Daughter of Torchwood

Gwen

The overhead compartment rattled as Starla yanked her bags down, glaring at the grey sheets of rain lashing against the train window. "British summer," she muttered, rolling her eyes, "Brilliant."

The dash from the carriage to the station entrance was enough to leave her hair damp and her jacket spotted with rain. She ducked under the station roof's overhang, shivering slightly, but she didn't have to wait long. The sleek black SUV swerved into the pick-up lane with practised precision.

It was two weeks into the summer holidays, and the prospect of three weeks in Cardiff with the Torchwood team, before the inevitable return to school in London, had been the only thing getting her through the end of term.

To her surprise, the back door swung open, and Tosh jumped out, grabbing Starla's bags to toss them in the boot. Starla climbed into the middle seat, finding herself sandwiched between Suzie and Tosh.

"Wow, did you miss me that much you all had to come?" she teased, catching Owen's grumpy silhouette in the passenger seat and her dad's grin in the rearview mirror.

"We're on our way to a scene," Tosh explained, her fingers already dancing across her laptop keyboard as the SUV sped away from the station, "Testing the Resurrection Glove. A victim was found less than an hour ago."

"We'll drop you at Mavis's right after," Jack assured her, "I was halfway out the door to get you when the call came through the police frequencies."

"We did miss you, though," Suzie added with a small smile, nudging Starla's shoulder.

After a year of visiting, the frantic pace of Torchwood felt like home. Starla knew the drill: she was part of the team, provided she followed Jack's non-negotiable rules. No guns, no getting in the way, and staying back if things got 'alien'.

When they arrived, the car park was a sea of blue lights and yellow forensic tape. The police began to pull back as the SUV approached, making way for the 'specialists'. Starla hopped out, immediately slipping into her role. While the others focused on the body, she hung back, her eyes scanning the surrounding buildings and the crowd. She was the lookout, the one who made sure the public didn't see things they weren't meant to.

She noticed a female police officer lingering near the edge of the parking lot, but Starla kept her gaze moving, checking the balconies and windows above.

Jack, meanwhile, was in his own world, "There you go. I can taste it," he said, tilting his head back into the downpour, "Oestrogen. You take the pill, flush it away, it enters the water cycle, feminises the fish, goes all the way up to the sky, then falls back down in the rain. Contraceptives in the rain. Love this planet."

Starla giggled, though the rest of the team ignored him, focused on the metal case Suzie was opening.

"How's it going?" Jack asked, his tone shifting back to business.

"Nothing yet," Suzie said, sliding the heavy, ornate metal glove onto her hand, "It's got to connect. I just have to feel it."

"Then hurry up and feel it, I'm freezing my arse off," Owen grumbled, clutching his medical kit.

"I can't just flick a switch, Owen. It's more like it grants me access. It's like... oh!"

The glove hummed, a strange blue light flickering along the joints.

"Positions," Jack ordered.

Owen started the video camera while Tosh prepared her questions. Suzie knelt behind the body, cradling the dead man's head with the gloved hand. Suddenly, the rain seemed to stop, or rather, it curved around them, leaving a dry circle in the middle of the storm.