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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Gabriel chuckled a bit when Mohinder told him no more video games. He had been getting into that a little- but honestly, it was really nice to see Mohinder smile. He'd be okay. And apparently their talk was pissing off Kilgrave, who made angry noises (as much as one could when they couldn't open their mouth). So that was the icing on that cake.

He was glad to see Watson come in, but sighed as Jim followed behind him. "Yeah, sure, let's just get everyone in here with the guy who can command people. That's perfect." Honestly, they should just hand him the keys while they were at it. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

Knowing they'd have to remove the tape was concerning, as well. Gabriel would've protested, but he intended to just keep the man's mouth clamped shut with telekinesis. If he died, there'd be apologies all around. But Gabriel remembered. He remembered being the guy who so easily talked over people's tears and whimpers, and he remembered when he was forced to hurt Mohinder. He personally wasn't going to risk anything he didn't have to.

Kilgrave seemed to know what was coming, at least. His eyes were so wide, it was a wonder they weren't popping out of his head. Gabriel crossed his arms and watched.

Edited 2016-01-11 19:15 (UTC)

"Gabriel," Mohinder replied softly, if only to keep the constant rivalry between Jim and Gabriel at bay. Sometimes he wondered if they were in this feud at least partly to try to win favourite son of Jack Harkness, though the thought was ridiculous on the outward layer. Mohinder did not dismiss it. He knew how much approval meant to Gabriel. And he was learning the same about Jim, despite his dislike for all things Gabriel-shaped.

Though with Sasan-- Well Mohinder kept the gossip to himself, or tried to at least, even when Sasan came over for wine or dinner when Mohinder was feeling lonely. If Jim didn't come along, he would always come up in conversation.

Watson did what he had to do swiftly enough. A jab to the back of the neck and Kilgrave ought to be out in moments. "One of you should send an incident report to my office so I can sign off on it," the short doctor informed the other three.

Gabriel was working up a mood, being hit with just how badly things could've gone now that they were (hopefully) at the end of it. So Mohinder's soft reminder to tone it done was a useful one. He focused his efforts on the man who was getting knocked out. He really didn't like the needle and tried to pull out of the way, as much as he could. But Gabriel didn't even get the chance to hold him still with TK before Watson was done.

So instead, Gabriel twitched his fingers and the duct tape over the man's arms and legs split open and Kilgrave floated out of the chair and onto the table. He looked rather stunned as he was laid down on his side. "Will do. Thanks," he replied to Watson, and then he twitched his fingers once more and the duct tape ripped off of Killgrave's mouth.

The man on the table made a few noises, but after twitching to and fro for a bit, his movements slowed to a stop. The sedative didn't take long at all.

Gabriel let out a sigh, watching Kilgrave drool on the table a little. "That's that, at least until he wakes up again."

None of this was Gabriel's fault, the way he reacted to stress, and he was going to need to take a few moments here. John left after the injection and Mohinder gazed at Jim as he stood. "Watch him. Do not let him speak to you. Evidently there is a radius regarding his ability..."

He wasn't sure what that might be but Gabriel needed some time to puzzle the ability out before he could tell how it worked. Mohinder wasn't going to let that happen just yet.

He took his fiancé by the hands and pulled him into the hall where he could stand on his toes and wrap his arms around his neck. "Thank you."

Gabriel needed the reinforcement and Mohinder-- Well he really needed to be held.

"He said I would be his personal chef and his guide," he confessed. He tried not to tremble but the very thought of being taken away from Gabriel was unthinkable. They'd been through too much. No one understood him like the American did. And he liked to think the opposite was true as well. "And... He told me to smile. He forced me to smile. It might seem so little but-- I can not describe for you how that felt."

Gabriel felt like he should continue to watch him until Jack got back. But when Mohinder pulled him by the hand, he went easily. He hugged Mohinder tight as soon as he had the opportunity, and shook his head at the gratitude. He did not feel like he deserved gratitude at all.

Hearing about Mohinder being appointed as a chef was confusing at best, and Gabriel's scowl only grew as he heard about the ordered smiling. He ran a hand through Mohinder's hair, as possessive as it was protective, and he kissed the side of his fiancé's head. "You don't have to," he said quietly into Mohinder's ear. "I'm sorry."

He leaned his head against Mohinder for a long moment, just making sure he was here. And then he admitted what he could tell. "He didn't see you as a person. You're an object to him, a machine to make his life easier." Gabriel felt kind of sick, but it wasn't a good time for whatever was going on with that right now. He tried to push it away. "But you can stay away from him, now. I might still be needed to keep him in check, but you don't have to be anywhere near him."

Sometimes he really loved the way Gabriel smelled. It was an odd thing, perhaps, but after long bouts of time spent in the archives or waking up from a nap, Mohinder liked nothing better than the way his skin smelled, especially at the curve of his neck. No one could love him more than Gabriel could, and that scent was comfortable and inviting, reminding him of the hardships that they had gone through to get to this stage.

Perhaps that comfort was why it always felt so safe to speak frankly to him. Mohinder rarely felt the need or desire to hold back.

"Kilgrave can't help what he does," Mohinder told the American, resting back on his heels as he rubbed small circles into the area between Gabriel's thumb and his forefinger. "And he can't help the way he thinks. I believe he wanted companionship from me. If it was simply that I was to be a tool, he would not have made immediate efforts or decisions to 'take me on' as some sort of not quite hired help. He could easily get what he wants from anyone...but he would rather have certain people as familiar faces."

He wet his lips and looked up into eyes he already could feel were brimming from the result of the same thoughts Mohinder was having.

"I knew him for less than half an hour, Gabriel... But... But he reminds me a great deal of Sylar. And I will not leave you with him. Not because I do not trust you, but because if he can access your abilities-- No. I can't allow that."

Mohinder said the exact thing that Gabriel expected, and that he didn't want to hear. He hugged Mohinder tightly again, so the man didn't have to look at his face for a few moments more. "I am so sorry I hurt you," he whispered.

But that didn't have anything to do with anything right now, and he couldn't let himself get stuck on it. When he spoke again, it was quiet but determined. "I'm not going to let him get at either of us. If that means I have to stay out of this, that's fine. But I can keep his mouth shut."

And then he made a face, because he just realized something. "Did you say his name was Kilgrave?" Wow, what an awful alias.

Gabriel was not allowed to hide, not any of it, not any more. That was one thing that Mohinder had insisted upon. Love was to be open and the only way that they could continue to be open was to be exposed. It might sound silly, but Mohinder had been with Gabriel through some of the worst days of his life and he intended to be with him for as long as he possibly could. And after that... Well he hoped that Gabriel found him again.

Silly and selfish, yes. But he already had the letter written. In Torchwood, you could never be too sure if each day was your last, so Mohinder had his will all ready to go. The money was irrelevant. Gabriel didn't need it.

But the rest?

You have an infinite life time and the means in which to never be alone. If we are still as in love the day you read this as we were the day I wrote this, find me again. And again. And again. And never let me go.

"The man I love has never hurt me," Mohinder said. He did not love Sylar. He could never love Sylar. And Gabriel was not Sylar. Mohinder would never say otherwise. "And yes. I have no idea if that's his chosen name or not but... Well, you did catch a glimpse of him. That purple shirt? At least he wasn't all dressed in black with eyeliner."

Gabriel was speechless at Mohinder's proclamation. While his insides were busy trying to twist him up, Mohinder fixed everything in one fell swoop. Gabriel took in a shaky breath, breathed it out, and lightly kissed Mohinder's forehead, letting his lips press against the skin for a long while. It was a gentle gesture that Sylar would never have been capable of, and he wanted them both to realize that.

Then they were talking about Kilgrave, and the important moment was over, a memory he would never forget.

"That has to be a chosen name. Especially if that's all he gave you. It's too ridiculous. He probably picked it out when he was twelve." Gabriel rolled his eyes. "You said he can't help what he does? It's a passive ability, you mean? Like my aptitude, or the regeneration- it doesn't turn off." That sounded right to him, but the fact that persuasion worked that way still felt off. Maybe that could give him a clue as to how it worked.

"It's merely a guess," Mohinder said, still full of fuzzy warmth from their shared moment. He let his hands fall and stay on Gabriel's hips. It might not be the best for talking business but they rarely did things the way people expected. Mohinder was sure it was why they were so strong now. "But the way he put it-- He seemed frustrated. Even when he made me smile, it didn't please him. If he chose that name at twelve, perhaps he's still a twelve year boy," he pointed out.

And he was about to say something else when the return alarm went off. Mohinder glanced upwards just as Jim poked his head out of the room. "Okay, that should be Jack. I'll leave Torchwood Whisperer to you and fill the boss in?"

It was honestly better to have Gabriel watching their intruder. He had the means to shut him up before he said anything.

And Jim really didn't want to hear any more of their lovey dovey talk. He really did not.

Now that was something he hadn't thought of. If his power manifested early, and he couldn't turn it off, then--

The alarm went off again, and Jim offered to go meet Jack. "Sure thing," Gabriel replied. His mouth twitched as he realized he had been unnecessarily harsh to Jim earlier. "Thanks."

Well, time to move back into the conference room. It wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to, but better to keep an eye on this guy. He took Mohinder's hand and squeezed it gently before heading into the room. He'd let Mohinder decide if he wanted to come in, too- although he figured he would. Share the risk.

Kilgrave was still lying on the conference table, drooling. His mouth had fallen open and Gabriel closed it again, this time with the puppetry power. No sense in avoiding that with this guy. "I really hope that's Jack," Gabriel said. As opposed to another guy like this. "We're going to have to do something to fix that Rift, if it's spitting out people, now." How do you stabilize a tear in spacetime, anyway?

Jack burst through the door just a moment later. He paid no attention at all to Gabriel and Mohinder holding hands across the corner of the table.

"Working on it," Jack said to answer Gabriel's question. He was about to grin, Jim hanging out in the hallway and looking over his shoulder, when he got a good look of the passed out man on the table. "Doctor?! Okay, I need to know exactly what happened. Suresh, follow me down to the clinic." Jack was strangely manic all of a sudden, gathering the man from the table.

Mohinder looked mostly shocked and maybe a little confused too. "A-What--?"

Okay, that broke Gabriel out of any concentration he had. What was Jack doing? "He's a doctor?" he asked, eyebrows raising as he followed behind Jack.

Since Mohinder seemed a little too stunned, Gabriel kept going. "Why the clinic? Jack, he needs to be in a cell. Some sort of sealed room. He can control people. He had Mohinder in a bad state when I got here. We had to knock him out until you got back. You know him? Is he affiliated with Bilis Manger?"

That was not 'exactly what happened', but it was hopefully a good start. Mohinder was better to answer that anyway, but Gabriel was extremely concerned about this and had a lot of questions.

"Billis-- No--"

"Jack. Listen to me." Mohinder decided to take control of the craziness of the current situation. He told Jack in bull point form what had happened, letting Gabriel off the hook for some of the violence. Truthfully, Jack knew that this was not the Time Lord he knew and loved so well. It couldn't be, not with everything Mohinder was saying and being well aware that species wasn't even important for phenotype doppelgängers. Take Spock and Gabriel for instance. And Sasan too, considering his ethnic background.

Jack still held the lanky Kilgrave as silence carried through. His stomach felt the way it had every single time his past caught up with him.

He was actually fairly embarrassed by all of this.

"Well. That's not exactly like the guy I was thinking of. All right. Come with me down to the cells." The Weevils would have some company.

Mohinder stood slowly. He wasn't going to be told he couldn't go this time. He hadn't had the best of luck the last few times he fell on missions or they fell on him, but that didn't mean he would leave Gabriel.

Oh thank goodness, Mohinder cleared up everything that happened and convinced Jack to head to the cells. It still made him mad to hear what Kilgrave had done and what he'd been planning. Jack seemed kind of off, though. Kilgrave had to look like a friend. It'd be kind of nice to know that he and Sasan (and Spock) weren't the only people who looked like each other in the multiverse.

Gabriel wasn't going to keep Mohinder from coming along. They were really all in the same amount of danger here, so Gabriel would just have to be careful. He lightly squeezed Mohinder's shoulder as they walked close together. "Never thought I'd find myself wishing we were close by Level Five. I don't think he'd have a chance with them." Of course, he probably would've been shot and dissected already, in Primatech's case.

"So we found another doppleganger, Jack? You knew someone who looked like him?" The question is approached a little tentatively. Jack seemed to feel pretty strongly about the guy he'd been thinking of.

Jack was quiet as he put Kilgrave down on the small cot in one of the cells. "He looks like someone I knew, yes. But if what you're telling me is true and it's more than just a persuasive quality to his voice, we need to figure out what he can do, to whom, and preferably before he wakes up."

Initial shock had given way, thankfully, to a more cool levelheadedness that Jack typically shown to the population at large. He ordered blood samples and sound proofing, video communication and a safe monitoring room.

"Mohinder, I'll need you to take lead on this because we know you're susceptible. No offense."

The Indian didn't quite laugh nor smile but he did nod. "None taken. I'm going to be in the lab with this sample to begin gene sequencing. It's strange that Gabriel said he didn't think he could replicate the ability and that worries me." It meant he didn't white know what he was dealing with.

Gabriel was glad they all got on the same page, here. The video communication in a separate area should help, eventually. But the chill hadn't left his spine, so there had to be something else that was still at work. "It's not his voice," he confirmed with both Jack and Mohinder. "I've seen someone use their voice before and his is different. It's less literal words and more like- like what Parkman did, when he forced us to walk with him." He'd pretty much just reached into their heads and forced their movement.

And yet, hat still wasn't quite it. It was heavily frustrating. So Gabriel sighed and frowned down at the man. "I should probably just keep watching him until I figure it out. I can stay in the monitor room." Unless Jack wanted him somewhere else, of course- it was an unspoken question in the openness of his expression. "Let me know what his genes tell you?" he asked Mohinder, with a small smile.

Mohinder responded with a hand to Gabriel's chest and the softest of kisses. "Absolutely. John is going to be quite busy with me tonight, I fear. Will you call me if anything happens?" He didn't mean with Kilgrave so much as with the American. Gabriel was as fragile as he was strong and Mohinder always worried so fully about him.

He waited until he was properly reassured before leaving Gabriel in Jack's hands. The Hub was buzzing by then, all manner of technicians hustling about to get Jack what he wanted. Some Gabriel might have never seen before. There had been no reason for him to visit all of the levels of the Hub previously, of course, and he was either home with Mohinder or on missions.

A woman with a cute face and overalls popped into the surveillance room. "Hey there Cap. Got it all up an' runnin'. Need anythin' else?"

"Should be all right. Just keep your ear to the comm," Jack said, not even smiling. His whole body was tense as he watched Kilgrave sleep.

"Shiny," she replied and out she went.

Huh. Gabriel wondered how many people actually worked here, considering he'd never met her before. But his attention returned to the screen almost immediately. He had to figure out how this guy's not-ability ability worked, so they could be sure they were taking all the precautions they needed. He wasn't really figuring out anything new, though. Just staring wouldn't help with that- he had to think this through.

"Even with all this, I'm not sure it's going to be enough. We've still been exposed." He was speaking quietly, more trying to brainstorm than he was trying to discuss this with Jack. "I might be able to tell when it wears off. If it's something passive, like Mohinder said, then there's groundwork before the suggestions come in. A gas or field or virus he emits..."

He rubbed at one eye. "How much longer until he wakes up?" he asked Jack. He didn't like the waiting terribly much.

"Exposed?" Jack twisted in his chair, turning to gaze up at Gabriel with bright blue eyes. "What are you talking about?" Mohinder told him that Kilgrave ordered him to do something and he was compelled to do it. So this was new information.

Gabriel's aptitude had to be working overtime by this point, which intrigued Jack beyond measure. He tapped his thumbs together as he thought it through.

He was born during a time where pheromones were all the rage. They could do any number of things.

And that was what made this worrying. Another 51st century man? They tended to try to blow him up.

"We should have a few hours. I saw John's dosage records."

Right, Jack hadn't had a chance to hear about that- and to be fair, Gabriel seemed to have just now made some progress. He hadn't realized he'd used the term 'exposed', but it fit.

It was also a bit reassuring to hear that they had a couple hours. Maybe it'd be enough time. "So when I came into the conference room, I felt him affect me, even though I didn't give him a chance to give me any orders. When someone with persuasion used it on me before, I felt it working when she said the words. But with this guy-" He would probably avoid calling him Kilgrave as much as possible. "It's already there. He probably doesn't have to be literal. If someone gets his meaning, they'll do what he wants."

He stared at the monitor again and sort of leaned in towards it. "It's something around him, that he gives off, or radiates, or something. And it lasts awhile."

This was one of the few times he was actively trying to use his ability. Even when he was hunting people down, he just assumed he had to see the power to figure it out. But now he was wondering if he could push the aptitude. It was intensely frustrating, because it was a constant reminder that he didn't know. But he was still making progress. It was just easier to recognize when bouncing it off someone else.

Mohinder was a better sounding board because he had been through so much with Gabriel. It wasn't that Jack wasn't capable of helping him sound the words out but he didn't know the questions to ask that could and often did lead Gabriel's aptitude to insight. So Jack turned back towards the man in the room and watched Gabriel on the reflection he cast on the dark part of the screen.

"Do you find me attractive?" He could almost feel Gabriel bristle. "I'm not hitting on you and I don't think you're flirting with me either, it's just a question."

If Gabriel did, he would smell something delicious and comforting and desirous about the Captain. It just helped his chances when it came to other people and worked amazingly when he was an interrogator. It got him out of a few sticky situations too.

Yeah, that question almost got a loud protest. It still got a serious eyebrow raise, even with Jack's disclaimers.

After a moment's thought, he replied somewhat neutrally. "Doesn't everyone find you attractive?" Gabriel had figured Jack was always around pie or something. But now that he was thinking about it, he'd never seen Jack eating pie, and it was something slightly different than that, besides.

Gabriel's attention turned from squinting at the monitor to squinting at Jack. "There's a reason for that, isn't there?" he asked, still not entirely sure.

"There is a reason for that," Jack agreed jovially. He patted the chair next to him. It was usually pretty telling about the person what they thought about when they were near him. Smell was a powerful sense, almost as thought-forming as sight or touch. "Not to get too into it, but when I was a teenager, the cool thing to do wasn't to get piercings or tattoos or join cults to rockbands. I had a pheromone injection. I figured it couldn't hurt to give me an edge."

He crossed his legs loosely, ankle to knee. Elbow draped over the chair, he laid his other hand on his forearm and gazed Gabriel down. It wasn't fair. People didn't have a chance with Jack.

"It doesn't work on everyone and to varying degrees. There's a physiological response in you when you are attracted to another person. My pheromones exploit that and make me smell good. Do you really think everyone thinks I'm attractive?" Okay. Now he was flirting.

Gabriel shifted in his seat, no idea how to deal with this sort of attention. As far as he knew, the only one who'd ever pursued him had pushed him to kill a man, and- oh hell, that was where the pie thing came from, wasn't it?

He gave Jack a flatly unimpressed look, even after it was obvious that Jack's overly forward flirting got to him a little. There was a thread connecting this that he needed to follow. He tilted his head and breathed deep, trying to refocus. There was something- it was subtle, and enticing.

"It's the same," he said. "What he's doing. It's not exact, but it's close. His is- it feels oppressive. All-encompassing. Like hitting a nail with a sledgehammer. Is it possible to set up something like that with these pheromone injections?"