Hard choices leave you with nothing [for slayers_desire]

[fractured_agent]

It's been a while since Jack needed a stiff drink, and he usually abstains in case the Doctor picks that moment to return. But after a day like today... sometimes he can justify letting himself slip a bit.

The rest of his team is sent home, and the Hub is empty, save for Jack and the pterodactyl roosting in her eyrie. Leaving him alone with only a drink and his memories for company.

He looks down at his wristcomp. Very few times has he been able to call anyone for help, since his time at Torchwood began. And it still doesn't quite work... but he's spent too much time with only his thoughts for company. He's terribly lonely, in the way that only the immortal truly know, and right now his heart is aching for the loss of Estelle.

He calls up April's number, before he can talk himself out of it.

Comments

[fractured_agent]

"I don't have a choice." It's incredibly hard, truthfully. But aside from seeing the mind healers after his honorable discharge from the Earth Empire military, he's steered clear of shrinks.

[slayers_desire]

"And I think that sucks the most." April hugs him again.

[fractured_agent]

Jack hasn't had nearly enough hugs over the years, and he cherishes every one. "You're a great friend, April Kent."

[slayers_desire]

"I am glad that I am your friend."

[fractured_agent]

Jack doesn't want to keep her from her family, but it's also hard to ask her to go, leaving him alone here for the rest of the night. "Do you want to hang out for a while?" he offers.

[slayers_desire]

"I can stay as long as you need me." April knows that Clark will care for their children with confidence. And if he needs her, that he will contact her.

[fractured_agent]

Jack smiles at her. He would be fine if he was alone with his thoughts, but he's had decades to wallow in his sorrows. It's good to get out of his head once in a while. "Let me give you the tour," he says, pretending that perhaps this could be the reason he called her here, trying to chase away the grief of losing Estelle.

[slayers_desire]

"Sure." April will indulge his tactics to pretend she is here for another reason.

[fractured_agent]

His base is not as nice and modern as Watchtower, but it sure is big, especially once they leave the main area. The tunnels are very utilitarian, undecorated and unpainted, though the walls of the center area are tiled like the London Underground. It's vaguely damp and cool, like the inside of a cave, and there are more of the same smells throughout the facility.

One of the alien scents is stronger as Jack's tour approaches a row of cells. "These are the vaults. Temporary storage for dangerous individuals."

[slayers_desire]

"Is there one of those individuals still here?"

[fractured_agent]

Jack nods casually. "Yeah, we usually have a Weevil or two down here."

[slayers_desire]

"What is a Weevil?"

[fractured_agent]

"Why don't you take a look?" he asks, walking into the vaults. April may get strange telepathic emanations from the cell she's approaching, a low-level of ability coming from an alien mind, not quite on par with humans but more intelligent than a dog.

[slayers_desire]

"It is trying to reach out to me..." April whispers, approaching the cell cautiously.

[fractured_agent]

The cell is concrete and stone, with a heavy door on the back side of it, and on their side, all glass with air holes about at head height. The glass is dirty and streaked with years of filth, but it's clear enough to see inside.

The Weevil is humanoid, dressed in a silver-blue boiler suit, but it cannot be mistaken for human. Its deep, sunken eyes peer suspiciously at the approaching strangers, and its lips curl back from sharp teeth in a snarl of warning, its flat nose wrinkling as it sniffs the air.

Jack nods slightly at April's comment, unsurprised. "We've suspected they might be mildly telepathic - some kind of hivemind, I figure - but we've never been able to communicate with them."

[slayers_desire]

"A hivemind can be a dangerous thing." April notes softly. She can tell that it is reacting in primal instinct.

[fractured_agent]

"There's a whole bunch of them living in the sewers, feeding on... well, you can guess. But every now and then, they come to the surface. Usually at night. It's been happening more and more lately, and we have no idea why." Jack leans against the concrete support at the edge of the glass, arms folded across his chest. "We captured this one a few days ago."

The Weevil slowly approaches the glass, baring its teeth in an attempt to intimidate them, while it gets a sense of what they are. Jack, it recognizes by scent. But April is different. Something new.

[slayers_desire]

April is not going to judge another creature based on what they eat. Especially since there is a lot in familiar to how they hunt.

Her eyes turn red when the Weevil attempts to intimidate her.

"Maybe something is driving them to hunt."

[fractured_agent]

The Weevil was snarling softly, but it suddenly ducks its head and backs up, making a moaning sound. A noise of submission... and perhaps fear.

Jack looks fascinated, straightening in surprise at its reaction. "Well that's never happened before."

[slayers_desire]

"It recognizes a stronger predator in its presence."

[fractured_agent]

It's not her eyes turning red that provoked this response, but her scent. The Weevil can smell what she is, and it's afraid. It continues to moan, crouching down next to the bench seat in the cell, making itself look smaller so the greater hunter doesn't want to hunt it.

"It sure does," Jack says, watching its behavior carefully. They've been studying Weevils for decades and still don't know much about them, and any new information could be important. "They've never behaved this way in response to anyone that I've ever seen."

[slayers_desire]

"Did you want to learn more about the creatures?"

[fractured_agent]

"We could spend lifetimes studying them and still have a hell of a lot to learn. They're one of the biggest repeated threats to the people of Cardiff. Anything that might help us is more than welcome."

[slayers_desire]

"Perhaps I can sense why they are attacking more frequently." April places her hand on the cell. Reaching out to the hivemind of the creature, carefully.

[fractured_agent]

The Weevils aren't intelligent enough to communicate with her in words, or any kind of conscious attempt to educate her. But they are also primitive enough that they don't have mental shields, leaving them open to study by any telepath powerful enough to tap into the invisible web of connections between every Weevil in the city.

The bulk of the hive is located in the sewers, just as Jack said, running beneath the city. Some colonies are in abandoned properties on the outskirts, but they're all connected.

The Weevils are restless, knowing that something is wrong. They can feel it, the invisible power running through the city and its surroundings, that brought them from home long ago and led them here, to the new home.