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Torchwood is exciting, the way that it had once been in New York when he'd been hunted by Company and by a serial killer posing as a friend in horribly lame band t-shirts. Mohinder's move from Company heel and Noah Bennet's lapdog back to the UK (the only place he'd felt safe to bring Molly where she would be able to understand the language and still be away from the mess in America) to Torchwood agent had happened as they usually did.

Jack courted him. Mohinder refused until refusing became impossible. And that's why he finds himself here, standing in the so called Red Zone, around a theme park with the less than illustrious name of "Figmentation Imagination Exploration World!" scrolled across the metal sign in large, person sized letters over the box office queuing area.

He glances over at the lanky Scotsman he is almost always paired with and the pair of chain cutters he's currently failing with at the gate. A sigh and Mohinder adjusts the earpiece he's wearing. "Captain, still having a bit of trouble with the front gate. We should be inside in about an hour at this rate." He's only half teasing though he can hear Owen's voice saying something irately in the background.

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"Five minutes," Jack reports, but it's more like three before he's driving through the parking lot like a mad man towards the gates. There's no sounds, no lights save for the headlamps on the bonnet of the SUV.

Mohinder doesn't actually throw up, but he does immediately get out of the car after it's parked to lean against it. He looks understandably confused for a moment before the poor thing trips over himself as he realizes where he is.

"No! No, Captain you can't-- How did we even--"

Peter didn't care any more, he knew they'd been coming here, even if Jack hadn't said. He'd made peace with it. So he simply took a moment to stretch his legs, enjoy the last moments of his life and not listen to Mohinder. That man made him freak out so he was just going to avoid him and stand by Sam. Or Gene. Or whoever it happened to be. Gam? Sene?

"Why am I here?" Sam asked with a certain level of gruffness that made it clear it was Gene. Sam hadn't really explained it well. You know, what with Gene being in the middle of a sting and gunfire making it hard to hear.

Jack seriously had a lot of explaining to do.

He needed to it clear he wasn't an angel for hire. Hell, he'd make signs. Posters. Giant billboards. Anything that would stop this prat from meddling in what he was trying to do. Some people had jobs.

"Oh, you know," Jack says, ignoring Mohinder too, poor man. He'd invited them all into his home plenty of times, took care of them, Peter especially, and no one wanted to deal with him? He'll remember this! He'll-- Forgive them. The man's an idiot. If he lives, nothing will change. He'll go right on continuing to be an idiot too. "Haunted theme park. Possessed field agents. Owen, you're with me and Peter. Gene and Sam, take Mohinder."

Why? Because Mohinder's got it the worst. And because Mohinder might be the key here. Besides, he can't let Peter go with the other man. He's too selfish. And Jack has favorites he probably shouldn't.

Sam controls his head to look out through the back window and frowns. "How'd you like me to deal with 'im, Jack? The man's a mess."

"Get him to the funhouse. We're going to the Ferris Wheel."

Before Jack could run off being all captain commando, Sam reached out without warning, grabbing Jack's arm. Well, not actually Sam. If Gene wanted to, he could very easily take control. He just preferred not to use this manicured, overwashed, Man U supporting poofs body. Gene just really needed to get a handle on this before it went nuts.

"Harkness, shut up. Stop rushing, being a spazzy little dick and shut it. Got it? Good. Okay, let's just all try to make sense. Cause news flash, you great big ponce, I can't handle hauntings like this. I do certain spirits, not all of them."

Peter paused, dropping his head into his hands. This was Jack's great plan. An angel who could do fuck all? That was just perfection. "Seriously?"

"I can try but there's a 75% chance you're fucked. Sorry mate but these are pissed off spirits. Kind of need a good demon for that cause they're going to hell. Not heaven," He wasn't saying it was impossible, he'd try, but he wasn't making a promise here.

Odds are, the Scot and the foreigner were fucked.

"I'm not going to accept that," Jack tells Gene-Sam, not pulling his arm away just yet. He has no intention of hurting Sam and it's not like Gene actually has to help them out if he doesn't want to. "If you want to stay in the car, you can."

His lips press together in a thin line. He's not going to let his team go down like this. Not when he can offer himself. Not when there's bound to be someone inside that he can talk to.

"These are my men, Gene. Wouldn't you do anything for yours? This demon, or alien or being...they're kidnapping parents and children." Jack smirks. "I happen to be one. And I don't know how long these two are going to last so yeah, I'm in a hurry."

Listening to Gene and Jack talk just makes Mohinder even more queasy and Peter's complete disregard for it all has his dander up and his heart aching.

"I'll go," the Indian speaks up, trying to still his own pulse. "Just...let's get it done with."

Edited ( ) 2013-11-05 16:17 (UTC)

"Course I'll bloody help, I'm just warning that odds are, I can't help. And that's cause no one gave me any bloody warning. Next time you consider throwing these men you care so much about into this kind of shit, let me know first. Then I an tell you how fucked you'll be," Gene pointed out, not needing to be talked down to like he didn't get the stakes. Of course he did.

The big difference was that he wouldn't send his men into this mess. He'd go in himself. Because his team mates mattered to him, they were disposable. Not like they seemed to be to Jack.

"I'm all up for going," Peter added as well, his eyes clearly gazing at something behind the gates. And, without prompting, he started to move towards it with an amused smile. "They discounted the candy floss."

Owen just had to stare. Then sigh loudly. "We need more reliable staff."

For a moment, no one moves, not even Mohinder who looks like he might have a mild heart attack at any moment now as he stands not quite so bravely by the SUV. "We never did test that candy Mohinder brought out," Jack mutters and takes off after Peter as he points to the rest of them. "You three...four...you stay here."

Jack's not going to get into why he hadn't gone in there first. And he'd rather have a back up team anyhow.

Trotting after Peter, Jack falls into step beside him. "Did you bring money, Pete?" Yes, he's playing along.

"Yes, of course. I always bring money to the fair," Peter remarked with a chipper expression, pulling out several old fashioned coins from his pocket that didn't circulate now and Peter surely couldn't have. Especially since he'd emptied his pocket back in the car.

He pulled the gate open with ease and moved into the park. In his mind, everything was bright and shining, the music was playing nicely and mascots were dancing around like normal ones did. The only strange thing about it all was the people. The people who just stared at him. Or at least he thought they were, he couldn't tell passed the gas masks.

He rushed over to the candy floss and held out his coins to the non-existent person behind the counter. It all looked entirely strange to anyone who wasn't Peter.

"Candy floss, please!"

Jack doesn't actually see anyone. He doesn't see the lights, he almost trips over a planter in the dark. He doesn't see the dancing. Or the coins in Peter's hand. He doesn't see anyone or anything at all and immediately slips ones of the contacts into his eyes as Peter pays nobody and receives a rotting bag of sweets.

"Owen, have Mohinder watch the monitor. I don't see anything," he half whispers before he asks Peter for a bit of his candy.

Outside, Mohinder is plunked down in the SUV in front of the monitor and turns almost ashy. What he describes is what Peter is seeing, though he is frightened by the people, not amused by them.

"Captain...the man behind the counter doesn't have a face."

"Jack?" Peter asked, tugging on the man's sleeve in a strange manner and looking at him with a strangely amused grin. There was something very off about Peter but then, he was never poster boy for being normal. Still, he'd never been this weird before. "The Ferris wheel! Every candy floss comes with a free ride."

And off Peter ran before he'd even eaten his candy, running through the grounds and dodging passed all of the other kids and their parents.

"Jack, don't let him eat that candy floss and don't let him ride that ride," Owen insisted, knowing both would probably lead to some sort of horrible death. Hence why he was waiting on the edge of his seat to run in after him.

As Peter stood in a queue full of gas mask wearing children, he rocked on his feet excitably. The Mascot next to him was bouncing around in a comical manner but -- something was off.

Was it leaking?

Jack almost has to tackle Peter. Almost. He calls him away to a ring toss game, grasping at his hand. "We can get our free ride later," he says, softly, coaxingly. "The line is really long. But the game over there has no one at it!" Please Peter. Do not make him do something everyone will regret later.

He needs Peter in this fugue state, but not if he's going to get himself hurt because of it.

"J-Jack... Captain," Mohinder says worriedly. "It's.. It's leaking." That's all Jack needs to hear. The mascots have to have something to do with all of this.

"Or what about one of the other rides? Oh! Maybe we can sneak in and see the mascots. Get a private photo, how's that?"

"I don't want the ring toss, that's not as fun. I have a free ride, Jack," Peter said in a strange harsh tone, turning to his Captain with almost a vicious snarl. He was being beckoned and he couldn't help it. There was something pulling him towards the ride and all he wanted to do was take his turn on it.

He was about to push on with the line when Jack suggested the irresistible to anyone who appreciated to wonderfully whimsical mascots. And didn't seem to mind the smell and the leaking.

"Pictures? We could get pictures? I want a picture. The line for that one is forever and it's only on weekends," Peter mumbled, staring off into the distances towards where the buildings were. That must of been where the staff was. The ride was tempting but -- well, mascots. It was like that had over taken him nearly entirely.

And off he went, eager to get that picture.

"We can get a picture then our ride then more candy floss. This place is amazing. I never ever want to leave!"

"Jack," Sam warns over Owen's comm. "Where are you going--"

"That sounds like a plan, Pete," Jack says and completely ignores Sam. His contacts haven't given out yet and he's not seeing any of this for himself. He even needed a flashlight out to see, the place is so dark. Relying on Mohinder to tell him--

Then again, maybe Sam-Gene could see it too.

"I just need you guys in the car to be a little patient while Peter and I have our fun," Jack says. "And tell me if anything's going on."

Mohinder's shaking again. "They all have...gasmasks," he whispers. Jack frowns at that. Gas masks. Not a good sign. Then again, sneaking down into spirit central? Also a bad idea.

"Peter, get the door and we'll go down and see the characters."

Peter moved his way to the building and yanked the door open, there was a corridor that led to a door reading 'cast members only' and Peter got a look in his eyes that one might call childish excitement. It was also worth noting that his eyes were almost entirely dilated at this point. He definitely wasn't all there.

As they moved through the hallway and towards the door, Sam's body recoiled and Gene winced. "Oh woah, I've never felt anything like that."

Even from a distance, just seeing it made his angel mojo go slightly static-y. That was powerful and very wrong. Whatever was in there wasn't any good. "Whatever it is, it's in there. Jack, be careful."

If things go bad, they were going in. He knew a few exorcisms. He'd learned them mostly just to piss off Keats and get him out of meetings.

Mohinder is just as quiet as Jack is while he follows the exuberant Peter into the underground tunnels leading across the park. No one even sees him slip out of the SUV's open back door until he crosses the headlamp beam.

Sam, in control of his body here and there, glances away from the screen as he feels Gene quake inside of him. Weirdest thing he's ever felt, by the way. It's bad enough to feel too full, to be knocked out of control from time to time, but to know Gene's upset, uncomfortable, and perhaps even scared--

It's a little too much for him.

"Jesus, Mohi--" And back to Gene again. Sorry for the whiplash, Owen!

Jack presses a hand to the bluetooth and frowns. "Guys-- Guys, please fetch our geneticist. I'm a little busy?"

Gene hurried out, making use of Sam's body to forcefully shove Mohinder back towards Owen, he grabbed a hold of Mohinder tight. "Seriously, Suresh, just stay. I can't see a bloody thing on this without you."

Owen waited for Sam to get back in the SUV but when he looked up, the sod was already through the gates. And he couldn't just abandon Jack like that, he needed to stay outside and stay relatively sane.

"Jack, Sam and Gene have just gone in."

For whatever reason. He didn't know. He couldn't make any sense of this. Or what Peter was doing. As the excited man ran ahead and pulled open the door, the sight that greeted them was very much viable to both parties. The cast room was weird yet normal enough on a screen. Lots of empty costumes hanging up and one flat on it's back in the middle, bit like it had been attacked or something. Strange.

In person? Well, the smell of rotting flesh was overpowering and the atmosphere was very unpleasant. Yet Peter didn't mind. Because to him, they were all standing very normally and very happily.

"Photo?"

Damn it. He'd wanted them to split up originally, sure, but things had gotten a little too real, a little too quickly. He's been unable to really see anything going on until that point and was relying on Mohinder to examine the feeds and give him a heads up on what's happening.

Of course...that's not really necessary any more.

Jack wets his lips and steadies his breathing. "I dunno, Peter. Think they're all asleep or on break?" He's not really all that surprised when the mascot in the center of the room sits up.

In fact, he'd expected it.

"Was this the bear," Jack asks, swallowing, "that tried to take his head off for you?" Snap out of it Peter!

Peter blinked several times before a slightly unnerving look came on his face. He still wasn't there but at least he was answering questions. "He does his trick for all good boys and girls. He likes an audience."

Yep, Jack, you're about to see his trick. Especially since the mascot is looking at them with it's dead eyes. It was a very unpleasant place to be and anyone who was sane didn't want to be there. Especially since it reeked of rot.

"Jack," Gene said over the comm he'd nicked while in the SUV. Thank God Sammy knew how to use one of these. "You're standing in the crisis point. Whoever or whatever is in there with you is the cause. I'm not sure if it's a demon or not but all the spirits are connected to it. Do you know any exorcisms?"

Cause Gene can come and try but odds are, he'll forget some words and balls it up a little. Just a little heads up before it happens.

"Oh and make sure Peter doesn't touch it!"

Thanks guys. They say that as Mister Mental here is going over to give it a hug? Jack immediately grabs Peter by the waist. "Yes, yes, get down here!" Jack yells and gives Peter a tug back.

It's not just the mascot in the center that's moving...all of the costumes seem to be.

Mohinder's already running, despite feeling like he might vomit at any moment. Sam is just behind him, kicking up his heels and happily informing Gene internally that they're lucky it's Sam's body, not Gene's, that they're sharing right now.

All of those bacon bunties makes it hard to run, huh?

Peter struggled with a surprising amount of strength to get to the stuffed bear. It wasn't often that Peter fought, he usually used his words or his gun, the distance was almost always there. Now, however, he was fully fighting against Jack, straining to get free to the now laughing mascot, it's hollow eyes on both of them.

"Do you kids want to see a trick?"

Ah, here we go again. Peter laughed, despite his current predicament and continued to flail towards freedom.

Fortunately yes, Sam's poncy body was the faster runner but hell, Gene could of made it if he needed to. Sam was just ... spindly. Made him faster is all.

"Bloody hell," Gene cursed as he grabbed a hold of Mohinder before he could touch anything, shoving himself passed both parties to face the creature who was attempting to pull the oversized plush mask off. Gene winced in sympathy as it all hit him. Poor bastard, he died in it. In his suit. And no one even noticed. Hours spent in it, vomiting and terrible rashes. Not nice at all.

"It's a spirit. It's a persons spirit! They're controlling it and it's manifested. I've -- I've never seen anything like it. Rift influence?"

"Probably," Jack says, half sitting on Peter as he pulled him into the corner. It takes a long time just to get him restrained. Mohinder, trying to help, pulls Peter's face around to force the other man to look at him and not the creature. "Mohinder, can you hold him?"

The answer? Probably not but they need Jack. Sam can't face it alone. He nods and takes over, allowing Jack to stand beside Gene.

The mascot is still trying to rip off its head when Jack steps forward. "What do you want? Why do you keep calling people to you?!"

Yes. Jack does the Doctor's way first. Negotiation. He's trying to be worth of the Time Lord.

"He wants to make people suffer, Jack. Suffer for their fun. They're the ones that want it, that's why he has to stay stuck in a suit for eight hours a week. They brought this on him," Gene reasoned on the creatures behalf. He could see it all, he found understand it. And he wished he could empathise but -- well, Gene was not exactly Mister Empathy. He had two modes at best. Shoot or not shoot.

It had been a horrible death, Gene had to admit. All that heat and sickness, all boiling over till he keeled over and suffocated inside the giant bear costume. No one noticed for over a week and by then, well, he'd rotted into the suit. They were one.

And he made everyone suffer. His bosses, the other staff, the children and the adults. Oh God, that hit him as well. The people. The war and gas masks, everyone hiding in the dark. It was too easy.

The whole thing made him feel sick.

"Jack, kill it. Kill the bastard. He's not worth saving."

Gene got to make that call. He didn't care that Jack or this Doctor guy would say. He knew an evil spirit when he saw one.

Honestly, Jack doesn't question it. Gene's explanation is a sound one. The creature in there is already dead and far too gone to understand what they were trying to do. It wouldn't leave voluntarily.

Always amazed at how a simple bullet, nothing fancy, could take down a creature like this, Jack levels his revolver on the creature and fires three times into it's head before he puts another three bullets in it's chest.

The flow of yellow liquid and sticky brown glop that spills from the wounds are putrid but at least the rotting bear takes two staggering steps back. The lights flicker and turn off immediately and screams all through the park can be heard. Jack turns towards Gene and pushes him, in Sam's body, towards the door.

Distrupting a spirit's hold on a place is all good and well....but it typically causes the foundation of that spirit to become unstable.

They don't want to be trapped.

Gene made sure to yank both the geneticist and the Scot up, shoving them towards the door. Mohinder seemed to be snapping out of it, as did Peter, but both seemed a little dazed. All well and good to make a run for it but don't leave him trying to save the day, Jack!

Sure, he's the big damn hero here but he prefers saving a beautiful young thing.

Even if he usually only ends up saving Sam half the time. Thank God he's in the ponces body or he'd probably somehow be in danger.

"Jack, grab Carlisle, I'll get Suresh!" The sooner they all got out, the better. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life in some sort of nightmare sludge.

It's the first time Jack's seen the people in the gasmasks since arriving but they are all standing there, with other costumed mascots, hands pressed to their faces or character heads, tugging wildly and screaming. Jack can't save them all and even if he could, his loyalty is to his team first and foremost.

He'll apologize later to their families if they can't all get out.

That doesn't stop him from scooping up a little girl and grabbing an older boy by the hand to drag them along. "Owen, what are the readings?!" he yells as they truck towards the front gate.