m_findlow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
m_findlow) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly2024-06-10 12:28 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2024-06-10 12:28 pm
Entry tags:
[#222] DRAWN TO THE SEA (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #222 - At the beach
Title: Drawn to the sea
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Mysterious reports of strange behaviour lead to even stranger behaviour.
‘I don’t see why we should be investigating,’ Jack complained, relegated to the passenger seat, giving him licence to moan. ‘Sharks acting weird? Come on. Is that really a Torchwood thing?’
‘Shush now!’ Gwen snapped, tired of the conversation. ‘The computers picked up the report from a local marine biologist studying dolphins off the coast.’
‘Well, there’s your first clue,’ Jack said. ‘Sharks aren't even her field of expertise.’
‘Well, she’s still better placed than most to notice something strange. Besides, since when do you deny the randomness of the universe?’
‘I’m not denying the randomness of the universe. I'm just saying that I don't think anyone has ever done sufficient psychological profiling on sharks as a species to be able to determine what constitutes them acting weirdly.’
‘Oh, he’s going to be in one of those moods today, isn't he?’
‘Apparently,’ Ianto agreed.
Jack huffed and folded his arms. ‘Fine. We’ll scan the coastline for any bizarre signals, take a few samples and go home.’
‘You know I never thought about there being sharks out there,’ Ianto commented. ‘I mean, given how often we end up in the drink investigating anything out in open water. Too busy worrying about being attacked by aliens to even give sharks a thought.’ He let the statement hang in the air. ‘Unsettling.’
‘I’d save you,’ Jack said. ‘No one eats my man but me.’
‘Flattering, and slightly off-putting.’
‘Okay,’ Gwen swung the SUV into a hard turn off the motorway and onto a gravel road. ‘This is close enough to start looking around.’ She spared Jack a withering glare. ‘Before I deliberately run us off the road to avoid any more of your innuendo.’
They bumped down the road until the SUV could go no further, as grasses and dunes gave way to the beach and the waves crashed ashore a hundred yards further down. ‘Alright, let’s see what we've got,’ Gwen said before Jack could chime in with orders.
Gwen and Ianto moved to the boot, beginning to unpack various pieces of equipment. ‘If there is something out there affecting the sharks, how far do you think the signal might reach?’ Ianto asked.
‘Suppose we’ll find out.’
Ianto paused what he was doing. ‘Huh. For someone who wasn't interested in coming out here…’ he observed, watching Jack slowly walking down the beach.
‘Have you found something?’ Gwen called out. Jack didn’t reply or make any indication he'd heard her. ‘Bloody typical,’ she muttered. ‘Oi!’ she shouted louder. ‘What's he playing at?’ Jack was taking assured strides towards the water.
‘He’ll stop before he reaches the water’s edge,’ Ianto said, sounding unconvinced.
‘You wanna bet?’
They jogged to catch up with their esteemed leader, finally falling into step with him.
‘Jack?’ Jack's expression was fixed on the water and he did nothing to acknowledge them.
‘Jack, no more funny buggers. Tell us what you can see.’ He just kept walking, like he was in some kind of trance. ‘Oh, bollocks. You don't think…?’
‘What? That the mysterious thing that's making all the sharks act bonkers has somehow affected him?’ Ianto said, finishing the thought.
‘Yeah, that.’ Gwen grabbed Jack's arm and Ianto did the same thing on the opposite side but all that resulted was their being dragged closer towards the water.
‘Why not us?’ Ianto asked.
‘Does it really matter at this point? He’s going to take off into the sea.’ They continued trying to drag Jack backwards, or at least to a stop, but their efforts weren’t achieving much. ‘Do something!’ Gwen cried.
‘Like what?’
‘Restrain him!’ she barked. ‘You should be good at that by now.’
‘I didn’t think to bring the fluffy handcuffs with me! To be fair, we usually play this game the other way around and there's a lot more leather involved.’
‘Oh, I so didn’t need the overshare!’
‘If it's a signal overriding his natural instincts then we need to block it somehow.’
Gwen grunted as Jack tugged her forward. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Maybe.’ Ianto let go and Gwen lurched forward with Jack. ‘Just hold him for a bit!’ Ianto said, running back up the beach.
‘Ianto!’ Gwen yelled, abandoned by the only person keeping them from propelling closer and closer to the water. They were almost there now, her feet sinking into seawater soaked sand from the earlier high tide, even that wasn’t slowing Jack's inexorable movement. ‘Jack, please snap out of it!’
Water was beginning to lap at their ankles by the time Ianto came running back down, waving something above his head and rushing forward, not stopping even though he was knee high in the water where Gwen was slowly losing her grip on Jack as the water engulfed them to her waist. If she didn't let go soon, he was going to drown them both.
Ianto clutched at Jack's other side, temporarily halting his progress.
‘Ianto, it's no use,’ Gwen said, despairing at what to do.
‘Give it a minute.’
‘We don't have a minute!’
A wave rolled over the top of them and a cry went up from Jack as he flailed his way up and out of the surf. His two teammates had been forced to let go and regain their own footing, coughing and spluttering as seawater filled their mouths and noses. Jack helped get them both to their feet, dragging them out of the water. ‘What just happened?’ he demanded.
‘Are you kidding me?’ Gwen exclaimed. ‘You only went completely hypnotised on us and started heading out to sea.’ She turned to Ianto. ‘What did you do?’
‘Hyperfrequency generator,’ he said, revealing the keyring sized object. ‘Like a dog whistle. Been testing it on weevils. Seems strong enough to disrupt whatever’s out there. At least temporarily.’
‘Now do you believe us?’ Gwen asked. ‘You and your bloody 51st century brain nearly got us drowned.’
‘Thanks,’ Jack said. ‘Better keep that thing handy, Ianto. I love a good day at the beach but I prefer to dress for the occasion.’
Title: Drawn to the sea
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Mysterious reports of strange behaviour lead to even stranger behaviour.
‘I don’t see why we should be investigating,’ Jack complained, relegated to the passenger seat, giving him licence to moan. ‘Sharks acting weird? Come on. Is that really a Torchwood thing?’
‘Shush now!’ Gwen snapped, tired of the conversation. ‘The computers picked up the report from a local marine biologist studying dolphins off the coast.’
‘Well, there’s your first clue,’ Jack said. ‘Sharks aren't even her field of expertise.’
‘Well, she’s still better placed than most to notice something strange. Besides, since when do you deny the randomness of the universe?’
‘I’m not denying the randomness of the universe. I'm just saying that I don't think anyone has ever done sufficient psychological profiling on sharks as a species to be able to determine what constitutes them acting weirdly.’
‘Oh, he’s going to be in one of those moods today, isn't he?’
‘Apparently,’ Ianto agreed.
Jack huffed and folded his arms. ‘Fine. We’ll scan the coastline for any bizarre signals, take a few samples and go home.’
‘You know I never thought about there being sharks out there,’ Ianto commented. ‘I mean, given how often we end up in the drink investigating anything out in open water. Too busy worrying about being attacked by aliens to even give sharks a thought.’ He let the statement hang in the air. ‘Unsettling.’
‘I’d save you,’ Jack said. ‘No one eats my man but me.’
‘Flattering, and slightly off-putting.’
‘Okay,’ Gwen swung the SUV into a hard turn off the motorway and onto a gravel road. ‘This is close enough to start looking around.’ She spared Jack a withering glare. ‘Before I deliberately run us off the road to avoid any more of your innuendo.’
They bumped down the road until the SUV could go no further, as grasses and dunes gave way to the beach and the waves crashed ashore a hundred yards further down. ‘Alright, let’s see what we've got,’ Gwen said before Jack could chime in with orders.
Gwen and Ianto moved to the boot, beginning to unpack various pieces of equipment. ‘If there is something out there affecting the sharks, how far do you think the signal might reach?’ Ianto asked.
‘Suppose we’ll find out.’
Ianto paused what he was doing. ‘Huh. For someone who wasn't interested in coming out here…’ he observed, watching Jack slowly walking down the beach.
‘Have you found something?’ Gwen called out. Jack didn’t reply or make any indication he'd heard her. ‘Bloody typical,’ she muttered. ‘Oi!’ she shouted louder. ‘What's he playing at?’ Jack was taking assured strides towards the water.
‘He’ll stop before he reaches the water’s edge,’ Ianto said, sounding unconvinced.
‘You wanna bet?’
They jogged to catch up with their esteemed leader, finally falling into step with him.
‘Jack?’ Jack's expression was fixed on the water and he did nothing to acknowledge them.
‘Jack, no more funny buggers. Tell us what you can see.’ He just kept walking, like he was in some kind of trance. ‘Oh, bollocks. You don't think…?’
‘What? That the mysterious thing that's making all the sharks act bonkers has somehow affected him?’ Ianto said, finishing the thought.
‘Yeah, that.’ Gwen grabbed Jack's arm and Ianto did the same thing on the opposite side but all that resulted was their being dragged closer towards the water.
‘Why not us?’ Ianto asked.
‘Does it really matter at this point? He’s going to take off into the sea.’ They continued trying to drag Jack backwards, or at least to a stop, but their efforts weren’t achieving much. ‘Do something!’ Gwen cried.
‘Like what?’
‘Restrain him!’ she barked. ‘You should be good at that by now.’
‘I didn’t think to bring the fluffy handcuffs with me! To be fair, we usually play this game the other way around and there's a lot more leather involved.’
‘Oh, I so didn’t need the overshare!’
‘If it's a signal overriding his natural instincts then we need to block it somehow.’
Gwen grunted as Jack tugged her forward. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Maybe.’ Ianto let go and Gwen lurched forward with Jack. ‘Just hold him for a bit!’ Ianto said, running back up the beach.
‘Ianto!’ Gwen yelled, abandoned by the only person keeping them from propelling closer and closer to the water. They were almost there now, her feet sinking into seawater soaked sand from the earlier high tide, even that wasn’t slowing Jack's inexorable movement. ‘Jack, please snap out of it!’
Water was beginning to lap at their ankles by the time Ianto came running back down, waving something above his head and rushing forward, not stopping even though he was knee high in the water where Gwen was slowly losing her grip on Jack as the water engulfed them to her waist. If she didn't let go soon, he was going to drown them both.
Ianto clutched at Jack's other side, temporarily halting his progress.
‘Ianto, it's no use,’ Gwen said, despairing at what to do.
‘Give it a minute.’
‘We don't have a minute!’
A wave rolled over the top of them and a cry went up from Jack as he flailed his way up and out of the surf. His two teammates had been forced to let go and regain their own footing, coughing and spluttering as seawater filled their mouths and noses. Jack helped get them both to their feet, dragging them out of the water. ‘What just happened?’ he demanded.
‘Are you kidding me?’ Gwen exclaimed. ‘You only went completely hypnotised on us and started heading out to sea.’ She turned to Ianto. ‘What did you do?’
‘Hyperfrequency generator,’ he said, revealing the keyring sized object. ‘Like a dog whistle. Been testing it on weevils. Seems strong enough to disrupt whatever’s out there. At least temporarily.’
‘Now do you believe us?’ Gwen asked. ‘You and your bloody 51st century brain nearly got us drowned.’
‘Thanks,’ Jack said. ‘Better keep that thing handy, Ianto. I love a good day at the beach but I prefer to dress for the occasion.’
no subject
no subject