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"Now," Bellic said, smiling across at them passively. "Why don't you lower your weapons. Surrender. You're outnumbered, and I'm sure you really don't want to die yet."

Owen snorted. "You really think we'd let you win?"

"I already have. However," his gaze swept toward Tosh, the single LED light boring into her almost as much as his real eye. "I am still happy to bargain. You're interested in my technology. I can give it to you, provided you leave me in peace until I've completed my mission."

"We can't let you do that," Owen said, keeping his gun trained on Bellic. "We want the others back."

"You automatically think my mission is about them." Bellic snorted, moving over to the main controls and hitting a key, bringing up a map of Cardiff. "No, they're just a blimp on my radar. I needed them out of the way so I can finish my main mission."

"You mean you weren't here for Jack and John?"

"Happy coincidence." Bellic looked back at her. "I've been meaning to take care of them for a long time. They left me rotting in that cell, all my intelligence going to waste simply because they could not understand the brilliance of my genius. I could cleanse this universe of all those who have ever wronged me so they can never wrong anyone else."

"Oh god, you are a monologuer," Owen muttered.

"All I need is to be left alone to complete my plan, but I knew Torchwood would never allow that. Especially with Captain Jack Harkness at the helm." He spat out Jack's name, his contempt evident in his voice. "Provided they stay where they are and don't try to escape, I may let your friends go in one piece. But that depends entirely on you turning and walking away from here."

"What's your offer?" Tosh asked.

Owen shot her a look. "Tosh!"

"We might as well hear it," she said.

"I can give you my computer system," Bellic said, moving toward her, hands by his side to appear non-threatening. "Everything you see before you, and some components I have scattered around other rooms. You will have access to any single network in the world at the touch of a button, the hacking tools already built into the system. What normally takes you an hour you can do in five seconds."

"That's impossible," Tosh said, shaking her head in wonder as she considered the possibilities.

"Not impossible." He levelled his gaze completely on her. "Your 21st Century technology is capable; it's just a matter of configuring it right. Admittedly it's a lot harder to use than the technology of my time, but it still has the capabilities." He looked up at Owen. "I can also throw in that medical equipment you were so interested in. Again, just 21st Century technology with a twist. You can close wounds without stiches, take x-rays without needing an oversized machine, plus all the technical specifications you need to build fully functioning mechanical limb that is bound completely to the remaining nervous system."

Owen lowered his gun, glancing back at the collection of medical equipment, the temptation clear on his face before he turned back to Bellic, the hard look back on his face. "No deal. Tosh!"

Tosh let the sphere from her pocket drop and roll to the side, an electric blue shockwave sweeping the room and temporarily blinding them. When it faded Owen grabbed his rifle, bringing it up and picking off any robot that began to move toward them.

Tosh threw a second EMP out the door as she spotted more LED lights coming quickly toward them from the hall, and with an element of regret she rolled another under the computer system. They discharged, she and Owen blinded briefly again and Tosh opened her eyes to see the computer screens dead.

She and Owen made short work of the robots now that their shielding was gone, aiming for the eyes as their heads exploded in a shower of sparks and computer components. A rush swept through them as they moved, Tosh sending yet another EMP into the hall as more robots appeared.

Owen let out a cry as something grabbed him from behind, wrapping around his throat and cutting off his air supply. He scrabbled for it with his free hand, finding an arm but stopped as a blade appeared, pressing against his face just hard enough to cut the surface.

"I think that's enough, don't you?" Bellic hissed. "Now drop your weapon."

Owen let the rifle drop, eyes darting up toward Tosh as she spotted what was happening. Her eyes widened in horror as the blood drained from her face, the barrel of her own rifle lowering as she stared.

"I gave you a perfectly reasonable offer," Bellic hissed. "More than I've ever offered anyone before because I respect you and this is the thanks you give me? You have destroyed months of hard work, and I'm not going to let you walk away from that." He paused, seeming to consider something before smirking. "No, I think I will." He shot Tosh a look. "But first I'm going to make you watch your boyfriend die."

"Get out of here, Tosh," Owen managed through clenched teeth. "Go!"

"Not without you," she replied, eyeing Bellic. "Your LED eye’s out."

Bellic narrowed his single remaining eye. "Minor technical difficulty. Loose wire. Happens a lot."

"I think you were affected by the EMP blast," Tosh continued. "Parts of your mechanical body run on the same wavelength as the robots."

"Now you're stretching," he said. "To do so would risk signal interference. I'm not that stupid."

"By running on the same wavelength you can connect to them remotely and the computer without needing to be here," Tosh continued. "Which means, your shields are down."

Bellic snorted, pressing the knife harder against Owen's cheek as he tightened his grip around his throat. "Are you really prepared to go with a guess?"

"I'm not guessing," Tosh said simply, bringing her rifle up.

Bellic stepped back from Owen, bringing his knife around into his side just as Tosh pulled the trigger, the bullet catching Bellic in his natural eye. Owen and Bellic hit the ground at the same time, Bellic not to get up again if the missing half of his head were anything to go by.

Tosh dropped her gun, racing to Owen's side as he was pushing himself up, one hand over his wound. He looked up at her, giving her a reassuring smile through the pain. "I'm fine, I'm fine. He missed anything vital. Flesh wound."

They looked up at the sound of running feet, Jack bursting into the room followed closely by the others. Jack took in the situation, a frown dancing across his features as he spotted Bellic, quickly moving to drop by his side and run a scan over him.

"About time you bloody lot showed up," Owen said, glancing around them. "And Jack, I think you can safely say he's dead."

"He's a sneaky bastard, so it can't hurt to make sure," Jack said, consulting his readings and snapping his wrist strap shut. "You're right though, he's gone. I still want to take him back to the Hub and incinerate him though."

"You really hate him that much?" Rhys asked.

"No, not hate," Jack said, looking up at him. "Just making sure he won't come back again."

"Are you all right?" Ianto asked, kneeling beside Owen.

"I'm fine, really." Owen accepted the help up, Tosh never leaving his side. "Tosh took him out before he could really have a go at me. Good thing she's got fast reflexes."

"Well I wasn't about to let him kill you," Tosh said, smiling up at him. "Took me long enough to convince you to go on a date, so I'm not letting you get away that easy."

Rhys laughed. "Sound like she's got you good there, mate."

"Could be worse," Owen said with a wink, wiggling the bare fingers on his left hand.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Jack," Gwen said, watching the other. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be," Jack stood, brushing himself off and taking in the room. "Bellic's dead. I don't really care who did it, just so long as it was done."

"He can't hurt anyone else," Ianto said softly.

"Exactly." Jack's gaze hardened as it landed on Ianto. "And you’re going straight back to bed."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "I am not made of glass, Jack, and I'm not going anywhere until you explain to me exactly what happened."

"What's to explain?"

Ianto glared at him. "A lot."

"I swear, you two spend more time fighting these days than they do," Owen said, nodding toward Gwen and Rhys. "You'd think you two were the married couple."

"Certainly sounds like it," Tosh giggled.

Jack and Ianto glared at them.

"So," Rhys said, breaking the moment. "We're sure all the robots are dead then?"

"Probably not," Jack looked at the computer system. "But they will probably go into hibernation since their controller went offline."

"I should be able to track them from the Hub," Tosh said. "It is a shame about the computer though."

"We should be able to scavenge bits from it," Ianto said, looking back at her. "Some components may have only been knocked offline by the EMP, although the hard drives were most likely wiped."

"The basic system will be enough."

"Oi. Man bleeding to death here." Owen began to move toward the doorway, brushing off Ianto's help. "Let's get out of here already."

"You go ahead," Jack said, looking around. "I'm going to stay and make sure everything’s shut down and Bellic hasn't left any more nasty surprises." He shot Ianto a look. "Going to help?"

"Need you ask?" Ianto raised a brow. "I'm not letting you out of my sight, Captain."

Jack smiled. "Good. Saves me the trouble of trying to keep you in mine."

"God, I swear I can't keep up with you two sometimes," Owen muttered.

"Better get used to it, mate," Rhys said, laughing.

"Oh yes," Gwen smiled as she hooked her arm through Rhys'. "It's all part of it. Just you wait. But right now someone needs to go to the hospital to make sure he hasn't got a head injury."

"Gwen, I'm fine," Rhys said.

"I just want to be sure."

"You worry too much, you know that?" Rhys shook his head, allowing her to lead him toward the door. "If anyone needs to worried about its you and your walking into obvious traps all the time."

Gwen set her jaw as a warning glinted in her eye. "Rhys..."

EPILOGUE

It was pleasantly warm. That was the first thing he noticed. Warm, and dark. Also, there was a soft beeping to the side of him, and his body felt still. Not to mention he was pretty sure he was naked. That was nothing unusual, it's just that he preferred waking up remember exactly why he was naked.

He opened his eyes, wincing at harsh light although he noted that they seemed to be slightly dimmed. He was definitely in some sort of medical room given how bland everything was and the curtain railing surrounding where he lay. 21st Century features, although that machine to the right there was a bit out of place... oh yes. Torchwood. That explained it.

An image flashed through his mind. Twin glowing LED lights moving quickly toward him in the dark. A robot of no particular make or model, custom designed for a specific purpose. Then a face flashed before his eyes. Bellic. Bloody Roberto Bellic.

He made to sit up only to find this left arm wouldn't respond, and glancing down he found it strapped tightly to his chest. He frowned, assessing his other injuries and noting his left leg was bound. There were also cuts and fading bruises, and his chest felt tight.

"Oh look who decided to come back and join us." He glanced around, spotting Jack lounging back in a seat, a clipboard filled with papers on his lap as he twirled a pen between his fingers. "You all there?"

"What do you mean 'am I all there'? Of course I bloody well am."

"Good, because...."

Jack nodded to the left of him, John turning his head and spotting the medical instrument resting on a trolley, switched off for now. He recognised it instantly, his eyes widening as he shot a look back toward Jack. "Brain damage?"

"You were dead for quite a while." Jack sat the pen and clipboard on a side table, resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. "That came through the Rift a little while ago, and we hadn't had a chance to test it out yet. I guess now we know it works."

John glared at him. "I was a guinea pig."

"Well, we could have left you as you were," Jack reminded him.

"I'd rather not be some drooling mess, thank you." John tried again to sit up unsuccessfully, Jack moving to adjust the bed settings so that he could. "Shouldn't you be out hunting Bellic?"

"Bellic's dead." Jack opened up a small fridge and retrieved some ice chips, dropping them into a glass and handing them to John. "Within 24 hours of him attacking us. We've just been searching out the last of his robots and taking them offline permanently."

John frowned, sucking on a piece of ice. "When was this?"

"Two weeks ago." Jack nodded toward him. "You shattered your left arm and leg, and broke a rib. Owen recovered a device from Bellic that can repair them, but it was damaged in the attack so it only works at quarter of the speed that it should. He thinks one more week and you should be fine."

John frowned. "So what killed me? Poison? Blow to the head?"

"You choked on your own blood."

"Oh. Charming." John sighed, resting his head back against a pillow. "So no permanent injuries then."

"Just a few new scars," Jack said, reaching up to smooth down John's bed hair. "More for you to brag about, anyway."

John chuckled. "So I guess I'm stuck here then."

"At least for another week." Jack pressed a kiss to John's forehead, smirking as John reached up with his good hand to grab the front of his shirt and drag him back for a longer kiss. Jack pulled back first, reaching up to tug John's fingers from his shirt but not letting go of his hand. "Owen wants to run a few more tests on you. Make sure everything is in full working order before he lets you go."

"Well, I think I might need you and Eye Candy's help with one thing," John said with a smirk, only for it to fade. "Speaking of which, where is..."

"Around." Jack glanced toward the door of the room. "He's been lurking. We've been taking it in turns watching over you."

"Oh." John raised his eyebrows. "Just watching or...."

Jack gave him a warning look, amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"Oh, he's finally back in the land of the living, is he?" They looked up as Ianto entered the room, blue eyes sparkling in the low light. "I was just starting to think we were going to be stuck with you forever."

"Who says you're not," John replied.

Jack looked at him. "Meaning..."

"Well, despite it being so bloody cold and boring, Cardiff does have its upsides." He flicked his gaze from Jack to Ianto and back, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Unless, of course, you want me to go."

"I have no issue with you staying," Ianto said, claiming the chair Jack had vacated and glancing over the paperwork, picking one up and giving Jack a disapproving look as he pointed to scribble in the margins.

Jack shrugged it off with a sheepish look, looking back down at John. "We were planning on asking you to stick around."

"No obligations of course," Ianto continued.

"Although there are a few rules."

John blinked. "What kind of rules?"

"We'll explain later." Jack patted his hand, resting it back on the bed and taking the clipboard from Ianto and stealing a quick kiss, then shooing him from the chair and toward the door to go back to work. He looked back at John. "You just get some rest. You're going to need it later."

John chuckled. "Oh, we'll see who'll be needing it."


END