Intro

[hofficoffi]

Ianto Jones was relatively certain that he'd gone to bed as usual. These days, he would probably not tell you if you asked, "usual" meant in his own bed, in his own flat, and, above all, with a certain former Time Agent hogging the duvet

Comments

[ninewho]

"Oi, suit man! Head's up!" The Doctor ran full speed by the man in the suit, the one who looked good and confused. As he did, he grabbed an arm. "Killer robots on the loose! Run!"

Behind the Doctor there was a white robot wheeling down the hallway, repeating the word "gadget" over and over again. It didn't look particularly threatening, but the Doctor knew better than to trust robots with rocket boosters.

That never ended well.

[hofficoffi]

If Torchwood taught Ianto anything, it taught him how to run. Fast, distance, without being caught, in funny patterns, on short notice.

That last one came in handy more often than most people would expect.

So, when this strange man grabbed hold of his arm and shouted about killer robots, he did the only thing he could do: he ran.

As they turned a corner, he spared a glance at the other man, who stayed just a step ahead. "Do this often, then?" he called out.

[ninewho]

"All the time!" The Doctor let out a laugh and yelled out over his shoulder. The one was good. Ran fast, talked while he went, adapated quickly.

Didn't bat an eye at killer robots from Mars.

Fantastic. "You?"

[hofficoffi]

Somewhere along the line, this had become Ianto's element. The uncertainty. The danger. The running.

When he first joined Torchwood Three, he hadn't thought it possible, but here he was, just as bad as the others.

In response, though, he rolled his eyes. Without slowing down, which was another feat he'd mastered since joining Torchwood Three. "Oh, yeah!" he answered.

[anoldsoldier]

Quite nice, this place, Wilf thought. Not really where he'd intended to be but it was interesting to have a look around. A bit swish, looked like something out of one of those modern films. He certainly wasn't worried or concerned. The place was much nicer than that ship he'd ended up on with the Doctor back at Christmas, after all.

He doubted he was alone though, even if it seemed that way. It stood to reason if he was there then other people would be too. Just basic logic, that.

And he was right. There he was, nice respectable looking bloke, just up ahead.

"Hold your horses!" he called up and over at him.

[hofficoffi]

Ianto peered at a computer terminal embedded into the wall. It appeared to be turned off. That, or it really didn't like him pressing buttons.

He was just about to give up and move on when someone spoke. He turned in surprise and then waited, his hands in his pockets, for the speaker to catch up to him. An old man, he looked like.

"Hello," Ianto said, and though his tone was cautious it was also flawlessly polite. Then, very seriously and with a frown, "Where are we?"

[anoldsoldier]

"Bowie Base One," Wilf said all matter of factly. "Least that's what it says on the wall," he added, pointing a finger up at a silver plaque a short distance away.

"Never heard of it," he said, nodding back towards the be-suited man.

"If you want my opinion," he said, leaning his head in a little towards Ianto, "it's them aliens again."

[hofficoffi]

Ianto's gaze flickered toward the plaque and then back.

"Aliens," he repeated, a bit distantly, a bit gruff, and he followed that with a nod. He looked up, at the ceiling, tracing it with his eyes. Thoughtfully.

"Always is, these days."

[alicecarter]

A man in a suit. You could generally trust a man in a suit to have some idea of what was going on, or to at least have a good grasp of pretending that he knew what was going on.

You couldn't trust a man in a suit to not kidnap you and yours and take you to some sort of underground base. But if that’s what had happened, then it’d already happened. Steeling herself, Alice approached the man, ready to escape if need be.

“Excuse me? Do you know what’s going on here?”

[hofficoffi]

Where there had previously been silence, there was a voice.

Ianto started.

Then, he turned, offered her an apologetic half-smile, and lifted his hands. Fingers splayed. A gesture of vague uncertainty, but an inoffensive one. Ianto is good at inoffensive. He's also quite good at trustworthy.

"Not... as such." His gaze turned slightly more serious as he looked her over. "Are you all right?"

[alicecarter]

No gun, which was good. But Alice still couldn’t take that to mean much. She kept her distance, not taking her eyes off the man. Her stance did go slightly more casual, though.

“I imagine I’m as fine as you are. How’d you get here?”

[hofficoffi]

He huffed a laugh. Rather mirthless, though. "Fell asleep in Cardiff," he said. "Woke up here."

He checked his watch, something about the movement suggesting he'd done it several times already. He turned his wrist so she could see.

"Stopped."