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]

Of course, April examining him is a lot different than a typical examination for a doctor. She takes his arm, and closes her eyes to call upon her voices.

She wants to know if the panic and fear will overcome Owen. What problems he will face. And if there is any solution (which she doubts).

[fractured_agent]

Owen's unlife will not be an easy one. He's been given extra time in the world of the living, but it isn't permanent like Jack's endless wellspring of life. And he'll need to be careful - any injuries will not heal, and any close examination by a doctor will quickly reveal that he's a walking talking corpse.

But more than that, there is a darker energy inside of him, much like the power April sensed from the glove. A separate entity, slowly growing stronger. Something moving in the dark that lies beyond life.

[slayers_desire]

"Well... your unlife is not going to be east. Any injuries you take... won't heal. Unlike Jack, or myself, that means if you do get injured -- that injury stays with you. You are basically a corpse, that has life. So you will have to be careful when it comes to other doctors or scientists."

Jack... there is a darker energy inside of him. Something like what I sensed within the glove. A separate entity...

[fractured_agent]

"So no change to my social life then," Owen grumbles. "Spend half my time underground anyway."

Jack watches Owen warily when April alerts him to that knowledge. He's possessed?

[slayers_desire]

Maybe the entity in the glove has possessed him, and that is why he is like this. I could attempt to remove the possession... but doing so, would result in his immediate death. The possession is linked to his unlife

"Well, you should expect some changes. You won't feel hungry anymore. Or thirsty. You won't feel pain."

"Also... undead sort of get a smell to them."

"And if the weevils feared me as a predator, I am not sure how they would react to you."

[fractured_agent]

Martha is incredibly curious about how April can say things like this and know that it's exactly true. The others are all taking her at her word, so she believes it. She just wants to know how. But again, she holds her questions for a more appropriate time. "If he won't heal from injuries, shouldn't he steer clear of Weevils and field work altogether?"

Tosh nods. "I'd think so."

"I'm still right here," Owen says irritably.

Jack considers all of this. He wouldn't even be here right now if I hadn't used the glove... whatever's causing this is my fault. I've lost too many people to just give up on him. To give him a glimpse of life and then take it away... but if the thing inside of him gets out...

[slayers_desire]

We should ask him Jack. I know you don't want to lose any more people... but this is his life. And he has a hard one in front on him, to deal with this. You could lose him emotionally...

"What do you want to do, Owen?"

[fractured_agent]

"About what?" Owen says, resisting the urge to look at the permanent bullethole in his chest again. "I'm dead. What's there to do?"

[slayers_desire]

Deciding to not mention the possession, in case the entity is aware. April phrases her statement carefully.

"Yes. You are. But you could be permanently dead, and not in this unlife state. If you desired."

[fractured_agent]

"Fuck no. I've been given some kind of second chance," Owen says, aware that he's probably rationalizing it, but he doesn't care right now. "I don't want to die."

[slayers_desire]

"You have to understand... that dealing with this and how it will change your life.... that you might feel different later. And that is okay."

"Just ask Jack. Or myself. It is not easy to have unique situations."

[fractured_agent]

"It's better than being dead."

There are mixed feelings on this across all the members of Torchwood. They're relieved to still have Owen with them, but at what cost? Jack is the most deeply conflicted of all, with his sense of responsibility to his team. "For now, you're confined to the Hub. Strictly quarantine."

[slayers_desire]

April understands. There are people that she has lost, that she would be very relieved to have back. And she can sense the mixed emotions.

"You will have to find a way to make this work for your team. All of you."

"It is important that you feel like you still have a voice, and a place on the team," she speaks to Owen directly. She knows that sometimes it can be easier to make assumptions that an undead person -- is not a person.

[fractured_agent]

"Hard to do that from quarantine," Owen snaps, though his ire is directed towards Jack, not her.

Jack is unmoved by Owen's irritability. At this point, to him, Owen's temper is more a part of the scenery than something to really get worked up over. "It's just temporary while we get a handle on this. You're dead, Owen, and you're still walking around. Even I don't know what that means in a broader sense."

In a way, the two men have never been further apart, two sides of the same coin. One full of eternal life, the other with eternal death. And at the same time, that makes them more similar than they've ever been.

[slayers_desire]

April is not sure how complicated things will get, with Owen and Jack so far apart with their situations. It is yet another thing to pull them apart.

"Do you have any questions?"

[fractured_agent]

Martha raises her hand a little. "I have one. How is it that you know so much about Owen's condition when you're not the same?"

[slayers_desire]

"I am familiar with other undead, besides vampires."

April tilted her head. "Or are you asking, how I seem to be knowing exactly what is going on. And seem so confident about it."

[fractured_agent]

"That too," Martha admits.

[slayers_desire]

"I'm psychic, telepathic, and empathic."

[fractured_agent]

"She's not the only one, just the most talented one I know," Jack adds.

Martha nods in understanding. Two years ago, she would've protested that such a thing makes no sense. But then she traveled with the Doctor, and saw the universe. Nothing is impossible anymore. And if Jack vouches for it being true, that just makes it ironclad fact for her.

"So what'm I supposed to do now?" Owen asks. "I can't do my job but I can't go home?"

[slayers_desire]

"I could bring you some research on the undead, for you?"

[fractured_agent]

Owen's not sure if he should feel angry about that being a necessity, or grudgingly thankful for the offer. Jack decides for him. "As much as you can bring us. I realize this isn't exactly your typical undead scenario but anything related might help. Tosh, run an analysis on the glove; see if you can learn anything about what's different between it and the other one we had. Ianto, you know the archives best; find out if anything like this has happened before."

[slayers_desire]

"I wish I had better news." But she doesn't.

[fractured_agent]

"We can't always be the bearer of good news," Martha says knowingly. She and Jack share the memories of a Year That Never Was, where Martha spent her time roaming the Earth to convince its people to believe that they could fight back against a rogue Time Lord, the Master. It didn't always end well.

"April," Jack says with a nod. "We appreciate anything you can do for us. Bring your research to us as soon as you can." And you and I need to talk about whatever's inside of Owen.

[slayers_desire]

"It shouldn't take long. I will send a message to Wesley, and he will find as many as Owen wants."

Of course. When?