seekevolution | (no subject)

"I never like theme parks much. But then I worked at one during the summer once and it sort of killed the whimsy and amusement. Kid vomit and crappy pay will do that," Peter admitted as he paused to read some of the graffiti. Nothing out of the ordinary really, some asshole writing his name and then some random gangish crap that went over the wall and onto a nearby bench. Nothing was ever truly left untouched by idiots and spray paint.

He kept moving, trying to make sure to take in as much of it as possible. It seemed massive and everything could be relevant. Jack didn't really mention what they were looking for or what they were after.

"I missed the brief, fill me in? Why are we here again?"

Oh yes, Peter was always behind on the cases and what he was doing here. Not good at paying attention to orders nor following them. Still, that seemed to be not entirely uncommon at Torchwood. Especially when Jack was often very ambiguous.

"Are we here to test the rides? Cause I'm all up for that if they're, you know, safe."

Mohinder's gotten use to Peter's lack of care when it comes to cases, but he's not as openly hostile about it as Owen is or Sam can sometimes be when Jack forces him out of that coma he's constantly in though no one will tell him quite why. A smile of calm exasperation settles over Mohinder's flawless skin and he sighs while Owen 'bloody hells' this and that in their ears.

Luckily, he doesn't have to be the one to inform Peter of the mission, Jack does that. "Park closed down fifteen years ago to the day on the 13th. It was never torn down, much too expensive, and there's really no other record of it past a few transients chanced from the park or drug deals gone bad. But two weeks ago, people started disappearing. Children and parents especially. They would mention to friends about hearing carnival music or children laughing and then the next day, disappear in the direction of the park."

That's why Mohinder's been made lead on this... And why Peter's tagged along. Mohinder is not quite a parent. Peter is not quite a child.

"I want you to keep your eyes open, guys."

Mohinder nods to no one and points towards a cotton candy stand. "Let's check there," he says, as no one is going to be the bearer of bad news about how they aren't riding the rides!

"If I disappear here and that's the end of me, I'm going to be so annoyed. I really don't want my soul to be trapped in a theme park," Peter complained as he followed along after Mohinder, inspecting the cotton candy stand with interest. The whole thing was battered and clearly unused -- yet, well, that was strange. Behind the stand, just stashed away, there were pre-sealed bags are pretty fresh looking candy floss. Which definitely hadn't been rotting here for fifteen years.

Pulling a bag out, he held it up for Mohinder to see, clearly not sure what to make of it. He was both confused, worried and -- okay, hungry, but who didn't love candy floss?

"I don't get it? Do you thinks someone just likes to break in and restock the stands?"

It wasn't really horror film worthy but it was odd. And odd always leads to worse and worse. Till he'd be crushed alive in the haunted house ride or something equally awful.

Before he could even suggest eating it, Owen cut in with a quick. "Don't you dare, Carlisle. I'm not going in there to treat candy poison."

"I'm not really sure what the point of that would be," Mohinder says politely, actually taking Peter's original assessment under his own advisement as he takes the package of bright blue floss from his partner and lightly squeezes it. "Captain, Doctor Harper, can you see this?"

Jack's voice is momentarily covered in static before the anomaly clears up. "We're getting visuals for now, Mohinder, yeah. Take a sample." Mohinder makes sure he's the one to do it before Peter can sneak a taste or 'accidentally' lick his fingers. The moment he opens the bag, however, the once fluffy looking candy inside turns immediately to liquid.

Mohinder wrinkles his nose, but still takes a sample and has Peter grab another bag for Owen to open in the lab under a vacuum.

"It's so strange," the Indian says, off-accented voice as soft as always. "There's no sign of the machine working in years. It's literally rusted over."

Seeing it turn to liquid like that definitely put Peter right off trying any. He simply dropped what he had and moved back, feeling slightly repulsed. Cotton candy didn't deserve to be liquidated and turned into mush! With a lamenting sigh, he continued looking around, assuming Mohinder would catch up when he was done.

The park looked strange in the dim light, not quite dark but not quite light, making the rides seem nearly twice as creepy. He couldn't imagine they were stable. They looked like they were on the verge of falling apart. Rusted hinges and damaged mechanisms.

Somehow, that was more worrying than the whole haunted ghost mystery.

"Hey, Momo, keep up. I want to take a peak in the eatery. There might be more creepy food we can take a sample of," Yes, he called Mohinder 'Momo'. Even after they had several discussions and arguments on the topic. Force of habit, he couldn't help it.

Mohinder-brand arguments are really very tame. Oh, he can stand up for himself, handle a weapon decently, and best of all, he knows how to handle people. Mohinder isn't exactly mellow but at least he never wants to strangle Peter on a daily basis like most of the rest of their happy little band. Jack thinks about warning Peter for the name -- they've been doing so well with the bickering the last few hours! -- but Mohinder responds, in Hindi, that he will be right there.

He mostly does that when he's distracted. First languages always are the most readily accessible.

It takes Mohinder a bit more time to collect his samples than Peter likely realized and so by the time it's all neatly packed away, Peter is out of sight. There are quite a lot of little restaurant (mostly counter service) places dotted around the front of the park and Mohinder glances around twice before a large clatter from one makes him sigh.

Peter's likely inside and so, torch handy, Mohinder steps over fallen tables and chairs in the small outdoor eating area and slips behind the counter. "Pete--" Strange.

No one's in the small kitchen and the door to the store room is closed.

"Captain? I believe I lost Peter."

"Is now a bad time to say he's also lost connection with us?" Ianto chipped in, knowing that the connection had been wonky at best but losing someone like that? Not good. Not good at all.

Peter hadn't even noticed he'd lost connection, not yet. He was a little too busy checking around the back of the little eating area. He'd heard a noise, seen something move, and naturally he was following. It wasn't working totally in his favour to move away from his partner but it was worth following every lead right?

He hadn't intended to move so far away but a quick flicker of a shadow had caught his eye and he was soon by a feris wheel, footsteps still audible.

"Hello?"

When he finally got around the corner, something -- large? It moved. And the faint sight of balloons caught his eye. Before he could get a good look at what seemed to be a giant furry person, the lights flicker around the wheel and strange music started to play.

And, just as he thought things couldn't get any creepier, the ride started to move. "Oh shit!"

"Mohinder, where did you see him go?" Jack asks, voice strained, and the Indian mutters off something in Hindi and jogs down the line of counter service restaurants to try and find the other man. It's not his fault Peter left his side, but he feels guilty just the same. A partner is a partner. You're meant to look out for each other.

Mohinder has, to this very moment, been so bad with that. He curses at the last stand and, seeing nothing at all, bolts around the corner just as the Ferris wheel begins to move. There's no music, but for a moment, he can hear the laughter of children just behind him. When he turns, no one is there, of course.

"Mohinder, calm down, your heart rate is through the roof," Jack says, but again, Mohinder ignores him as he spins around once more. He'd not seen Peter before, but there he is, slowly climbing the platform towards a now waiting cabin on the wheel.

"Peter! Peter, do not get on that ride!" he calls and runs as quickly as he can to catch Carlisle.

Peter didn't really remember much, his mind had gone entirely blank. The only thing he knew was that the ride was so enticing and the strange figure running it was offering him to ride for free. Smiling somewhat childishly, he followed blindly, wanting to see just how high he could get.

He was very nearly on the ride when he heard Mohinder call. Turning his head, he looked at his partner and it all hit him. Everything rush back and suddenly, he had no idea what the hell he was evening doing.

Recoiling back, he nearly lost his footing getting away from the carriage.

"W-What? I don't -- huh?" Peter mumbled as he leapt off the platform, turning backwards to watch as the figure had entirely disappeared and the cabin begin rising by itself. The music he'd heard and the cheerful atmosphere dissolved. Like that.

Breathing heavily, he grabbed onto Mohinder's arm. "There was someone there! Seriously! A man. He runs the ride, he -- he..." Peter paused, his face contorting with confusion. "He didn't have a face."

Edited 2013-10-31 20:17 (UTC)

"Jack--" Not 'Captain.' Mohinder drops the pleasantries when he's afraid and Jack doesn't need to hear his voice or see the bio monitor to know it. He just knows Mohinder, like he knows all of them. And it's starting to get to both of his men inside the park. Still, he needs them there. They're the only two that even remotely fit the stereotype of the people the theme park draws to it.

And Jack doesn't trust himself to go there. It has nothing to do with heroics and more to do with the fear that his own energy levels will interfere with the park's. They can't risk it getting stronger. It's bad enough all ready. "I heard him."

"We need to go."

"Not yet," Jack demands. "Go deeper. I need visuals of everything."

Mohinder grasps at Peter's arms as the Ferris Wheel's lights flicker off. His throat is dry and he's shaking slightly. "I didn't it, Peter. But I.. Let's just get this over with."

Peter tapped his earpiece and hissed slightly. After taht? Yeah, he wasn't overly happy any more. A man without a face. How was that even a thing? "Jack, I'm not a lab rat. If I die here, I will haunt your ass. Whichever way I can. Physically, mentally, whatever."

He turned it back off and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to get himself a bit of confidence back.

Turning to Mohinder, he offered a slightly shaky smile. So what if they were pretty much here to bait this place into being weird? At least they were getting out, he supposed. "Lets just avoid rides from now on? I was following something before that whole event, maybe we should keep going. Head forward."

He kept moving, just because he knew he had to. Whatever that big horrible thing with the balloons was, it was trying to lead him around. And he may as well follow.

Maybe he could leave afterwards.

"I don't think he's using as us lab rats exactly," Mohinder says as he jogs after Peter. "But I do think that you really must slow down, Peter, or we'll get ourselves in trouble again!" Something catches the very edge of Mohinder's periphery and he stops, glancing to the left for his whole head turns that way. "Did you see that?"

"No, what do you think you saw?" an American voice asks in his ear and Mohinder's blood runs cold. It's not Jack doing it, it's the music he thinks he hears, coming from the fun house.

"I... A little girl. In a gas mask. But that's not right. No one's there."

"I'm not good at slow," Peter pointed out, hands in his coat pockets as he looked around with a slight nervous edge. When Mohinder asked if he'd seen whatever he was seeing, he nearly had a heart attack. Not again! He didn't like scary, scary wasn't fun. He missed drug deals, serial killers and the occasional moron who forgot to pay off a fine. Haunted carnivals weren't fun.

He couldn't hear the music, not yet, but he looked around in panic just to make sure no other rides were turning on.

As if on cue, the music from the fun house got brighter and the lights started to flash enticingly. Clearly, someone wanted them to play. And he didn't really want to. "I didn't see a little girl. Where was she?"

If there were kids in here, they had to get them out.

"Right--" He can't see her now, nor does any of the fallen banners look like they've been disturbed at all by someone passing. To be honest, this isn't the strangest thing Mohinder's encountered in his life. He's seen all sorts of crazy things, crazier still since Jack came into his life. He'd been promised a lab, research material--

He'd not really expected to be a field agent, but from what Ianto's told him, you can't just have a cushy office job at Torchwood. And you have to accept that your life is constantly, always, in constant danger.

Knowing that and being face with that, however, are two very different things.

"This way. Over by the fun house," Mohinder murmurs, feeling just a little dazed, and starts off towards the music.

"We're going into the funhouse? Woah, what could go wrong with that?" Peter remarked sarcastically as he headed towards, part of him wishing he could just ignore these orders and leave. But, like he always told himself, he agreed to this. He wanted this. Well, okay, perhaps want was a strong word. He'd been interested and bored.

Now he couldn't really complain about that any more!

As they came closer to the entrance, Peter took the lead, mostly because he was the faster runner so Mohinder could probably use the headstart. They'd learn that one in the sewer tunnels when he accidentally left the man behind. Lesson learned, never leave a man behind.

Or accidentally flee for your life too fast. As stepped over the banner, moving into the uncomfortably colourful tunnel. "Can't see any little girls."

Mohinder's not slow, but he's also not an athlete. A little swimming at university and some football when he'd been a child does not make up for the sedentary life of a researcher, a professor, and a scientist. Mohinder also never really knows when to run. He waits too late or he goes too quickly, before he can even identify the danger. It's not exactly Peter's fault, then, that he leaves Mohinder behind.

Sometimes the Indian is just too busy staring at something 'interesting' or 'important' when the fight or flight response ought to kick in.

Much taller than he is, Mohinder has to hurry to keep up with Peter. He'd rather not find themselves separated again. What might have happened if Mohinder hadn't called Peter back from the Ferris wheel?

He ends up taking hold of Peter's elbow for a moment as they come to a stop in the 'lobby' of the fun house. There's an old stand by the door where the operator use to control the ride and take tickets. It's half pushed over. The wires are exposed. This shouldn't be working.

"She might be further in," Jack says through the earpiece.

"Really? Do you fancy coming down here and going in to have a look, Jack? Maybe going as far into the deep dark monster tunnel for us?" Peter snarked, unable to help himself. He loved Jack, he really did. Great bloke, fantastic singing voice and wonderful in bed. But he still found him grating in moments like this when tensions were high and more was being asked of them. Peter never did do overly well with just doing what he was told.

Came from being a DI, he supposed, and setting all his own rules. He didn't usually follow orders, he gave them to his unfortunate underlings. He wasn't a natural leader, just a lazy man who didn't like leg work.

And now that was all his job seemed to be.

As they moved past the ticket taker, he carefully avoided any loose hanging wires and slipped into what seemed to be a very long dark tunnel. Great. Just great. As he moved into the darkness, moving slow so Mohinder could keep up, he watched the darkness carefully.

Till he saw something move. "Shit, we're not alone."

"I still can't see anything from Carlisle's contacts," Jack says, after having ignored the Scot's snarky comments about helping out. Jack would be there in a heartbeat if he could. He's much better facing danger, but the thought of helping whatever haunting this place to grow worse is enough to cause him to slip back into the stance of General.

You watch the battle from the hill. You direct. You try not to care too much about the individual troops. Cruel, yes. Jack hates it too.

"I don't see anything, Captain," Mohinder says. Well, whispers. The poor man is starting to shake. These things happen. He gives Peter a small nudge and hands over his torch. "I.. I suppose we ought to follow it."

"Well, not like we have any other choice," Peter said as he moved ahead as bravely as he could. He didn't exactly laugh in the face of danger, he usually cried out and ran for it. But he could tell Mohinder was scared and hell, what sort of man would he be if he didn't try to be the one who stuck this out? Maybe if he kept his cool, it'd reassure his partner.

Used to work when he teamed up with Sammy... but then Sammy was mental so maybe that wasn't the best example.

Laughter echoes through the tunnels and a strange music started as they ended up in what seemed to be a hall of mirrors, their own reflections greeting them. Only distorted. Okay, that was not going to end well, Peter already knew that. So he made a move to keep walking forward and not look at his reflection.

"I always always hated the hall of mirrors."

That very small show of backbone is all Mohinder had needed. He smiles at Peter's back, momentarily, and then follows after him. They are close enough to touch, or if Peter needs to, pull a Scooby Do and jump into his Mohinder's arms.

It's bad enough knowing that you're being funneled into a track. There's little room for deviation and if they suddenly need to leave, there's really no way to. Oh, there are emergency exit signs everywhere but Mohinder already knows that the doors will be locked. That's just the way that these things tend to go!

"Why?" he asks, keeping his voice low, as Peter expresses his dismay at the reflections. He'd not found Peter unattractive at all, though he didn't bare for the beard he sometimes sprouted when he thought it might be fun to be lazy with a razor. "Do you not like to look at yourself, or is it the maze?"

Jack's voice pipes up in his ear: "See, this is why I couldn't send Owen. He'd be too busy preening."

"It's unnatural, isn't it? To look at yourself. I'm not a bad looking bloke, just don't like it. It's creepy. I'm always waiting for my mirror self to move on it's own or something," Peter complained, pulling a face at the very idea. He didn't have many confidence issues, he was just not comfortable with the idea of mirrors. They weirded him out. Hence why he was happy to sometime skip shaving.

He rolled his eyes when Owen rose to the bait over the ear-piece, never able to let the little insults slide. "Couldn't send you in either, Harkness. You'd spend all your time trying to seduce your reflection."

"Children, please. Me and Mohinder are about to be killed by a spooky monster. A little quiet and respect here?" Ah, doesn't Peter paint an optimistic picture of their future? Thank God he wasn't the one that had to give the team speeches. Or things might not always be as inspirational.

Peter turned his head, making sure his reflection was copying him. He didn't need it coming to life!

Edited 2013-11-02 18:42 (UTC)

Personally, Mohinder welcomes the offscreen chatter. Owen and Jack go at it quite a lot and if Peter's to be believed (he isn't, Mohinder things), Jack's shagging just about the whole of Torchwood. He knows about Ianto (because who doesn't), but he doesn't believe Jack is sleeping with anyone else! Even if he's come onto Mohinder a few times... Mohinder just doesn't find him attractive. Not quite like that. And he's sworn off of Americans anyhow. And men, come to think of it. And women too.

Actually, he's just done. He has Molly to look out for. And, usually, Peter too. Honestly, Mohinder thought that if he didn't have Peter come around for meals on occasion, he'd never eat!

Or he'd make up more sordid stories about how Jack's invited him to bed a few times. No. Mohinder won't think of it.

It just doesn't help that Jack is telling Owen that he wouldn't have to seduce his reflection, he'd just go for it because he knows he's amazing in bed.

"We aren't going to die. Come along."

He's chuckling to himself and moving on, therefore, and doesn't notice that it isn't Peter's reflection that isn't matching up...it's his own. In fact, standing beside Peter's reflection is a Mohinder clone, grinning creepily back at the former DI.

When Peter turned back to look at his reflection and make sure it was still there, his heart nearly stopped and he flew back, yelping in horror. Oh he knew this would happen! He knew all mirrors were evil. This is why he only had one very small one in his house. Cause they were all cursed and evil. And dear God, Mohinder had a scary smile.

"Jaaaaaack. Please tell me you can see this."

The reflection of Mohinder kept on smiling and started to turn to his reflection, trapped behind the mirror. Oh no. Could he feel what the mirror guy felt? He seriously didn't want to know. He could die happy not knowing.

"Shit. I hate mirrors. I really hate mirrors."

The bickering stops as Owen mentions a heart rate spike and Jack tells Tosh to work harder on restoring visual connection with Peter's contacts. "Hold on, Pete. We're working on it. Mohinder, take a look?"

Several metres ahead, Mohinder turns back to look at Peter and shrugs. He sees -- and therefore both the hub and Owen and Ianto in the SUV -- see Peter standing there, white as a sheet, pointing at his reflection in the mirror. "I don't... Peter...?" Mohinder makes quick work of walking back towards his partner just as his reflection wraps his hands around Peter's reflection's throat.

He's saying something but Peter can't make it out. The way his air suddenly seems missing, though--

"Peter...? PETER!"

He couldn't breath. No matter how hard he tried, there was something choking him, a hand clasped around his neck. It felt real. And yet, no one seemed to be doing anything to help him. Peter hunched over, gasping for breath as he tried to get whatever was choking him off. It wasn't working, how could he grab what wasn't there?

He was going to die!

He reached out, touching the glass and trying desperately to get the reflection off him. If he ever got out of here, he was breaking every mirror ever... wait, actually, that's not a bad idea.

Pulling his fun out of his back pocket, he staggered back with great effort, training it on the mirror and taking several shots. The only way to beat a mirror was to break it... right?

The mirror fell apart and Peter dropped down, breath surging back to him. His throat was killing, everything was blurry and he could faintly hear voices wittering in his ear.