Dead Man Walking... Again [for slayers_desire]

[fractured_agent]

It isn't the first time things have gone horribly wrong. But this is definitely new and novel, baffling and slightly terrifying.

Jack stands in the autopsy room, at the side of the gurney holding the dead body of Owen Harper. Dead... but not lifeless. Owen sits on the edge of the gurney, poking disbelievingly into the congealed bullethole in his own chest, and lifts two fingers to his own throat to feel for a pulse that isn't there. A sinister-looking metal gauntlet lays on the floor, forgotten in the chaos of Owen's miraculous undeath until Ianto scoops it up.

What did I do?

Things are getting out of hand. And while Jack doesn't know for sure who to call, his first choice - the Doctor - won't answer his phone. Fortunately, his second choice is no poor-man's replacement herself.

While Owen gets dressed, Jack steps to the side to make a call.

Comments

[slayers_desire]

April is at her studio, working on a new piece. It is a little easier to put up a canvas here, than at the apartment currently. She picks up the phone after the second ring.

"Hello? April Kent speaking."

[fractured_agent]

"April, it's Jack. Are you busy?"

[slayers_desire]

"Nothing that can't wait. What's up?" She starts to clean her brushes.

[fractured_agent]

"Vampires are undead, right? I mean, most of them." He pays enough attention to see that she normally breathes and has a pulse, and Owen clearly doesn't, but there are other vampires who don't. And he could use that kind of experience now.

[slayers_desire]

"Most of them. Most are in my world. Why?"

[fractured_agent]

"I think I might be outta my depth a little here. It's kind of hard to explain. Can you come by the Hub?"

[slayers_desire]

"I sure can." She is very curious right now.

"I will be right over." She just has to put her brushes away.

[fractured_agent]

"Great. You know where to be." Jack hangs up and turns his attention fully to the drama in the Hub. Owen's throwing his stethoscope aside, freaked out at the lack of any noises from his chest, although scans still register electrical activity in his brain.

[slayers_desire]

It doesn't take long for April to show up, since she promised to be right over. She is still in her painting clothes, so there is signs that she was painting.

But she does seem to have a serious mindset, despite the colorful specks covering her artist jacket.

Once arriving properly in the Hub, she looks around for where to find Jack.

[fractured_agent]

She's not the only one with flecks of color on her clothes. Owen's fatal gunshot wound is old enough that it won't stain his new clothes, but Jack's shirt is stained with fresher blood and the scent of Weevils hangs around the tears in it. Normally he'd change out of respect for her vampire senses, but it's one of the furthest things from his mind right now.

Owen is as pale as a dead man, which is appropriate for obvious reasons. He frowns when he sees their visitor. "What's she doing here?"

Torchwood appears to have another guest in residence at the moment. She's focused mainly on Owen, sparing only the slightest of glances toward the newcomer.

"I called her," Jack says, arms crossed over his chest.

[slayers_desire]

Not only is his appearance as pale as a dead man, but so is his aura.

April is trained enough as a vampire to ignore the smell of blood around her. Which is a good thing, since she is piecing Jack's previous question about vampires to Owen's current state.

"I can see we have an issue. Already." She glances at the unfamiliar face, then back to Jack. Taking his lead with how open she can be.

[fractured_agent]

Jack gives her a nod, giving her the all-clear. "Like it or not, none of us exactly have experience with this kind of conscious undeath," he says to Owen. "April's the closest thing to an expert I know."

"Well that just figures," Owen says. He's calming down about being dead, since nothing has really happened since he woke up, but it's still freaking him out.

"How so?" the unfamiliar woman asks.

[slayers_desire]

"Because I am a vampire. A type of undead." April approaches where Owen is sitting, but not examining him yet (without his permission).

[fractured_agent]

"A vampire?" The woman doesn't sound disbelieving, rather she's quite interested, but knows that now isn't the time to ask for details.

"April, this is Martha Jones," Jack introduces her. "She's on loan from UNIT and was helping us out when the mission went sour." She also traveled with the Doctor, he adds where only she can hear. "Martha, April Kent, a friend of mine from out of town."

[slayers_desire]

"Yes." April triggers her other side, allowing her eyes to go red. Her fangs to appear slightly.

"How did this happen?" Some details will be good right now. April also gives Jack a mental nod at his side note. Which incarnation?

[fractured_agent]

The one with the great hair. Tall and skinny, Jack answers.

Martha's definitely curious, but she's also very professional, and puts her curiosity aside for the moment. As far as they know, Owen might drop again at any moment, and they can't waste time chatting about April's fascinating condition. "It's a long story. I was helping to infiltrate a facility that was using alien lifeforms to manufacture pharmaceuticals. Owen was shot by the head researcher on our way out."

"I tracked down a resurrection glove so we could have a last goodbye," Jack says. He hasn't told his team where he found it, but he's sure they've figured out from the blood and torn clothes that he had a hell of a time getting it. "It's supposed to revive a recently-deceased person for a maximum of two minutes, and only while the wearer is making a conscious effort." He gestures towards the metal gauntlet in Ianto's hands, clearly not being worn or used by anybody. The thing feels menacing, almost alive, even though it isn't doing anything.

[slayers_desire]

"I am getting really... menacing vibes off that thing." April frowns deeply.

She places her hand near it, but not touching it, to see if she can pick up anything deeper from the metal gauntlet.

[fractured_agent]

"I told you not to use it," Gwen says nervously. "It's like Suzie all over again."

The glove has a powerful feeling of death around it. Nothing good can come of using it, though it's a bit late for them to know that now. There's a power in it like a fundamental force of the universe, the death that awaits almost all beings in the universe when they come to the end of their lives.

[slayers_desire]

"This object is literally death itself, in one object. All death. In the whole universe." April shivers.

She looks up at Owen. Regarding him through her blood-red eyes. "I don't think he is like me. A vampire."

[fractured_agent]

"Well thank Christ for that," Owen says, getting a little of his snark back. In his opinion, he's dealt in blood too much to have an easy time thirsting for it. It'd make his job a lot harder, too.

"But something did happen to him," Tosh says. "Is happening to him."

[slayers_desire]

April manages to keep her calm at that comment. There is still no love lost in her interactions with Owen.

"He is undead. Not a zombie. Not a vampire. But definitely not alive."

[fractured_agent]

"This happened once before, with the other glove," Gwen says, biting her lip. "I brought Suzie back, and she survived because she was draining energy from me. I almost died. Owen could be doing the same to Jack."

[slayers_desire]

"I am not sensing any energy drain between the two. Nor such a bond that connects Owen's current state to Jack's situation."

[fractured_agent]

"Then what's keeping him alive?" Tosh wonders.

"The glove itself, perhaps?" Ianto speculates.

[slayers_desire]

"No. I don't sense any energy or bond between Owen and the glove either."

"The glove might have attempted to tap into Jack's energy, but was unable to handle it. And this is the result."

"But he is... just undead. He is going to stay in this state."

((bed))