Daughter of Torchwood

Abaddon

"Starla! Come and look at this!" Mavis's voice echoed up the stairs, sharp with an alarm that made Starla drop her hairbrush.

She hurried down, finishing a tight braid as she sat on the sofa. On the screen, the morning news was a chaotic montage of grainy footage and panicked anchors.

"Speculation is mounting that the overnight incidents are linked," the reporter said, "Initial reports suggested terrorism, but intelligence experts now claim these may be temporal stunts. The first sightings were of UFOs over the Taj Mahal..."

The footage was cut from India to a street in London. Starla's eyes widened as she saw English Civil War soldiers in feathered hats firing muskets at modern, armed police officers.

"...incidents reported just after midnight," the voiceover continued, "Religious groups are already proclaiming this a vindication of their teachings. They say Judgment Day is finally here. This could be the End of Days."

Mavis turned to her granddaughter, her face pale, "Is this because of yesterday? Because Owen opened that... that thing to bring you back?"

Starla had always been honest with her Gran. Living in Penrith, so close to the Cardiff Rift, Mavis needed to know the truth to stay safe. Starla nodded grimly, "I think so. I need to go."

She stood up, grabbing her coat, "If you need anything, message me, and I'll get it for you. Don't go out by yourself until I ring you to say it's safe. Who knows what else is going to fall through the Rift next? See you later, Gran." She kissed Mavis's cheek and raced out to catch the local bus down to Cardiff Bay.

When she entered the Hub, the atmosphere was heavy. Ianto was standing by the central desk, reading aloud from a Bible.

"...and I heard but did not understand, and I said 'Master, what is the end of all these things?' and he said 'Go, Daniel, for the things are closed up and sealed until the end of time.' Daniel twelve, verse ten."

Starla hung her coat on the stand next to her father's, letting out a weak, nervous laugh, "I never expected to walk in here and find you leading Sunday school, Ianto. Finished?"

"No," Ianto replied, his face devoid of its usual dry wit, "Plenty more where that came from."

Jack was in his office with Tosh, hunched over a laptop, as Ianto began another passage. "Abaddon, the Great Devourer, will lead the world into shadow."

Jack finally reached his breaking point. He marched out of his office, his boots thudding on the metal floor, "Yeah, thanks, Ianto. I can do without the superstition. You people love any story that denies the randomness of existence."

He turned to the group, his eyes hard, "I've been fielding calls all night, the government, UNIT, the CIA. Half the Western world is asking the same question: is this anything to do with us?" Jack's gaze flickered to Ianto, who looked away. Ianto knew he was just as guilty as Owen; he'd shot him, but he hadn't stopped him.

"Is it?" Starla asked, though the red lines on the monitors gave her the answer.

"I've run a profile on every reported anomaly," Tosh said, tapping her palm pilot. A global map appeared on the main monitor. Bright red lines bled out from a single point of origin: Cardiff.

"Shit," Gwen muttered.

"The cracks in time track back here," Jack said, his voice dropping to a dangerous low, "This city, this Hub, is the centre. The Rift is splintering because of you." He looked directly at Owen.

Owen looked up, his jaw set in defiance, "What?"

"You opened the Rift without knowing what you were doing. You've caused the temporal cracks to widen. Time is seeping through."