Captain Jack Harkness

"I'm not sure I entirely understand," said Dale, "but just because it's beyond the scope of my experience, doesn't mean it won't work. I suggest we trust him, and let him take us somewhere a little more familiar, if he's able."

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"More familiar I can do," Jack nodded, pointing to the slice of plexiglass where they could look down on the scarred, overpopulated planet. "I think I can say, without a doubt, none of you would like the Fourth Great and Bountiful human Empire. Here...everyone make sure you've got your hand on the strap someplace. And hold on."

Once everyone had done just that, Jack pushed the button to rocket them to...well, it was supposed to be London 1869, wasn't it? That's where he went according to the reels. Except it didn't look like 1869- more like 2010 or so. It was almost certainly London, though.

Jack righted himself once they were settled and looked at each of the other men in turn to see just what they made of traveling through time and space.

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Logan didn't even have time to try and work out where they where before he turned away and doubled over, fairly sure he was going to be sick.

He wasn't, thankfully, and after a moment he righted himself and looked around. It wasn't an alien planet. In fact it looked a lot like England. Not exactly the exciting trip he'd been hoping for, but he could smell food, and that more than made up for it.

Besides, anywhere was better than Neptune.

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"What the fuck," Joe said, sounding startled, grabbing for Dale as soon as he was able to. Whatever the fuck had just happened, it sure as hell hadn't been anything he'd ever experienced before.

"Jesus Christ, what..." But everything looked different. Way more different than Joe had ever seen and he trailed off, staring around blankly.

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Dale was quick to clutch Joe as well, while taking a survey of his surroundings. "Well, it's a start," he said. It certainly wasn't a dead space station anymore, at any rate, which was as good a start as Dale could hope for on this little adventure. "Jack, you're obviously our lead man here. We need a rundown of our situation, our assets and our goals."

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"Right! Well, it's..." He had to pause to check the strap on his wrist, "...August twenty fourth, two thousand nine. So, Island Time. This is London. We're broke, we're together, and if this is like last time, we've got a couple days to enjoy the city. I can get us some money, at least enough to eat. What do you guys feel like doing? I'd kill for some chips. Speaking of which- I should lose this," he continued, taking off the spent security blaster and tossing it in a garbage bin.

He didn't bother to comment on the state of them. It was never an easy jump the first time, and if he hadn't done it so much, he'd have been disoriented as well. As it was, it was just another street in just another city on just another world. At least it wasn't Cardiff. That could be sticky. So Jack simply took it in stride and acted like he owned the city. Pretty much the way he always acted.

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Logan was watching Joe and Dale, though he heard everything Jack said, turning to look at him once he was done and moving to fall into step with him.

"So- like a vacation? A really strange family vacation. I can deal with that," he decided, trying to ignore the feeling of dread that was building in the pit of his stomach.

There was no way it would be that simple, no matter what Jack said. Logan just wasn't that lucky.

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The last time something like this had happened, Joe had ended up back home in Vancouver, somewhere familiar and normal and not some other fucking city in the fucking future. "Guys, I've had my eyes open for about twelve fucking seconds here, I think what I want is a second to sit the fuck down and actually figure shit out."

Beyond just getting some food. That was a good enough goal, he figured, but he needed a little more information than that.

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Dale suspected 'vacation' might be something of an exaggeration, but with no immediate danger confronting them, he felt safe enough to relax for a moment.

"I think Joe has the right idea," he said. "A moment to sit and eat and regroup seems called for at this juncture."

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"Eating it is. Let's find a place, sit and relax," he agreed. Jack felt around his pockets and grinned, then nodded. TARDIS key and psychic paper- good enough. He'd be able to get them a meal, at least.

"You okay there, Joe?" he asked, genuinely concerned. He'd had a feeling Logan would be okay quick enough and Dale...Dale knew what to do when faced with Weird Shit. Joe...well, Jack had a feeling he didn't think anything about Jack was cute, including the sort of life he'd had back home.

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Logan, for his part, was already distracted, smiling a little as a group of girls in pink and blue track suits wandered by. They were all blonde hair and long pink nails... and definitely not a sight you were likely to see on the island.

Sometimes Logan forgot just how much he liked girls.

"Let's go where they're going," he suggested, watching as the trio of giggling girls ducked into the local pub.

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"Fine," Joe answered simply, glancing at the girls Logan was staring at before he looked back at Dale. Giving a shrug that said 'I'll go wherever you do', he then nodded his agreement. "Yeah, sure. Let's head in here. Get some fucking fish and chips or whatever the fuck you can get over here."

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Dale gave Joe a last squeeze and a nod, then moved in closer to Jack for a moment so he could speak a little more privately.

"Anything I should be watching out for?" he asked him, still surveying their new location warily. It seemed safe and familiar enough, but appearances were often deceiving. "Anything specific?"

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"It's London," Jack shrugged. "Watch out for traffic, thieves, and bad fish. Other than that, don't worry about it. You're with me!" He smiled. "What could possibly go wrong?"

And with that, he started down the street, looking around long enough to find a proper place to eat. Chicken wings might not be the ones Logan had in mind, but there would be good beer.

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Logan had only waited long enough for Joe to agree, assuming everyone else would simply follow as he headed inside.

The girls he'd been watching were now in the corner, chatting and staring at their mobile phones as they texted and drank. Logan had already lost interest though, and he dug around in his pocket, pulling out his wallet and staring at his credit cards. No cash of course, but the cards were something he'd held onto, and he couldn't help but wonder if they'd still work.

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"Gonna try those?" Joe asked, nodding down at the cards in Logan's hands, a little amused that he still had them. Keeping close to Dale, he looked around the pub they'd entered, taking in everything he could, feeling out of fucking place and a little uncomfortable.

It was a weird fucking sensation. Joe didn't often feel uncomfortable.

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"It all makes me a little sorry we set most of our money on fire," said Dale, though he wasn't sure they would've had any of it on them, even if they hadn't. He wouldn't say he had let down his guard, but he'd heard tales of other people's off-island adventures, and maybe they were just here for some fish and chips.

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"It'll be fine. Really. I've done this more times than you can imagine," Jack assured them, flagging over a waitress and getting them set for food and drinks. All he wanted was water, which was...strange.

"So!" he exclaimed when she'd gone. "What do you guys want to do? There's no war on, no real alien presence yet, and no reason to worry. Torchwood is in Cardiff, miles off that way, and the Doctor won't be here for a few more years. The town is ours."

And then, from the strap on his wrist, a shrill beep began. Jack looked down at it and his carefree smile faded immediately.

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Logan had been eying the waitress, but Jack had his full attention the moment he heard the beep.

Peering over, Logan eyed the device curiously.

"Why's it beeping?" he asked curiously. "That like a pager or something?"

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Joe had laughed when Dale had made the comment about the money, but he grin faded when he heard the beeping and saw Jack's expression. Lifting his eyebrows, he glanced at Dale, then at Logan, as if expecting them to know what was going on.

"What is it?" he asked, mostly just echoing Logan.

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"I think it goes without saying that I hope to be briefed about every change to our situation, no matter how small," said Dale, smoothly and efficiently. "Jack?"

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"It's...a lot of things," Jack replied, distracted as he opened the strap and pressed a few buttons. He knew exactly why it was beeping and who it must be. It had only beeped once while he was on the island, and not at all since he'd left the Time Agency. He retro plotted the coordinates and then looked up and out the window at the man standing there in the red coat.

"Okay, fast and dirty. I don't know if any of you met John Hart when he was on the island, but he's my former partner and he's not to be trusted," Jack said quietly. He looked from Dale to Joe to Logan, then forced a smile that almost looked pained. "Don't believe anything he says, and for the love of things precious, don't antagonize him. He's dangerous."

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got-no-hart.livejournal.com

John moved closer when Jack finally noticed him, and he pressed his palm flat against the glass as he took in the other agent's companions. Unimpressed, he quirked a brow at his fellow Captain, and took a step back before walking around to the door and heading inside.

Swaggering past all the regular customers he dragged a chair over from an empty table, letting the legs scrape against the floor before swinging it around gently and taking a seat.

"Your other team was better looking," he said, rather than say hello, grinning at a barmaid and gesturing for her to bring him a beer. "Except that one," he said, nodding at Dale. "Who's eye candy more worried about then? Tall dark and handsome over here, or the jailbait on the end? Not that it matters, I'm sure you've already screwed them both."

His tone was flippant, and it was clear he was trying to chase them off. He wasn't interested in Jack's newest wonder team, he was only interested in Jack.

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Logan bristled visibly at the jailbait comment, but he was just interested enough in the man who had once been Jack's partner that he stayed silent.

Peeking around Jack for a better look, he took in the stranger with a long hard look before glancing over at Dale and Joe.

He didn't like this, and his hand moved to rest possessively on Jack's knee.

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