Torchwood: Aftershock (Pilot) Fourth Section

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Torchwood/BtVS 'Casting' AU
Rating: T
Word Count: 2,398
Cast of Characters:
Destiny = Buffy
Brynwon = Angel
Aerie = Cordy
Brynmor = Angel
Captain Xan = Xander
Jeramy = Jesse
Emily = Willow
Will = Spike
Giles as himself
Buffy/Angel is a thing
Summary: People have been disappearing in Cardiff.  Police Officer Destiny Sumner has been assigned to the investigation, only to find that she is not the only one looking at the evidence-something called Torchwood has ordered all police officers off the investigation and is conducting their own.  She isn’t willing to let this go, however, and in her desire to know the truth, she might find a little too much...

 

             She woke up with a considerably less fuzzy head and a ringing mobile.  A check showed that it was her friend Aerie, begging for help and some company.  Most likely at the pizza place again.

             “I need someone to help cover my shift,” she admitted when Destiny showed up.  “Look at my foot!”  It was swollen and bruised.  “These stupid governmental people show up at the building asking questions.  Anyway, I step out of my door to tell them to mind their own business and the next thing I know there’s a stampede or something.  They didn’t even bother to check if I was okay!”

             One of her co-workers snorted.  “Your shift is nearly over, and you should have called in if you couldn’t work.  Anyway, I live at the same building, remember?  My flat’s just the floor below yours.  It was an evacuation, just so you know for next time.”

             “An evacuation?” she sounded disgusted.  “There weren’t any bells or anything.”

             Destiny snorted.  “Okay, I’ll do it.”

             “Great!  You’re a great friend!”  Aerie hugged her, careful not to smudge her makeup.  Which looked fresh.  She wouldn’t be surprised if there was a date involved, but she’d long ago gotten used to Aerie.

             “Okay, where am I going?” she asked.

             “Torchwood.”  She felt a little dizzy, a slight ringing in her ears.  She’d never heard that word before, so why did it have such meaning for her?  “I’ll send you the map on your mobile.  That way you won’t get lost.  It’s not far.”

 

             Torchwood was apparently a fancy name for a tourist office on the waterfront.  It wasn’t labeled that, though, but there was no mistaking the address, given that there wasn’t much else anywhere near.  Not unless some mermaids in the lake had taken to ordering pizza.  That was a ridiculous thought; she must be more hungover than she thought.  The headache was mostly gone, but still...she was never this ridiculous.  She shrugged and ducked inside.

A young man was standing at the desk.  Not someone she remembered-or almost remembered.  Not like the name Torchwood.  He wore glasses and had nice, auburn hair, short, but curly and untamed.  He was in old fashioned fancy dress down to the shoes-jacket, waistcoat, undershirt, fancy trousers, tie.  Nice smile, if a bit distracted.  Head off in the clouds, this one.  Unusually, blue-grey eyes, considering otherwise he didn’t look all that special.  Somewhat strong cheekbones, but considering how soft he looked the effect was somewhat lost.  Overall nice overall glow-color of life, but not attractive like her Brynmor.  “May I help you?” he asked politely, looking up from the book he’d been reading.

“Yeah, delivery for Torchwood?” she asked, trying to move the pizza box out of the way so she could watch his expressions carefully.

The slightest hint of surprise showed on his face, and he glanced at the computer screen.  After a moment, he looked up and smiled again.  “They’re expecting you.  Go on.”  He hit a button hidden on the desk, and a door opened in the wall.  Clever.  If a bit weird.  Obviously more than a tourist information office then.

She wondered why she didn’t feel more surprised.

 

             Down a hallway, into what was apparently a lift, rotating door, opening cage.  The whole time Destiny felt like she was walking through a dream, but the ground underfoot felt real.  Also, the smell of the pizza was making her hungry.  She’d read somewhere that you didn’t smell anything when you dreamed.  Or maybe it was taste.

             She was so caught up in thought that she didn’t notice for a minute once she was actually inside.  Then she looked up and went stock still.

             This place was mental.  And people actually worked here?

             There was a giant fountain in the middle, complete with little rivers and bridges.  High-tech equipment was scattered about and occasionally congregated to form a sort of work-station.  There was a full suit of medieval armor sitting on a table that had been mostly cleared.  Crystals, herbs, and vials of unknown liquids sat about, and there was a painting of a dragon opposite a wall that declared simply TORCHWOOD.  It looked like the place had been built by a very interesting madman.              Or possibly half-converted from a sewer or Metro stop.  She almost started giggling at the thought of a car full of ordinary people coming to a stop and letting off passengers in this room.  Various rooms and stairs led off, and she felt the sudden urge to explore the place.  Something let out a long cry, like the screech of a raptor, and something large, long, and feathered jumped to another perch to watch her with intelligent, deep and unwinking eyes.  It looked to be some sort of flying feathered serpent.  She shivered.

             It was only after the fact that she noticed the people, doing their best not to stare.  The lack of people actually looking at her was somewhat forced.  It was extremely silly of her not to see them, she thought, since she was trained to notice important details like that.

             The first to grab her attention was the man in military dress, standing above it all and just sort of observing.  He was familiar.  Familiar and handsome.  When he noticed her watching, he winked and leaned forward, resting his hands against the railing.  

Another, an older man in a tweed suit, was reading from an ancient and rather dusty looking book through large glasses at one of the tables scattered about.  He didn’t glance up once and gave the impression of being entirely unaware of her presence.  

A sort of handsome bloke that also looked a little familiar was ignoring her haughtily, as if she wasn’t worth his attention, idly turning the pages of what she guessed was a medical journal, a technical magazine, or perhaps porn.  

A pretty woman in a gypsy skirt and beaded top kept glancing between her work, where she was typing very quickly indeed, and glancing up at Destiny.  Eventually she giggled and waved slightly.  Despite herself, Destiny waved back.  She came off as one of those cute little redheads instead of a fiery one, the policewoman decided.  When she turned around again, she jumped, because the handsome man was right behind her.  He’d apparently sneaked up soundlessly while she’d been looking around like some awe-struck tourist.

             “Can we have our pizza now?” he asked, mischievous grin on his face.

             Wordlessly she nodded, and he laughed.  “Dinner’s served soon, everyone.  Up in the meeting room.”  Less Handsome grumbled at that.  He turned a little more serious.  “How’d you find us again?”  Again?  She’d seen all of this...before?  But she’d think she’d remember something like this...

             “Took over my friend’s shift as a favor.”  She tried to think of what to say next.  Handsome saved her the trouble by speaking again.

“I have to congratulate you.  Not many are this persistent.  Most just give up after the Retcon, but you’re something special.”  He smiled, a smile that made the room disappear and should probably be used in every advertisement ever.  Definitely get people to buy more.  She certainly would.  “We could use someone like you.”  Was she...being offered to join them?  After infiltrating them (fairly unsuccessfully) with pizza?  And she’d had no idea she was entering a spy headquarters when she’d agreed to this.

“Retcon?  What are you talking about?” she asked.  Surprisingly, he looked a bit relieved.

“You’ve already been introduced to me, but you don’t remember me.  Which is a bit of a shame, but I suppose the upside is that you get to meet me all over again.  Captain Alexander Blade.  You can just call me Captain Xan, though.”  He reached out and gave her a firm, respectful handshake that nonetheless was...a bit intimate?  He held her hand for a second longer than he needed to, then let go, waving at the lady who’d giggled.  “That’s Emily Salisbury, our resident witch and computer whiz.”  Yet another friendly wave was made in her direction.  “Rupert Giles, our magic expert.  He takes care of the magical artifacts and finds us answers in his dusty old books, even if it sometimes takes a while.”  At last, the man in tweed glanced up, gave her a polite smile and returned to his book.  “Jeramy Callaghan, the doctor, but be careful.  He bites.”

At this, the doctor dropped his pretense of ignoring them completely, looking up with a disgruntled expression on his face.  “When will you stop telling pretty young women that?  I do not!”

“He does.  Especially in bed.”  The Captain winked saucily.

“Yurrgh!”  Jeramy’s struck with a coughing fit and looks ill at the very concept.  One look at the Captain convinces her that he’s-not likely, anyway-serious, just winding the other man up.  She can’t help but laugh at that.

The man who’d let her through the door into Torchwood stepped through, adjusting his glasses.  “Oh, and this is Will.  He knows practically everything.”  The name sounded vaguely familiar.

An offended cough comes at that statement.  “Excuse me, sir; I know everything.”

Xan winks outrageously at him, with an accompanying grin.  “You just keep right on thinking that, Will.”  

The man blushes and looks offended.  

“He basically does all the boring work around here.  Coordinates everything, files all the forms, cleans the place, makes sure we eat and sleep, knows where everything is...didn’t say he wasn’t useful, just that the work is boring.  Oh, and he has a mean cup of tea.  Or a nice one.  Never could decide.  Depends, really, on how he’s feeling toward you at the moment.”  The look changes into one of pure outrage, and the Captain winces.  “Ah, I have the feeling that my next cup of tea’s just going to be off.”

Will seems to be a little more comfortable with the sympathetic smile Destiny gives him, and busies himself tidying up the various work stations.  “It’s boring to you, sir,” he mutters, but Xan doesn’t react.

Xan interrupts her thoughts with a somewhat eager question.  “So, what d’ya think?”

“What?” she asks, lost.

“Want to join?  Trial mish.  Get through this one alive, and you just might join us.”  As if that’s supposed to sound appealing.

And yet...somehow it is.

Will offers her a friendly if slightly annoyed smile.  “I’d be careful, miss.  That means that he’s trying to seduce you.”

Captain Xan laughs heartily.  “You’d know all about that, Will.”  He’s grinning widely, having settled down and crossed his legs, leaning against a convenient desk and watching the two of them.

Will continues to smile, but this time with gritted teeth.  “Some days I really regret taking this job.”

“Other times you can’t resist me,” Xan continues, as if naturally.

“No, sometimes it’s merely tolerable.  Miss Salisbury, Mr. Callaghan, do you need anything?”  He purposefully ignores the Captain, who by this point is looking a little put out.

Emily looked up from the computer screen, as if startled.  Destiny realized she’d stopped paying attention a while back.  “You know me.  I’m always in the market for a cup of coffee.  Or tea.”  She smiled and waved a hand.  A strange metal object floated out of a box and onto her desk.  Destiny stared, but no one else seemed to have noticed.

“You’re the teaboy, go make us some tea,” Jeramy stated loudly and obnoxiously, looking at indecipherable scribbled notes.

Will’s smile became even more forced, but he disappeared as asked.

“Well?  You could join us for pizza.”  The Captain paused, then added, “Or you could return and deliver the rest of your friend’s pizzas.  But even if you do, you have to try Will’s tea.”  He closed his eyes, savoring the memories.

Jeramy rolled his eyes in their direction.  “Well?  Make up your mind before our food gets cold!”

Everyone, at this point, was doing their best to ignore the team’s doctor.  

“This isn’t real,” she stated argumentatively, staring into Captain Xan’s eyes.

He smiled mysteriously.  “Prove it,” he dared her.  Prove it or live this crazy impossible life with us.  Well, she wasn’t about to back out now.  She couldn’t resist a challenge like this.  And he’d known it, the bastard.

“Pizza,” she decided.  “Er, where do I take....?”

Xan unfolded his legs.  “I’ll show you,” he beamed, striding up to her and holding out a hand to shake.  “Welcome to the team, Destiny.”  As she shook the hand, it felt intimate again.  How he’d managed such a thing she’d had no idea.  The only thing she’d learned in training was to be firm to show respect.  And she caught the whiff of something that smelled really enticing, but it was gone in a second.  He didn’t prolong the handshake, which she supposed was good since otherwise she probably would have dropped the pizza and then Jeramy would’ve been really mad at her.

 

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