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 feels a bit relieved when she senses the energy surge out of the glove. But the problem is not solved yet.

She keeps a psychic bubble around the crushed glove. "Hold onto this, until we can properly destroy it." She tells J'onn.

Then she rushes over to where Jack and Owen is. And projects out into Owen's mind to see what he is dealing with.

[fractured_agent]

J'onn nods, and takes the glove, careful not to touch it.

The deathly energy in Owen isn't strong enough to emerge fully. It needs more time to come to fruition, but the destruction of the glove has enraged it, and it's fighting for dominance. Owen's eyes turn black again as the entity seizes control. "I shall walk the Earth," it growls at them. "And my hunger shall know no bounds!"

[slayers_desire]

April searches his mind for the part that is Owen. "This is your mind. Your body Owen. Fight it."

[fractured_agent]

Martha looks at April helplessly. She's a doctor but she can't do anything to help Owen, unsure of what she can possibly do.

Jack isn't sure what to do either. He's already considered several possible actions to take, if Owen should lose this fight. "Don't you do this, dammit! I didn't bring you back just to lose you again."

[slayers_desire]

"Perhaps, if other members of the team also tell him how important he is?" It had worked for Jack, when he had struggled in his own mind. April is just hoping that it would work for Owen.

[fractured_agent]

Martha barely knows Owen, so she can't say much to help. But she can do her duty as a doctor, monitoring his vitals and keeping watch for any emergence of the deathly entity inside of him.

Gwen is the first to leap on the suggestion. "We need you, Owen. We can't do half the things you do."

"Things certainly would be more dull without you around," Ianto says, resorting to dry humor as the only way to cope with watching his teammate still walking around long after he's died.

[slayers_desire]

"Come on Owen. Fight hard... we all believe in you."

[fractured_agent]

"And I love you," Tosh says, aware that she told him that before, when they thought his revival was temporary. Owen shook it off then as something she said under stress, but she really means it.

"You're dead already," Jack tells Owen, grabbing him by the shoulders. "You've got nothing left to lose. Kick its ass!"

The deathly entity inside of Owen glares at them all through black eyes, and a black mist begins to seep out of Owen's mouth, grasping for the closest person. It's too weak to emerge fully, but it knows it's cornered, and its last resort is to try to kill everyone in the room to gain strength enough to fight.

[slayers_desire]

Once the black mist starts to seep out of Owen's mouth, April creates a psychic bubble around it -- capturing it before it can grasp or hurt anyone.

"It's working..."

[fractured_agent]

Owen chokes out a scream, and grabs at the mist, unsure if he's trying to yank it out of him or simply keep it from escaping, too focused to notice that April's containing it.

Jack tenses up when he sees that black mist. Unknown energy loose in the Hub is never, ever a good thing. "Please tell me you have that."

[slayers_desire]

"I am doing my best. But it would be best if everyone steps back..."

[fractured_agent]

The three mortal members of Torchwood have already backed up a fair bit, though Jack is still in the danger zone. He goes to let go of Owen, but the deathly entity grabs him with Owen's hands. "I will have you," it hisses at him.

[slayers_desire]

April sends a sharp psychic wave towards Owen, to push him off Jack. She need to keep her powers balanced, to ensure that the black mist was still being contained.

[fractured_agent]

Owen rocks back, his grip momentarily loosening. Just long enough for Jack to twist out of his grasp.

[slayers_desire]

"Owen... you really have to fight this. I won't let this entity hurt anyone else on the team." April's eyes glow red. She will take drastic measures, if necessary. Even if it meant losing the friendships she had built here.

[fractured_agent]

The black mist lunges out of Owen's mouth, not towards Jack, who has backed up out of range, but towards Tosh.

That is what makes Owen grab hold of it, struggling with the deadly entity to keep it away from her. He doesn't know how to destroy it, but he's determined not to let it kill anyone else.

[slayers_desire]

April is not sure how to destroy it either, since this is something she has never experienced before. But she is glad to see Owen struggle with the entity. "Good Owen. Fight for your life. Your friends."

[fractured_agent]

The entity roars, lashing out at the dead hands that hold it, but it holds no power over the undead. Owen grits his teeth and struggles to hold on. The entity isn't strong enough to escape, but it's putting up a hell of a fight.

Finally, Owen's determination pays off. The mist draws back into him, and he shoves it down deep, back into the darkness.