m_findlow

Title: Wrongful arrest
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: Arrest at hc_bingo
Wordcount: 24,947 words
Rating: M
Warnings: N/A
Summary: UNIT are on the warpath, and they've got Jack in their sights.

Ianto stumbled slightly as the light around them dimmed. They were no longer surrounded by the narrow, brightly lit walls of the UNIT hallway, but by the stark facade of a facility that had clearly seen battle. Even in the darkness, red flashing emergency lights showed the once white concrete walls were pockmarked with gouges, bullet holes and burns. It seemed familiar, but unfamiliar.

He spun around and shoved New Jack hard.

'Tell me we didn't just leave Jack back there to get incinerated!'

'We didn't. I told you to trust me.'

Ianto turned away from him. Even reassured, the thought of the possibility still made him feel sick.

'Where are we?' He couldn't shake the feeling that he should know.

'Torchwood London. My universe, just a few days ago. Come on,' he said, grabbing Ianto's hand and pulling him down one of the damaged hallways, this one lit only by the sparking electrical cables from broken light fixtures hanging in tatters above their heads.

Now Ianto was beginning to get his bearings. He could remember some of the layout of the building he'd once worked in, and there being laboratories on levels fifteen through twenty one. That must be where they were now. Hadn't Jack said that a small group of Torchwood staff had made themselves a bunker to work from, isolated from the daleks and the cybermen, and holding out a resistance? Where were they? Is that where they were headed now?

'Why are we here? I don't underst-'

The rest of his sentence was cut off as Jack wrapped his hand over his mouth, silencing him, and tugging him into a darkened corner, their bodies pressed tightly together.

Just as he was about to start struggling, he caught sight of the reason Jack had grabbed him.

Another Jack was running down the same hallway they had just been stood in. Despite the lack of light, the yellow void hopper medallion stood out prominently hanging from his neck, coat fluttering dramatically around him like it always did.

'Distract him,' came the gruff whisper in Ianto's ear before he found himself ungraciously shoved back out into the hallway.

Ianto barely had time to gather himself before his own movement had caught Jack's eye. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

'Uh, hi. You, uh, don't happen to know the way out of here, do you?' he asked, cringing at how lame it sounded.

Jack's eyes narrowed at him and indecisiveness between making his escape and engaging this young man, caused him to waver. Good that I can still attract his attention, no matter which version of Jack he is, Ianto thought ironically.

'And you are?' he asked slowly.

He'd been about to say "Jones, Ianto Jones," but didn't get the chance.

It was all New Jack needed to sneak up behind Jack and club him over the back of the head, causing him to crumple unconscious to the ground.

Ianto's shocked look was all he got in response. He didn't wait for Ianto to demand an explanation.

'I can't meet myself.'

'Right. Paradoxes,' replied Ianto, surprised at his own calmness at having witnessed Jack just clobber himself unconscious. Torchwood was one thing, but this was altogether different. Must this be what it's like to travel with The Doctor? he wondered. He could see why it appealed to Jack.

He suddenly wondered if there was an alternate version of himself here in this universe. Was there an alternate version of Lisa? Was she being converted whilst he was trapped down in that stupid hermetic vault? It almost didn't bear thinking about. If he did, he might well turn around and forget about New Jack altogether, making a break for the last place he remembered Lisa being. Maybe he could save this universe's version of her for his version of himself. Then he would never join Torchwood Cardiff, never meet Jack, although in this reality Jack wasn't involved with Torchwood. He quickly stopped himself. He didn't have any more right to change events here than New Jack did in his universe. He'd have to let things happen just as they were intended, whatever that might be. The turbulent thoughts lasted only a moment as a distant sound rang out which caused a chill of fear to run down his spine.

'Exterminate!'

'You need to go,' Jack ordered.

He tugged the hopper from the other Jack's limp body and thrust it into his hands.

'What?' Ianto was confused.

'If he doesn't jump in the next few minutes, none of this ever happens, which means this one,' he said, holding up his own hopper, 'doesn't exist. I don't exist to give it to you, and you'll end up trapped here. You need to take his and get out.'

'But if we stopped him leaving this universe, doesn't that mean none of this happens?'

'My timeline gets re-written. We never meet. But yours? Your timeline doesn't exist here in this universe. There's nothing for it to revert to. You'll just be stuck here, forever.'

'You'll be gone!' Ianto said, suddenly realising the implications.

Jack pointed down at his unconscious earlier self.

'He is me.'

'But he's not,' Ianto protested.

New Jack took in a deep breath and let it out. He knew what Ianto meant. He’d be back to callous, self-centred Jack, trying desperately to find a way off this planet. Thinking he'd succeeded by stealing the void hopper from Torchwood, only to find it gone. Stolen by some mystery man he met just moment beforehand who'd managed to knock him out cold.

'I know. Which is why I’m leaving him this.'

Ianto stared curiously at the tiny flash drive in Jack's hand.

'You said this doctor of yours set up a program that got rid of the daleks and the cybermen. I replicated some of the code onto this. Should be able to jury-rig this up, reopen that void and suck them all back into it.'

He wiggled the spare phone he'd picked up back at the hub, 'I even left myself detailed video instructions! Wasn't my original plan, but never hurts to have a backup. Figured I might end up back here, or at least needed to be able to send a message back to myself to fix things.'

He grabbed at Jack's lapels and hauled the unconscious body across the floor, and away into a room leading off the corridor, where he was less likely to be found by any daleks on patrol.

Ianto couldn't figure out if it was a trick of the light, but New Jack seemed to dim as he looked on.

'You're fading.'

'My timeline is already beginning to alter. Once you go, that's it. It's all up to him now.'

'And what happens to me?'

'Your timeline goes back to the way it was. Before you met me. Before I came to your Earth.'

'Like nothing ever happened,' Ianto muttered.

Jack stopped and stared at him for a moment. How had this one man turned his whole world on its head?

He gently took his face in his hands and kissed Ianto. 'I wish I'd never met you Ianto Jones. I was better off a coward.'

'No you weren't.'

Jack smiled. 'Just do one thing for me okay?'

'What?'

'Just on the off chance that you do remember any of this. Those two years, the missing memories? Don't tell Jack. He's better off not knowing.'

Ianto nodded. He would keep Jack's secret. He made to leave, then stopped and turned.

'Jack? I don't know how to thank you.'

Jack smirked. 'You'll think of something. Besides, I'm the one who got you in this mess to start with! Maybe if I'm lucky I'll run into this universe's version of you some day.'

'God help him then,' Ianto quipped.

Jack grinned and saluted him, continuing to fade away until he was completely gone, leaving Ianto stood there alone, except for the unconscious Jack lying on the floor nearby. He hesitated for a few minutes, not wanting to leave Jack, knowing there were daleks and cybermen roaming about, but also knowing he couldn't stay.

Knowing he'd done all he could, with one final deep breath he activated the hopper.

Chapter sixteen...