The Choice

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own either Torchwood or X-Men. It's a shame.

Author's note: I wrote this ages ago, and have no idea why I never posted it here. This is a CoE fix-it, taking place in the "X-Men" First Class" universe, where Jack Harknes is a mutant. There is a sequel, "The Contact", which is going up as well. Hope you enjoy!

The Scottish moorland was dark, and cold, and far too quiet.

Jack shoved his hands into the pockets of his buttoned-up greatcoat against the chill, his eyes scanning the sky, knowing what was going to happen in a few minutes and not liking it one bit. The wind whipped across the moor, bringing the scent of peat and decay, nearly like the death that had avoided him for almost a century.

It was almost comforting, that smell.

The unmistakable sound of an engine throbbed at the farthest reaches of his hearing, but Jack didn't turn until the bright headlamps of the bus had darkened the sky so much that he could no longer make out the stars. He had to turn then, and get back to the terrible business that he'd been forced into.

They thought he didn't care, and that might very well be true, although not in the ways they thought. He certainly didn't care for Torchwood's policies, and what they did to the helpless.

Jack had been through so much since he'd been 'recruited' into Torchwood, that his superiors could be forgiven for thinking that he was now firmly under their control. That was hardly the case. Jack might not have chosen this path he was on, but he could still rebel.

After all, he had certain knowledge of the future.

The bus came to a squealing halt of air brakes, the headlamps nearly blinding him. Jack stepped around to the front of the bus, and the doors jerked open. He gave a faint nod to the driver then stepped up into the vehicle, letting his gaze take in the twelve children that were the British Government's sacrifice.

On the whole, they looked perfectly normal, but Jack knew differently. He knew exactly why these twelve were chosen, why above every other child in the isolated orphanage they were the ones who would be forced to give their lives to supposedly save the planet.

But then, Jack knew something that his handlers didn't.

Not that he'd ever tell them what that was, or how he'd gotten that knowledge.

The children were frightened, and Jack smiled reassuringly. "Are you all ready for a big adventure?" he asked, pitching his voice low enough to seen like he was confiding in them a wonderful secret.

His friendliness seemed to calm the children down, and they all looked at him with wide, trusting eyes. Jack wondered, once again, how the government could be so heartless as to send these innocents to their deaths.

It made his decision that much easier.

"Come on, then," he urged them. "Everyone hold hands, and we'll be on our way."

He felt as if he were leading lambs to the slaughter…which, if he thought about it too closely, that was exactly what he was doing, if he chose to follow the orders he'd been given.

The moor was far too quiet, and it was affecting the children. Jack heard a distinct whimper coming from the group as they left the bus to stand in the headlights' glow, waiting.

And then, an equally bright light flared into existence in front of them.

Jack ground his teeth. He was outraged by what humans were willing to do when their own self-interest was involved. They weren't even questioning why the so-called 456 wanted with these children; no, they were perfectly willing to dump these babies into whatever the aliens were going to do to them. No one was willing to protect them, using the tired old excuse of 'a few for the many'.

Well, that wasn't exactly true.

Jack had to act the part he'd been forced into. Smiling reassuringly, he began to usher the children toward the light…

When the explosion off to his left lit up the countryside, Jack was surprised, even though he'd been expecting it.

The Army types he'd been saddled with appeared, their sidearms out and ready, even though Jack knew they couldn't tell which direction they needed to aim them in. Jack ignored them, crouching down and gathering the children closer. "Don't be afraid," he tried to soothe them. They were whimpering and crying, and Jack had to hold the curse back that threatened to spill from his lips at the loudness around them. It had been a necessary diversion. "It's gonna be okay. Just stay together, and you'll all be fine."

They huddled around him, and Jack – while not being a particularly parental type – just wanted to wrap them all up in his arms as explosions and shouting went on around them. He hated that there had to be so much chaos, but he also knew it was also necessary.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw the one he was looking for.

"Okay, kids," he murmured, "there's someone here who's going to take you to somewhere safe. He might look a little scary, but all he wants to do is help you. Now, I want you all to hold hands, and no matter what happens you cannot let go."

He got nods all around; he rose, looking toward the dark figure who was standing just outside the rather large circle of light the children were in, backlit by the explosions going on around them, making his red skin glow luridly. To give the kids credit, he only got a couple of gasps as they saw their rescuer, and their rescuer didn't make any sudden moves, either, the better not to spook the poor kids any worse than they already were.

But then, these children were special. Jack didn't expect anything less of them, to accept one of their own kind even though they'd never seen him before.

He still had to keep up the act, however, and so he pulled his gun, aiming it at the demonic figure who was taking the nearest child's hand in his red one.

That was the moment Jack found himself flying through the air, to land with a sickening crunch about one hundred feet away.

He was barely able to register that he'd broken his neck before he died.

The road heading south was rutted, but Jack didn't mind as he drove at his usual bat-out-of-hell speed. The quicker he got away from the scene of the rescue, the better. He didn't want to hang around the clean-up and the repercussions.

He couldn't help the grin lit up his features. "You can come out now," he called toward the back of the Jeep he'd appropriated for the trip. "We're far enough away no one's gonna see you."

He glanced into the rearview mirror, and a set of yellow eyes met his. It was too dark to make out anything of his visitor except for the eyes and the hair, which was a red-orange colour. His 'guest's' skin seemed to suck in what light there was, but if Jack had to guess he would have said it was a dark blue.

"How did you know I was here?" A female voice, young.

Jack simply shrugged. His telepathy might not have been on par with his ancestors', but he could still tell when someone was close by, and to be able to read a person's thoughts in order to know this girl wasn't a threat to him.

He always knew it was a good thing that Torchwood had never found out just what else he could do, besides not die. He never would have known the truth about the children that the British Government were sacrificing, otherwise.

"You'll be taking care of those kids?" he asked instead.

"Of course we will," she answered. "Thanks for letting us know about them."

"I had to."

Which was nothing but the honest knew the future; he'd lived it, and when he'd found out about this particular piece of history he'd known he'd have to act. The government couldn't just turn over twelve innocent children to an alien race and hope the blackmailing scum would keep their end of the bargain.

Yes, Jack knew what could possibly be at stake. He was well aware of what the 456 had promised, and that he could have been risking the planet by acting against their demands. He also knew that they wouldn't keep their word, that they would be back and demand more in the future. All the pretty words of all the world leaders about not giving in to terrorists meant nothing in this circumstance, because as far as the British Government was concerned the orphans they'd tried to get rid of weren't human anyway.

And Jack had always known where his true loyalties lie, and just how close his genetic apple had fallen to his family tree.

"Pull over here," his passenger said, pointing toward a small rise.

Jack followed her, and before he knew it they were joined by the red-skinned man and another, the one he'd managed to get word to once he'd discovered what was being planned.

He'd heard legends of Magneto, the leader of the first Brotherhood. He was tall, and he carried himself almost regally. Jack couldn't make out his features past the helmet he wore, and he could tell immediately that it had been created to block out telepathic scans if the fuzz in his head was any indication.

That fact surprised him, knowing what he did of the future.

"It should happen anytime now," Magneto's resonant voice said, and Jack turned toward the sky once more, knowing what was to come.

He only had to wait a moment, and a new star bloomed in the darkness, and then faded quickly. "That should pass along the message that they aren't welcome here," Jack commented, pleased at the results.

"It was a good thing Azazel was able to teleport that bomb onto the alien shuttle," the girl said, grinning. The demonic-looking man returned the grin, revealing long incisors.

"We have to thank you," the leader of the Brotherhood went on. "We would never have known what was going on without your information, Captain."

He turned back toward the three mutants. "I had to." That seemed to be the refrain of the night for him, but it made it no less true.

Jack knew he could have gone to either Magneto or the Professor with this. Either leader would have done what they could to have saved the children. But he also knew that the Professor was a peaceful man at heart, while Magneto would not have hesitated to take out the threat as he had arranged to do.

But Jack knew the future. He knew, at some point, telling Magneto would have been just like telling the Professor. After all, he was well-versed in their history.

It was his family history too, after all.

The story of Magneto and the Professor had been the Romeo and Juliet of the twenty-first century. There had been vids made of their story, as well as books written that purported to tell the true tale. Only, Jack's family knew the complete truth of it, and he kept that truth close and hidden, not wanting to share out of personal pride.

It was no one's history but his.

"You should come with us," the young woman – Mystique – urged. "If they find out you had something to do with this…"

"They won't," Jack assured her. It felt nice to have someone actually worried about him. He turned to Magneto. "You managed to kill me when you hauled me away. There's nothing better than death as an alibi."

"There's a mutant like you," Magneto said, "in Canada. He ages very slowly, and can heal quickly."

"Yeah, but if you killed him, he'd still be dead." Jack didn't bother to point out his apparent immortality wasn't a mutation; he had one of his own that put him firmly in with the three who stood there.

"You'd have a home with us," Mystique said, still trying to convince him.

It had been a long time since Jack had had a real home. When put like that, it was so very tempting…

But no, he couldn't. He was still waiting for the Doctor, to find out just why he couldn't stay dead.

Jack hugged her. "Thanks, but I think staying with Torchwood is for the best. I can get word to you if anything else happens that you need to know." He let her go. "I appreciate it, Gorgeous. Don't doubt that."

Mystique smiled at the compliment. Jack wondered just how many of them she'd gotten, and thought it couldn't be many. Too many people wouldn't see beyond the physical mutation to the woman within. "Just keep it in mind," she said.

"I will," he promised her. He took a step back. "I need to head back to Cardiff."

"Take care, Captain," Magneto said, offering his hand.

Jack took it. "You too. And call me if you need anything. I'm not sure how much I'd be able to do…"

"We'll keep that in mind."

The three mutants moved away, Magneto and Mystique each taking one of Azazel's hands. In a puff of red-tinged, foul-smelling air, they vanished, leaving Jack alone in the middle of nowhere.

Whistling, Jack climbed back into the Jeep, and began the long drive back to Cardiff.