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fandomweekly2025-09-14 05:38 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2025-09-14 05:38 pm
Entry tags:
[#273] MOUNTING CRISES (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #273 - Bad timing
Title: Mounting crises
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Ianto has more than enough on his plate and things are only getting worse.
Ianto was beginning to wonder when the endless string of crises might decide it had had enough of Cardiff and move on to some other unfortunate city. It was getting completely out of hand now, and as much as he might have enjoyed seeing fire-breathing dragons in real life, today, they were just being a real pain in his backside.
He skipped across the street, diving behind a car before he got barbecued by the angry flames. An alert popped up on his phone. Robots detected in Radyr, right near his bloody apartment block. Christ! Rhys was there right now. If anything happened to him they would be screwed.
‘We’ve got robots invading Radyr,’ he announced as Jack and Gwen joined him behind the vehicle, taking a breather, right before his phone started ringing, announcing the man himself. Bugger! Give me a sec, he said, moving away from the unfolding chaos so that no one would hear his side of the call. Not that it probably mattered, the giant fireball that erupted, igniting a Spar and two houses was distraction enough. ‘Rhys! What’s going on?’
‘It’s robots, mate. Bloody robots up and down on the road out front.’
‘What kind of robots?’ Please god, don’t let it be Cybermen, he prayed. I mean, it couldn't be, could it? Wouldn't Rhys from the future have known if it was? Would there have even been a future if they were?
‘I dunno,’ came the reply. ‘Sort of red, doodlebug looking things. A bit stupid looking if you ask me.’
Ianto breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Okay.’
‘But you’re coming to deal with them, right?’
‘Now?’ he blurted out, ducking as a bolt of fire whizzed past his head, missing him and the new car he was now crouched behind, by less than a foot. ‘Bit busy, actually.’
‘But what if they’ve got lasers, or they’re like suicide bombers or something?’
They would be, wouldn't they? Ianto half wondered to himself. He had to protect Rhys at all costs. If Jack had seen fit to throw him from an intergalactic train, hurtling through time and space intent on crashing through into Cardiff and wiping it out entirely, thrusting Rhys two weeks back into his own past to save them all from that fate, then who was Ianto to argue? Jack clearly believed only Rhys could prevent it from happening, but to do that Rhys had to make it back alive for that two week period, and the only instruction Jack had given Rhys before shoving him out through the train carriage door was “Tell Ianto.” In other words, Jack had made it Ianto's job to snuggle Rhys back to his place and keep him hidden there until this whole thing could be fixed, and presumably for Ianto to help him figure out how to fix it in the first place, all the while having to keep the thing a bloody secret from Jack and Gwen. It was enough to give him a headache.
‘Now is really not a good time,’ he said, robots be damned. Then his sense of duty got the better of him. “I’m on my way. Just don’t leave the flat. Not unless your life is in danger.’ He clapped the phone shut and scooted back over to Jack, whilst Gwen had already rushed back out into the fray. “I’ve got to go deal with this,’ he told Jack.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Jack offered.
‘Nope,’ Ianto replied, perhaps a little too quickly. That was the last thing he needed. Jack couldn’t cross over his own timeline and find out about Ianto harbouring a future copy of Rhys in his apartment. ‘Can’t leave Gwen here to handle dragons on her own.’
‘If you’re sure…’
‘Positive,’ he said, rather sharper than he meant. ‘Seventeen invasions in a week. Must be a new record for us. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ And with that, he rushed off.
When he finally burst through the apartment door, everything inside was pristine and deathly silently.
There were no robots on the street, or anywhere now. ‘Rhys! he called out. ‘Rhys, are you okay?’
A hand draped itself over the back of his sofa and up popped Rhys’ head, yawning. ‘Oh, hiya.’
‘You’re asleep at a time like this?' He couldn't keep the incredulity – or jealousy – from his voice.
‘I only got back from Tesco half an hour ago. And I've done all your laundry for you.’
‘You left the apartment? You're supposed to be laying low so that you don't run into yourself. Not to mention the danger out there!’
Rhys shrugged off his concern. ‘Other me is at work, not picking up extra peas and spuds for tea. Or would you rather a cheese toastie without the cheese. We were out of that too.’
‘Where did the robots go?’
Rhys gave another shrug. ‘Dunno. Left ages ago. Got sick of waiting for you to turn up, I suppose.’
Ianto ground his teeth. ‘I got… waylaid.’ That massive hole in Cathedral Road on the way here that had turned to green sludge, swallowing up whole cars and anything else that got too close had taken ages to deal with. ‘Hmph,’ he uttered. ‘Well, seems like you don't need my help after all.’
‘Oh, but I do. We've still got those fridges to steal before tonight, remember?’
Bollocks. How could he forget? Who in their right mind had decided that a warehouse full of stolen fridges would be the best trail of breadcrumbs to leave for sorting out this whole future mess? He'd be glad when their timeline restored itself and he was no longer babysitter in chief. ‘Right. Okay. Let's do that now then since I'm here already.’
Then his phone beeped.
“What's taking you so long?” It read. “I've got a dragon here waiting to be shipped back to the hub. Thinking about naming it Rambo. J.”
Ianto sighed. It was just going to be one of those weeks.
Title: Mounting crises
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Ianto has more than enough on his plate and things are only getting worse.
Ianto was beginning to wonder when the endless string of crises might decide it had had enough of Cardiff and move on to some other unfortunate city. It was getting completely out of hand now, and as much as he might have enjoyed seeing fire-breathing dragons in real life, today, they were just being a real pain in his backside.
He skipped across the street, diving behind a car before he got barbecued by the angry flames. An alert popped up on his phone. Robots detected in Radyr, right near his bloody apartment block. Christ! Rhys was there right now. If anything happened to him they would be screwed.
‘We’ve got robots invading Radyr,’ he announced as Jack and Gwen joined him behind the vehicle, taking a breather, right before his phone started ringing, announcing the man himself. Bugger! Give me a sec, he said, moving away from the unfolding chaos so that no one would hear his side of the call. Not that it probably mattered, the giant fireball that erupted, igniting a Spar and two houses was distraction enough. ‘Rhys! What’s going on?’
‘It’s robots, mate. Bloody robots up and down on the road out front.’
‘What kind of robots?’ Please god, don’t let it be Cybermen, he prayed. I mean, it couldn't be, could it? Wouldn't Rhys from the future have known if it was? Would there have even been a future if they were?
‘I dunno,’ came the reply. ‘Sort of red, doodlebug looking things. A bit stupid looking if you ask me.’
Ianto breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Okay.’
‘But you’re coming to deal with them, right?’
‘Now?’ he blurted out, ducking as a bolt of fire whizzed past his head, missing him and the new car he was now crouched behind, by less than a foot. ‘Bit busy, actually.’
‘But what if they’ve got lasers, or they’re like suicide bombers or something?’
They would be, wouldn't they? Ianto half wondered to himself. He had to protect Rhys at all costs. If Jack had seen fit to throw him from an intergalactic train, hurtling through time and space intent on crashing through into Cardiff and wiping it out entirely, thrusting Rhys two weeks back into his own past to save them all from that fate, then who was Ianto to argue? Jack clearly believed only Rhys could prevent it from happening, but to do that Rhys had to make it back alive for that two week period, and the only instruction Jack had given Rhys before shoving him out through the train carriage door was “Tell Ianto.” In other words, Jack had made it Ianto's job to snuggle Rhys back to his place and keep him hidden there until this whole thing could be fixed, and presumably for Ianto to help him figure out how to fix it in the first place, all the while having to keep the thing a bloody secret from Jack and Gwen. It was enough to give him a headache.
‘Now is really not a good time,’ he said, robots be damned. Then his sense of duty got the better of him. “I’m on my way. Just don’t leave the flat. Not unless your life is in danger.’ He clapped the phone shut and scooted back over to Jack, whilst Gwen had already rushed back out into the fray. “I’ve got to go deal with this,’ he told Jack.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Jack offered.
‘Nope,’ Ianto replied, perhaps a little too quickly. That was the last thing he needed. Jack couldn’t cross over his own timeline and find out about Ianto harbouring a future copy of Rhys in his apartment. ‘Can’t leave Gwen here to handle dragons on her own.’
‘If you’re sure…’
‘Positive,’ he said, rather sharper than he meant. ‘Seventeen invasions in a week. Must be a new record for us. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ And with that, he rushed off.
When he finally burst through the apartment door, everything inside was pristine and deathly silently.
There were no robots on the street, or anywhere now. ‘Rhys! he called out. ‘Rhys, are you okay?’
A hand draped itself over the back of his sofa and up popped Rhys’ head, yawning. ‘Oh, hiya.’
‘You’re asleep at a time like this?' He couldn't keep the incredulity – or jealousy – from his voice.
‘I only got back from Tesco half an hour ago. And I've done all your laundry for you.’
‘You left the apartment? You're supposed to be laying low so that you don't run into yourself. Not to mention the danger out there!’
Rhys shrugged off his concern. ‘Other me is at work, not picking up extra peas and spuds for tea. Or would you rather a cheese toastie without the cheese. We were out of that too.’
‘Where did the robots go?’
Rhys gave another shrug. ‘Dunno. Left ages ago. Got sick of waiting for you to turn up, I suppose.’
Ianto ground his teeth. ‘I got… waylaid.’ That massive hole in Cathedral Road on the way here that had turned to green sludge, swallowing up whole cars and anything else that got too close had taken ages to deal with. ‘Hmph,’ he uttered. ‘Well, seems like you don't need my help after all.’
‘Oh, but I do. We've still got those fridges to steal before tonight, remember?’
Bollocks. How could he forget? Who in their right mind had decided that a warehouse full of stolen fridges would be the best trail of breadcrumbs to leave for sorting out this whole future mess? He'd be glad when their timeline restored itself and he was no longer babysitter in chief. ‘Right. Okay. Let's do that now then since I'm here already.’
Then his phone beeped.
“What's taking you so long?” It read. “I've got a dragon here waiting to be shipped back to the hub. Thinking about naming it Rambo. J.”
Ianto sighed. It was just going to be one of those weeks.
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