started to die of old age. Yet as the years went on, Jack could neither die nor age significantly.
2041 deaths later, Jack Harkness had not gotten used to the dying part. It was always painful, and was a terrible inconvenience, though not inconvenience enough that he stopped putting himself into the situations that caused his deaths. But even after the consistent deaths, and the search for the cure for his immortality, Jack Harkness still felt the most human instinct of them all; fear of death. Whenever he went down and all went black, he still felt the sharp pang of fear, wondering if now his time had run out. He had lived what could be considered multiple lifetimes, but when it came down to it Jack Harkness still felt fear.
Fandom: Torchwood
Character: Jack Harkness
Rating: PG-13
Every time Jack Harkness died it got a little bit easier, but it was never fully easy. Jack Harkness had died a total of 2041 deaths in what would traditionally be called his lifetime (though he often thought he should find a better phrase) and counting.
The first time he woke up after being killed was a total shock. If he knew one thing about the daleks (who were still somewhat of a mystery) it was that they left no survivors. It was do or die when it came to facing a dalek, and for most everyone it just happened to be die. But somehow he, very human Jack Harkness, had happened to escape certain death with only his wits about him, because everyone else seemed to be dead.
The vortex manipulator strapped to his wrist gave out after only one trip, leaving him stranded. A heady fate, for a time traveler. A man from the 51st century, with its advanced morality and pheromones, and here he was, stuck. In the 19th century of all times. At least the trip got him to civilization and that he didn't have to worry about transportation from wherever he had landed.
The second time he woke after being killed, Jack was still stunned. He had been shot in a bar fight point blank, and there was no way anyone could have survived that. However, to the amazement of the crowd Jack stood up and punched out the other guy, blood still dripping down his forehead. After this, he knew that waking up after being killed by the daleks was no coincidence, and that he wasn't just immune to whatever was in the dalek death beams.
The third, fourth and fifth times that Jack Harkness woke up after dying were experiments. Risky ones, to be sure, but Jack was nothing if not a risk taker. He was able to justify them in that he was already supposed to be dead twice, that dying for a third, fourth or fifth time wouldn't hurt. And sure enough, it didn't. No matter how, no matter the situation, it seemed to be that Jack Harkness could not die.
It was about ten years into what he considered the imprisonment of the 19th century that he noticed he wasn't aging. By then he had joined Torchwood in hunting down aliens in Cardiff for a living. There were times he disliked the work and the people, but it was the closest he could get to his home in the 51st century so he took what he could get. But as time passed he began to notice the people around him aging; people got wrinkles in places they hadn't been before, hair started to become more and more grey, and the people that lived long enough started to die of old age. Yet as the years went on, Jack could neither die nor age significantly.
2041 deaths later, Jack Harkness had not gotten used to the dying part. It was always painful, and was a terrible inconvenience, though not inconvenience enough that he stopped putting himself into the situations that caused his deaths. But even after the consistent deaths, and the search for the cure for his immortality, Jack Harkness still felt the most human instinct of them all; fear of death. Whenever he went down and all went black, he still felt the sharp pang of fear, wondering if now his time had run out. He had lived what could be considered multiple lifetimes, but when it came down to it Jack Harkness still felt fear.