torchwoodinstitute | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who: Torchwood + Killgrave
When: January 10th
What: The gang meets a different sort of pheromone driven asshole

They'd been engaged for a few weeks now, but Mohinder had not grown tired of it in the slightest. His face actually hurt from the sheer around of grinning he had been doing and luckily, he was well liked enough not to have everyone at work hating his guts for being on the level of a Disney princess with the way he kept humming or sighing and staring off into the distance.

Gabriel had been off on some sort of mission with Jim, which he knew ended up tiring them both out since neither really got on, and as always when he knew that his fiancé could return at any moment and the vortex opening klaxon went off, Mohinder wrapped up what he was doing, removed his gloves, and went to go and hopefully greet Gabriel immediately after his return. He'd done the same twice today already, though the first time had been the return of Mitchell and Henry and the second was a false alarm.

Those false alarms had been happening a lot recently. Jack said that the Rift was acting up, opening vortexes for a split second in multiple realities when one of their agents did so to return home. He said that there was nothing to worry about, that the false alarms couldn't possibly remain open long enough for anyone or thing to come through.

So far, he'd been right.

But as Mohinder came to lean over the railing of the catwalk overlooking the return platform, he couldn't help but frown. He didn't recognize the person that was standing there. Technically, that was very possible. Sometime the manipulators didn't get the time just right. This could be an agent from the past or future. They tended to right themselves out pretty quickly. "Hello?"

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It had been a whim, just like nearly anything he did. A portal or some sort of strange swirling energy had opened up in the penthouse he was currently occupying, and he just had to see where it went.

As such, there was a man standing on the return platform in a perfectly fitting suit with a deep purple dress shirt. He swayed back and forth a bit- the trip was more disorienting than he expected, but he stopped fairly quickly and looked around. His wide eyes searched all around him, very obviously unfamiliar with the area.

Once he saw Mohinder, however, the frown he'd had turned into a smile. Now he was set. "Oh, hello there!" he said, in a friendly British accent. "Tell me, where am I? I popped through some sort of swirly portal and ended up here."

This was the first time Mohinder had been the one to deal with someone new. Jack wasn't here. Jim wasn't either. He thought about finding Sasan, but when they had spoken that morning, his fiancé's doppelgänger mentioned a call to the Prime Minister's office.

If wouldn't be proper to interrupt that.

Mohinder frowned ever so slightly and came around to the stairs. "Well, you're in Wales," he explained. They could always issue this man some Retcon and send him back home, right? As long as he stayed here in the Hub, he would be all right. "Did you say you came through a portal?"

Who just did that?

"Where from?"

Wales, huh? Well, it didn't look like Wales- but it didn't look like anywhere in particular. And oh good, the man was coming closer. That would make things a bit easier. The frown was a good sign, too. It meant he hadn't walked into some sort of trap.

He nodded at the first question and ruminated for a moment on the second. "Well, I'm from all over, really. But most recently I was in New York. Manhattan. Where in Wales is there something like this, now? What do you do here? I'm not part of some experiment, am I?" He didn't sound overly concerned, despite the questions.

He usually started by asking for a name, but for the moment it was important to understand where he was and why. Being caught off guard like this was actually kind of exciting.

"Experiment! Absolutely not."

New York was certainly popular. Perhaps it was the amount of people shoved into a few square miles that made a lot of artifacts turn up there. Mohinder didn't question it. "Cardiff to be precise. I'd been in New York before coming here as well."

If there was one person that probably should never greet anyone, it was Mohinder. He was a talker. He gave so much away in his smile and his honesty. There was a reason that Jack hadn't offered him the PR job, though he was certainly charming and likable.

"What brought you to New York? Oh, I must be terribly rude. Can I bring you something to drink? Traveling by vortex is extremely uncomfortable." He didn't even need to be coerced to give into Kilgrave. That was the problem.

Kilgrave did always love it when people were accommodating, even before he'd talked them into it. He could probably use a light touch with this one. Of course, things always escalated, but he could start out that way, at least.

Plus, this one had a sense of propriety. He'd do quite nicely. And no one else had appeared in the time they'd been talking so this place was either very low staffed, generally deserted, or both. "I'd love a cup of tea. English Breakfast, if you have it. You'll be my guide, while I'm here. Tell me your name? Your occupation?"

The questions were simple and Mohinder had no need to feel compelled. Even if he did, he would have written it off. That's the way he worked, always living under an umbrella of explainability. None of the questions were outrageous though.

And yes, this newcomer was rather blasé about the whole thing, but he was the sort to step into a vortex just because it looked interesting.

"Tea I can do. Come on up to the conference room." His smile was welcoming, a bright white flash, and flattering to his facial structure. "And we do have English Breakfast. Doctor Watson will drink nothing else. I'll certainly do my best to be your guide until we find Jack or Sasan. They're better at this than I am."

He led the way up the stairs but only after offering his hand warmly.

"My name is Mohinder Suresh. I'm a researcher here. What shall I call you?"

What a pleasant man. Kilgrave took Mohinder's hand with a smile, although it faded at hearing that he was a researcher. He disliked scientists, especially research scientists. "Kilgrave," he said, matter-of-factly. "Good to meet you, Doctor Suresh." His voice lilted up and somewhat paused on 'Doctor', his eyebrows raising with the guess. But that had to be right.

And there were at least three more people lurking about somewhere. That was a good small number. He was just about to hit a slightly larger question when he spied something above them. "...is that a pterodactyl?" Well, that was rather a big question, wasn't it? This place was more interesting than he had originally thought.

"Please just call me Mohinder." The tone was as sunny as that smile and he was about to say something more when his attention was drawn upwards. That made him laugh all the more. "Her name is Myfanwy," he said, not quite getting the Welsh vowels correct, though it was a good and valiant effort on his part. "She came to us a bit like you did." The Rift had been unstable then too.

He wondered if the dinosaur had gone on her own volition, as Kilgrave did, or if the vortex opened up on her and she had little choice.

"She's harmless and we keep quite a lot of chocolate hidden around in case she decides to be anything less than a lady. We ought to get you temporally scanned right away so that we can make sure you find your way home again. But, tea first. Everything is better with tea."

Kilgrave watched the dinosaur with an extremely surprised smile. "Chocolate, you say? I never would've guessed."

After a bit of gawking, Kilgrave followed Mohinder up to the conference room. He moved with utter confidence, even after being surprised by a dinosaur. Mohinder had nicely told him how to deal with that thing, if it became a problem. Honestly, the only thing this place was lacking were women (although who knew what a 'Sasan' was). That was something he could fix fairly quickly.

Yes, he might stick around for awhile. It was at least something different. "All right," he said, rubbing his hands together. "While we're waiting on the tea, how about you tell me everything you know about this place. Is it a research organization? Who are Jack and Sasan? Are there living quarters here?" He tilted his head as he thought a little more about what he might need. "...how is your cooking?"

"Well, Torchwood is primarily a research facility, yes--" he went on for a long time. For fifteen minutes at least. He told Kilgrave everything and he couldn't seem to make himself stop. At first, he played it off as nerves. That seemed to make the most sense. He was talking because he enjoyed to lecture and now he couldn't stop. That was the only explanation.

Except he went into too much detail about Sasan. And about Jack. He left nothing out that he could think of and that was troubling. It was obvious in his eyes as he swallowed.

"I can cook quite well, actually."

Kilgrave spent most of the lecture riveted. Mohinder was clearly used to speaking for long periods, so he didn't stop the lecture short. He leaned his chin on one hand and let Mohinder go, as if he were watching a particularly fun movie. It was unusual when someone could hold his attention for that long.

But what a place this was! He could go anywhere he wanted, he could find a version of Jessica that wasn't a drunken mess and not ever let her go this time. Apparently finances were not at all a problem, and he didn't even mind Wales all that much. He'd been in New York for too long anyway. Jack could make a decent bodyguard and Sasan...well, he'd come up with something for him.

Not only that, but Mohinder could cook. "Perfect! You'll be my chef, as well as my guide, in that case. Do you live with anyone?" He was about to continue with the questions when he finally noticed that Mohinder had that look that they all eventually would get, that 'oh god please stop' look. It really broke the illusion that people actually wanted to help him out, and he didn't like it. He slid his chin down on his hand a bit, until he was slumping in his seat. "Oh, now don't be so concerned. We're going to have a good time together, you and me. Everything is fine. Why don't you smile a bit? You have such a nice smile."

"I live with my fiancé," Mohinder whispered. Kilgrave did not tell him to speak up so he did not bother to. This was worse than being under Doyle's control. It was worse than having to watch Gabriel hurt him. The fear was bright in his eyes. Mohinder did have a very deer in headlights sort of beauty to him, not the hatred so many exhibited. "His name is Gabriel." And he would be back soon. Oh God, he hoped that he would be back soon. He hoped that the alarm would sound to alert them that he and Jack had returned.

Breathing a little strangely for a man suddenly smiling, Mohinder pressed his hands flat to the table in front of him. The kettle went off on it's second cycle and though he was still smiling, Mohinder turned his head to look at it.

He was already shy and skittish when threatened (at least when he had the option to run, he took it). There was no where to run that a kilgrave couldn't just bring him back.

"Why do you need a guide? Or a chef? With this ability, I'm sure you are able to coerce your way anywhere and for anything."

He waved off the question. "I don't know what you're talking about. Ability. It's just how I am. Oh- you can go get the tea. I'd entirely forgotten about it, this place is so interesting!"

While Mohinder was doing that, Kilgrave swiveled around in his chair. "You know, you might think it's nice being able to go to any restaurant you want, getting everything just the way you like it. But if you had the time I have, you'd come to realize that there's nothing quite like home cooking. Besides, if I'm going to live somewhere, I'll need staff." Surely that was self-evident.

Those fearful eyes marked the breakdown of this first meeting, but Mohinder had started out polite with him. So he kept up at least most of the pleasantries. His questions continued to be fairly open-ended, and he hadn't started with his longer instructions quite yet. "So you're due to be married, are you? And what is so special about this Gabriel?" Hopefully there'd be something in there Kilgrave could use, too.

"Everything," Mohinder said, in hopes of not having to answer any further. Of course, life didn't happen like that. It was gritty and messy and he had absolutely no choice in the matter but to answer. "He's empathic. His ability had been coined intuitive aptitude. It means that he can figure out how something works by experiencing it."

Gabriel-- where was he?

"And he loves me. He loves me no matter what we've been through," he whispered agsin, feeling tears roll down his cheeks. "He's saved me so many times." He needed to shut his foolish mouth!

Well now, that sounded promising. Kilgrave was thinking of the possibilities behind those words when he was distracted by Mohinder's impassioned whispers about love and saving.

He clucked his tongue once, shaking his head. "You are certainly one to wear your emotions on your sleeve, aren't you? Well, that's fine, as long as you're fairly quiet about it. And you don't sob all over the leather." That minute allowance would let Mohinder stop smiling, for now, if he wished. That smile wasn't particularly working out with those eyes anyway. Kilgrave could never quite get the eyes to fit. Oh, well.

"I imagine you're hoping that he'll save you again, eh?" Kilgrave added. He gave Mohinder an oddly pleasant smile, as if trying to encourage him. And then he shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't count on it, but there's a first time for everything, isn't there? Now-" his voice took on a suddenly harsh tone. "Where's that tea? It's been ages."

"It takes three minutes to steep," Mohinder said, trying to regain his composure as smoothly as possible. He was not the world's happiest camper at the moment, though no one could blame him. He thought about perhaps dumping the tea on Kilgrave's lap, but even that wasn't going to work. And if he could coerce him to do anything he wished?

There would be consequences. Mohinder needed to keep a Kilgrave comfortable. Not burn his dick off.

"And yes. He'll save me, or die trying. He loves me." Mohinder brought over the tea service and sat it down delicately. "Isn't there someone you would do the same for?"

Oh yes, it was proper tea. Kilgrave settled down immediately with that explanation, although he did tap his finger on the table as he waited. He hated waiting.

Kilgrave appreciated the fact that Mohinder wasn't throwing a tantrum like so many people did at this point. He'd hate for that scientist to have to maim his pretty face- well, he'd probably start with the legs anyway. Some place less vital. Maybe the feet?

Kilgrave was pulled out of his reverie by Mohinder's question. He actually mulled it over, whether he'd die trying to save Jessica. "Hmmm." He tapped at his lips for a moment. "I don't know. Do you think that would impress her? Perhaps I'll have to set up something- can't actually die of course, we couldn't be together then. But--"

Kilgrave flew out of his chair, backwards, and slammed against the wall. Gabriel stepped down from the air he'd been standing on, one hand pointed at Kilgrave in a choking manner. He'd gotten caught up in trying to decipher Galifreyan and had waited to see who it was that had come through the Rift. Apparently that had been a huge mistake. Mohinder was extremely upset and this man shouldn't be here, much less acting like he owned the place.

So yes, Gabriel was a little mad. In fact, he hadn't looked this murderous in awhile. He didn't let this man move a muscle as he looked over his fiance. "What did he do?"

Mohinder jumped to his feet when Kilgrave went flying and though he didn't exactly cheer, he really wanted to. This was what he had meant by being loved and rescued. Gabriel had yet to let him down since Sylar had been banished away into nothing. "Keep his mouth shut, he has persuassion!"

Since the Company was fond of creating names for their abilities, Mohinder decided to go ahead and use that tactic. He had no idea that Kilgrave's influence was actually something other than his voice, however, but keeping his mouth closed was probably the best idea.

Gabriel's descent into the room was, honestly, amazing. Mohinder couldn't keep the look from his eyes that always cropped up when Gabriel showed off...and was going to have a very good reward waiting for him a little later. The corners of his mouth were turned up as he edged in behind his fiancé.

"He forced me to tell him about the Institute and Jack. And I wasted perfectly good tea on him."

Gabriel not only kept the man's mouth shut, he was holding him up the neck. It made it a little hard to do things like breathe or speak. He'd intended to shift his hold to the torso and extremities, but like hell was he going to do that now.

He squinted at this man, who stared back at him with wide eyes. No telepathy, from what Gabriel could tell. It'd already be too late, if that were the case. Nothing with the eyes. In fact, this wasn't quite Eden's persuasion. It was entirely a different animal, one he could feel all over.

"Ugh," he said. But Mohinder's grateful smile alleviated the oppressive feeling and he turned slightly to give the man a quick half-hug with his free arm. It was comforting for Gabriel, reassuring that Mohinder was really okay.

"It's not persuasion as I know it," he informed Mohinder. "I couldn't take this one if I wanted to." He wasn't sure entirely what that meant for them, but they'd find out. "Find some duct tape? Just to make sure." They should use all the safeguards they could on this guy.

Gabriel's admittance actually disturbed Mohinder. They had no idea that abilities could be given to some people or while Mohinder was extremely familiar with the concepts of gene manipulation, that did not mean he even thought about using gene therapy to attempt to do so. The technology, in his mind at least, just wasn't there.

He settled a hand at the small of Gabriel's back before he headed to the door. "Let him breathe. We ought to not kill anyone," Mohinder said, giving his fiancé just a bit of a look to show that he was fine and their integrity ought to stay that way too, before he left to find some duct tape.

A few of his colleagues passed and he asked after Jack but no one had seen the other man. Which was just great. Jack was always missing when he needed him.

He rushed back with the silver tape roll, held in both hands, as Kilgrave was held fast to one of the chairs. Mohinder did not bother to, nor wish to, hope that Gabriel had set him down lightly. Mohinder was rather thrilled to get him all taped up actually. He felt safer knowing he was doing it himself and took absolutely no chances.

Gabriel poured himself a cup of tea while he was waiting for Mohinder to come back, still keeping his eyes heavily on Kilgrave. He didn't move the chokehold from Kilgrave's throat, but it did become a little less...choke-ey. He dumped a bunch of sugar in his tea, stirred it, and took a sip.

"That request? It's the only reason I'm not snapping your neck right now," he said, staring at the man and leaning back against the table. "We don't like being controlled."

The man rolled his eyes. Gabriel smiled and sipped at his tea.

When Mohinder returned, Gabriel did indeed thunk Kilgrave down into the chair. "Leave one hand un-taped," Gabriel requested. "Interrogation's going to be fun with this one. We'll have to get him to write, I think." He still wasn't sure how this man's power (or whatever it was) worked. He suspected it relied on hearing, but he couldn't be sure. "Jack's out, I assume? Did you alert anyone else?"

Gabriel kept Kilgrave's mouth closed and body frozen even after the tape was in place. He was well aware that Eden was holding back on him in Odessa, even with the murder attempt. He didn't think this man had so many scruples.

Mohinder was not entirely keen on saying anything of any importance in front of Kilgrave again, but they had little choice. "No. I don't know when he'll be back. I thought you and he were together for this mission. Did he take Jim instead?" He glanced over at Kilgrave. He didn't like the way that man was looking at him. It was honestly terrifying.

He set the mostly used roll of tape on the table, found a pad of paper and a pen to leave by the free hand and sat down as far away from Kilgrave as he possibly could. Mohinder did not tend to be overly shy, all things considered, but there had been too much going on in his head while Kilgrave made him say things he hadn't wanted to. The implications for that were horrifying.

Especially that small bit of information about being tired of having everything done the way he wanted. Could this man not turn his ability off? Did everyone automatically abide by his whims when he spoke?

What could that do to a person?

"Should we wait for Jack to get back?" That could be days.

Gabriel stared at Kilgrave and thought it over. When he saw Mohinder looking uncomfortable, Gabriel jerked the chair around so Kilgrave was facing away from the Indian. He wanted to discuss this at detail with Mohinder, as well, but it was probably not a great idea in front of this hostile mystery man.

"We can give it a day," he said. "We've got a place to put him, don't we? I can watch him." He didn't look too pleased at that prospect, but he could do it. He didn't need much in the way of sleep.

"But I'll go with whatever you think is best," he added, looking over Kilgrave with a discerning eye. What he wanted to do was run stress tests until Jack showed up, but he knew he was liable to go overboard right now. Better to let Mohinder make the decisions right now, anyway.

Though Mohinder hated showing his hand, he was fairly certain that there was someone in this room that did not know Tamil and so, with Kilgrave facing away from him, he gently set his hand (the one that Gabriel had slipped a ring onto not all that long ago) on the table to beckon his fiancé over. They could speak quietly, in a language all their own here. That was rather comforting, all other things aside.

"Tamil only. I appreciate that you're giving me that authority, but he scares me." Mohinder grimaced, slipping his hand over Gabriel's when he sat down. "Whatever he can do, he doesn't make me want to do it. He demands, and it happens, as if I was watching myself from inside of my own head. It's very much like Doyle, in that regard, but more thorough. I truly believe that I would have done anything he told me to do."

They didn't even know to ask about the pheramones. It was nothing that occurred to Mohinder at all.

"We can put him in one of the holding cells in the vault, yes. But perhaps I should have John give him something to knock him out? I don't have access to the Retcon either. But we can not risk his escape. He can do so many things with just one word."

Now that was a good idea. Both the Tamil and the sedation. Funny, sedation was usually Gabriel's go-to for dangerous situations when he was out on a mission. He was definitely not thinking entirely clearly. Gabriel's hand settled over Mohinder's as they talked. While he still kept his telekinesis clamped over Kilgrave's mouth, he relaxed everything else a bit, including himself. Kilgrave let out a humming protest as they spoke, which he ignored.

"Yes. We should get John in here to knock him out. That way, he won't see the rest of the Hub." He squeezed Mohinder's hand and considered what to tell him of the little he did know. "We'll have to be careful of space. His power has an area effect. And it lasts for awhile...but it does wear off eventually." He sighed. "I wish I could tell you more."