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fandomweekly2023-01-07 04:25 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2023-01-07 04:25 pm
Entry tags:
[#162] Holding Out For A Hero (Torchwood)
Theme Prompt: #162 – Hero
Title: Holding Out For A Hero
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 1000
Summary: The members of Torchwood are usually the heroes, even if nobody else knows that, but sometimes even heroes need some help.
The citizens of Cardiff, especially those in law enforcement, didn’t care for Torchwood; they considered the organisation to be an unnecessary and unwanted pain in the posterior. That was largely because they didn’t have any clear idea of what Torchwood actually did. All they knew was that the big, black SUV would arrive somewhere, having broken most of the traffic laws enroute, screech to a halt, and then chaos would ensue, so perhaps their antipathy towards the supposed Special Ops team was understandable.
If anyone had tried to explain that the men and women of Torchwood Three were in fact heroes, constantly risking their lives to protect the people of earth from dangerous aliens and their technology, they wouldn’t have been believed. That was the trouble with working for a secret organisation; they couldn’t tell people the truth without undermining their ability to do their job and putting themselves in even greater danger. When anyone did happen to stumble across the truth, they were usually retconned as soon as possible so that they simply forgot what they’d discovered.
Before he’d become a fully fledged field agent, back when he’d been captured by cannibals in the Brecon Beacons, Ianto had asked Tosh a question: If Torchwood was responsible for protecting everyone else, then who protected Torchwood? The short answer was that they protected themselves, as far as was possible. They were aware of dangers the average person couldn’t begin to imagine, and better equipped to handle those dangers than anyone else could be, thanks to the advanced and mostly alien technology they had access to.
They were a small team though, only five people standing against whatever was thrown at them. Being a hero was hard work, not to mention hazardous to their health. Injuries were common, and an early death was something all of them had resigned themselves to, with the exception of Jack, for whom permanent death wasn’t an option.
Jack wasn’t here though, neither were any of Ianto’s other colleagues. No Owen, no Tosh, no Gwen… They were all off doing their part towards saving the world, or at least Cardiff, again. Ianto was completely alone, and in rather a lot of trouble.
He hadn’t been alone a few minutes ago; he’d been fighting a desperate battle against one of several very nasty aliens who’d thought earth was the perfect place to enjoy a spot of hunting. Unfortunately, from a human point of view, these particular aliens got their jollies from hunting other sentient species. They enjoyed a challenge, but not too much of one, which was why they preyed on races less technologically advanced than their own. Of course, while the lack of technological superiority might be true of most humans, Torchwood agents were the exceptions that proved the rule.
That wasn’t to say it had been an easy fight. It was the middle of the night, so despite the city’s ever-present lights, visibility hadn’t been great. On top of that, Ianto’s opponent had been heavily armed and armoured, while Ianto had only been equipped with his Torchwood Special automatic, an advanced laser pistol, and his trusty stun gun. It was that which had turned out to be the most effective weapon, shorting out the alien’s battle armour, which in turn had rendered the reptilian creature unconscious. Gravity had done the rest, since the alien had staggered backwards and gone over the edge of the roof where they were fighting. Even something that heavily armoured couldn’t survive such a fall.
Neither could a completely unarmoured human.
Everything should have been fine, damnit! Ianto had won the battle; by now he should be heading back down the emergency stairs to see if any of his teammates needed help. But as the alien had toppled off the building, its long, whiplike tail, with its barbed tip, had caught on the leg of Ianto’s trousers. He’d been jerked off his feet and dragged towards across the roof. Although he’d scrabbled with both hands to hold on to something, there’d been nothing he could get a grip on until he'd already been pulled over the edge of the building.
Thankfully, at that point, the alien’s tail barb had pulled free with a tearing sound, letting Ianto know that another of his suits had just been ruined, and his desperate fingers had caught hold of a narrow ledge, arresting his fall.
So now, here he was, dangling from a building an awfully long way above the ground, his cramped fingers barely able to maintain their grip. A careful exploration with his feet failed to find any footholds, and he didn’t have the strength to pull himself back up with nothing more than his fingertips. This wasn’t how he’d thought it would end for him; he was doomed, all because of a bit of bad luck. He couldn’t even say goodbye to Jack, because if he let go long enough to turn his earpiece on, he’d be falling before he could draw breath to speak.
His gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wings and a querulous caw as something big landed on the roof above him and peered over the edge.
“Myfanwy!” Ianto gasped out. “Thank God! You have to help me!” He wanted to reach for her, but he didn’t dare let go of his precarious handhold. “Come on, girl, just lean down a little further. I don’t wanna die. You’re my only hope!”
With a louder caw, the Pteranodon took to the air again, the downdraft from her wings buffeting Ianto. He felt his fingers slipping, knew he couldn’t hold on much longer! Another, stronger gust of wind from the great wings hit him, then Ianto was falling… and then he wasn’t!
Something clamped around his wrist like a steel vice, and he floated gently to the ground a few feet from the dead alien. Landing beside him, Myf butted her head against his chest.
“That was some rescue! I don’t care what anyone else says; you’re my hero.”
The End
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Yeah, sometimes you have written nearly everything with your main-choices.
My first intention was something with a bad guy doing something "good" and getting called hero but I couldn't think of something :/
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