Fffc Bingo Card - Feasting

[m_findlow]

Title: Feasting 
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Adam, Torchwood team 
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none 
Author notes: Written for Bingo Card Prompt 2 - Vulnerable at fffc
Summary: Adam has found a feast of memories to gorge himself on. 

When Adam had been released from his prison he was almost overwhelmed by the plethora of memories on offer for him to consume. It had been so long and he'd been so hungry that the sudden onslaught of delectable energy was nearly more than he could stand. 

The five of them were so juicy and delicious. They had stood no chance against him as he immediately went to work on them, planting new memories in their minds and displacing old ones so that all they could remember was how he had always been one of them. So long as they remained convinced that Adam existed, and had always existed, there in the corners of every important moment in their lives, he would live forever. 

And it was just so easy. All of them were so open to his suggestions, their weak minds vulnerable to even the simplest of lies. Gwen was his first victim. She was the friendly, outgoing one. If anyone was going to give him a foot in the door it was her. She would normalise his existence for the others whilst he went to work on them. Admittedly, he may have gone a little too far that first time, displacing a little too much of her existing memories, making her forget her fiancé. He'd been voracious at the beginning and now knew he had to be a little more cautious. There'd always been a subtlety to his work and he blamed his mistakes on his desperate hunger. 

Owen was next because the doctor was skeptical and distrustful of people. He was also arrogant and often completely blind to the feelings of the others. Adam decided to teach him a lesson by erasing all of that confidence. This new Owen was much more to Adam's liking. He was demure and a little bit awkward around his colleagues. He had a hankering for their technical genius Tosh, a little tidbit Adam had discovered hidden under all that brash exterior, and the little not so secret affair he'd had with Gwen. Toying with Owen's affections for Tosh would be a nice little side game. He'd leave those feelings there, and maybe turn them up a few notches, but making sure that the feelings were completely unrequited. Owen wouldn't cause any trouble, and that moved Adam up the chain so that after Jack, he was the next top dog. 

Tosh had been so much fun to corrupt. If Owen had been converted from a self-assured prat, Tosh was the complete opposite. She needed to be cranked up to eleven. She was brilliant but she seemed not to want to flaunt it which was, in Adam's opinion, a complete waste. She wasn't unattractive either, and with a little bit of confidence, and maybe a few dirty little inclinations, she would be the perfect woman. So much so, Adam decided, that he wouldn't mind taking it a little further. The only thing better than letting Owen stew in unacknowledged feelings, would be to be the one to take any hopes of having Tosh away from him. And Adam was thoroughly enjoying the sexy creature he'd created from Tosh. She was all woman and all sexed up. She wanted him and she didn't care who saw them or how they felt about it. Adam was hers and she wanted to please him. Best of all, it hadn't taken very much in the way to persuade her. 

If Owen had been fun, then Ianto was an absolute prize. Adam had to do almost nothing to convince Ianto that he'd always been part of the team. He was already like Owen. At least he had been until Gwen mucked things up. That's when Adam realised he'd made a mistake in underestimating how much work Ianto needed. He was ridiculously thorough with his record keeping, which kept Adam on his toes, updating their databases endlessly to keep up the pretense. What he hadn't counted on was Ianto keeping a diary and unraveling the secret for himself. Where Adam had been subtle before now he decided more extreme measures were necessary. Oh, but he hadn't done anything like this for so long he'd forgotten just how good it felt. Creating memories that were horrific and shocking was nearly orgasmic, and putting them in such an innocent mind as Ianto's filled him with euphoric joy. He was going to make Ianto pay for questioning his existence by sending him into a murderous spiral. If he did it just right, Ianto might keep on killing all on his own. The thought was just so delicious. This was what Adam's power could really do. 

Ianto however was a mere distraction from Adam's real endgame. Jack was something else that Adam had never encountered before. He had lived longer than any being Adam had known and that presented him with an opportunity too good to pass up. If he could penetrate Jack's memories deeply enough, all the way back to his early childhood, then Adam knew he could live forever.

Jack was immortal and undying. If Jack remembered who Adam was, he too would live forever. All those others would just become playthings for him to muck around with, seeing just how much he could break their minds and make them his, but Jack would allow him to grow in strength because Jack's memories were so deep and so fulsome. Adam had been weaving himself in, bit by bit, but now he'd finally landed on the most precious memory of all. There was one memory Adam had disturbed during his manipulations but now he saw it for what it was - his own ticket to immortality. He had only but to insert himself in Jack's last memory of his father and there would be no stopping him. He would erode everything else, leaving only Jack's power and influence over the others. Eventually Adam would take him over completely and then he'd be in charge of this whole world and all its people's minds.