Torchwood: Changing the World

Torchwood: Changing the World

“ Here’s to the crazy one’s, the misfits, the rebels, the trouble makers, the round pegs in square holes…the one’s who see things differently—they’re not fond of rules…you can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things…they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

- Steve Jobs

Changing the world
-----------------------

Captain Jack Harkness sighed wearily and slammed down the phone. That was the PM on the line, accusing them of ‘Not acting quickly enough’ when the space ship had crashed into Big Ben. No matter how many times Jack had said they had acted to the best of there abilities, the Prime Minister just wouldn’t listen. Harriet Jones, he thought bitterly. It was always someone else’s fault.

A sharp rap on the door made him jump. He looked up to see Ianto Jones stood in his door way, smiling shyly. Ianto Jones, he thought. The misfit of the team…but he makes bloody good coffee.

Jack grinned awkwardly at him.

“Ah, Ianto! You’re a god send!”

Ianto blushed and handed him his coffee.

“So you say, sir.” He paused, wondering whether he dared ask.

“Who was on the phone sir? I heard you shouting.” He added quickly.

“The PM,” he sighed. “Wanting to know why we didn’t act quickly enough- her words.”

Ianto frowned. “But we were the ones who sorted it all out, covered it up from the public…”

Jack nodded.

“Torchwood did that…and she’s blaming us?” he asked incredulously.

“Correctimundo,” Jack replied, and then wondered why the hell he’d said it. He’d never heard that word anywhere before.

Jack grinned. “We always get the blame. But let’s face it, without us, the world would collapse.”

Ianto smirked. “That’s right sir,” he made to leave. “Anything else before I go?”

I could think of allot of things- “No Ianto. Go home.”

Jack was left alone to brood in silence. He liked to brood, it was one of his favourite past times. Suzie, his second in command, had always said that it was unhealthy.
Suzie Costello, he thought. He remembered how he’d met her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Suzie sighed and shoved the large wod of files into her brief case un- ceremoniously. It had been an unusually long day, and it wasn’t over yet. She still had a hearing to go to, and god only knows how long that will last, she thought grimly. She hated attending hearings. Usually it was some good for nothing criminal who’d stolen something of killed someone. It was usually someone who didn’t even deserve a trial, but to be thrown straight in prison for the rest of there lives. She didn’t see how this case would be any different.

Suzie worked at the local police station- in fact, she didn’t just work there. She literally ran the place, she was head Gov’ner.
But it was a dead end job; she never got to see any action any more, she missed being on the beat. All there was to do now was paper work and attending criminal hearings. The pay was better, true, but the work was brain dead. She wished she could have a job that satisfied both needs.

Even though Suzie was head of the force, she knew she had little respect from her team. She was very quiet, and kept herself to herself. She didn’t go out drinking with her colleagues after work, preferring to go home to a cup of co-co and Eastenders instead. She was very detached from cases; she often saw the young ones throw up in the toilets after being involved with a particularly nasty crime scene. Blood and gore had never bothered Suzie. She’d seen enough of it before she joined the force to let it bother her.

“G’night Ma’am,” a young officer nodded to her as she left the building. Well she did have some respect, she thought, but that was only because they we’re scared of her.

It took her longer than usual to reach the high court that night, the traffic was horrendous. She bolted up the grand marble stairs, not caring who she knocked over in the process.

“Oi! Watch it!” cried a young man whose wig had fallen off as she past him by.

“Sorry!” she yelled over her shoulder.

She skidded to a halt outside the large oak doors.

'I’m bloody lucky it’s Becket and not Carlson who’s over looking the trial to night,' she thought as she prised open the double doors as quietly as she could.

There was the sound of squeaking leather as everybody turned to look at her in unison. She nodded apologetically to Becket, the Judge, and took her place. A man dressed in World War Two attire was stood in the accused box. He’s even got the braces, she thought, and had to fight hard to stifle a giggle. He struck her as fairly good-looking, and his modern hair style clashed with his ancient and out-of-date clothing. He looked very out of place. Not just in the court room, she thought, but in the century, it’s like he doesn’t belong here, a misfit-

The court case had started again.

“The accused, Jack Harkness-”

“Captain!” he’d interrupted angrily. “It’s Captain!”

A man sat behind Harkness had coughed warningly. The man was thin, with short, light brown hair and brown eyes. He was starring angrily at the man stood in the box and made a slicing action with his hand across his throat. Becket slammed the hammer down on the table angrily. The noise made Suzie wince.

“The accused, Jack Harkness,” he repeated, “Has been brought here to day with charges as follows-” Becket ruffled the pieces of paper in front of him and glared at Jack.

“Hacking into private police records, violating the human rights act and criminal privacy. Interrupting a top secret and classified police investigation, assault, and wasting police time. These are heavy charges, Mr Harkness. Do you deny them?”

Jack had caught Suzie starring at him in disbelief and winked.

“Nope,” he drawled, his strong American accent echoing around the silent court room.

“But you’re gunna be in very big trouble once I get outta here. Do you know who we are?” he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously despite the situation. The mans calmness and demeanour had captivated her. She’d completely forgotten to take her notes.

“Ah, yes, of course,” said Becket slyly.

“Torchwood, apparently. Or so you say.”

Jack grinned. “Right on. I’m impressed. Now, if you’ll be so kind, we really do have work to be getting on with-” he made as if to let himself out of the box but an armed guard stepped in his way and clicked the safety hatch off his gun threateningly.

Jack sighed in exasperation. “Queen Victoria founded Torchwood. Torchwood is a secret organisation. We’re outside the government and beyond the police and United Nations, which is why you’ve never heard of us before. We were designed to protect the earth, which is what we do, day in and day out. We’re not a band, as some people seem to think- particularly the Pizza girl,” he glared at the brown haired man sat behind him and winked at Suzie.

Suzie chuckled involuntarily. Jack’s grin widened and Becket frowned disapprovingly at her. Jack shrugged.

“Look it up on Wikipedia if you don’t believe me.”

The man sat behind Jack snorted. Becket slammed his hammer down in anger.

“Actually, Judge?” a timid voice called from the other end of the room. A young girl was sat at the end of a row of benches on ground level, typing on a computer.

“He’s right sir.”

Becket frowned. “How do you know?”

“I looked them up on Wikipedia, sir,” she said shyly.

“It’s all here.”

Jack turned angrily towards the man sat behind him, who seemed to visibly shrink.

“Owen!” he yelled.

Owen merely shrugged. “Sorry boss.”

Becket sighed and rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand.

“I’ve had enough, case closed!”

------

Suzie was the last one to leave the court room. It had been a very interesting case, to say the least- and she had forgotten to take her notes, she thought angrily. But, she guessed she could write them up once she got home, this was one of those rare cases that she’d remember for a long time. As she reached the doors she heard two angry voices arguing.

“Owen! You know about security issues! We’re a secret organisation for god’s sake’s! First you order Pizzas under the name of Torchwood, and then you put us up on Wiki-”

“I just saved you’re ass!” yelled the other man.

“When Tosh here’s about-”

The other man snorted. “Oh yeah? And what’s Toshiko gonna say? Like hell-”

Suzie coughed awkwardly. The two men, who were stood face to face so close that there noses were nearly touching, eye’s narrowed in anger, turned to face her. Bewildered expressions replaced the anger. It was almost comical.

“Hate to break it up, lads,” she said, “But do you mind? I have a hell of allot of paper work to do.”

Jack grinned flirtatiously. “C’ptn Jack Harkness,” he drawled, offering a hand. She took it.

“Dr. Owen Harper,” said the other man, giving her a mock bow. Jack stood on his foot.

“I know who you are,” she said.

“So we gathered.” Jack glared angrily at Owen again.

“So, c’mon, what is Torchwood then?” Suzie asked.

Jack’s piercing blue stare made her feel like she was being X-rayed.

“The twenty first century’s when it all changes,” Jack said.

Suzie grinned as she saw Owen miming Jack’s exact words behind his back. Owen pulled a face at her and rolled his eyes.

“And you’ve gotta be ready,” he finished.

“How about a drink?”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jack had thought of retconning Suzie, all it took would have been a pill in her beer, but he’d taken a liking to her. Both him and Owen, it was the only thing they agreed on that day. And that’s when he’d offered her the job. It was gut instinct, Jack had figured. He’d seen something in Suzie that no one else had. Speaking of whom-

“Jack?”

Suzie poked her head round his office door.

“I’m beat. Is it all right if I head home for the night? I’ve finished and filed all the paper work.”

Jack grinned that same grin he’d given her the day he met her.

“Sure. Head home.”

“Thanks Jack,” she said and left, closing the door quietly behind her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

His team we’re often called misfits, rebels, by the police. They we’re right, Jack figured, as he observed his team working at there stations from his office. Each one of them was a misfit, a rebel, someone who didn’t follow any rules. He himself was the biggest misfit of them all. That’s why he liked them.
Toshiko Sato, computer genius. Toshiko preferred computers to people. Owen Harper, the doctor who hated his patients.

“This is the perfect job for me,” he’d told Jack once. “I get to cut people up and not worry about killing them.”

Suzie Costello, the Gov’ner who hated her job, and had more potential than even she realised. And finally Ianto Jones, the tea boy, who was so much more. Jack thought of them as children, each day they learned something new, something exciting.

Each day they discovered a new alien device. Each day they discovered new body parts and chemicals. Each day they discovered that they were important, and that they could do anything if they put their minds to it. Each day they saved the world.

The biggest bunch of misfits in the world, but he loved them all. And they were only misfits because they wanted to do something different. They were only misfits because they made a difference, even if they didn’t know it yet…they changed the world.

Fin.