The Blood Line

(Open POV)

Shanghai hovel…

"When I was about five or six, my dad came home from work early and I knew there was something wrong. I could hear voices from the kitchen. So I looked through the door and I could see him crying. It turns out money had gone missing from work and he'd got the blame. So I went to get all my pocket money and I put it in his hand. It must've been about £2.50. And he looked at me and he said, it's not about the money. He said, I can't stand anyone thinking I'm not an honest man. And I will always remember that. Always. Because that was the first time in my life anybody had spoken to me like an adult. And then we went to the back garden and we played till dark. So that's my dad, Geraint Wyn Cooper, the nicest man in the world. And today's the day that I kill him." Gwen said, looking at Jared, Mikoto, Shirai, Jack, and Danes.

Buenos Aires warehouse…

The two units are in communications with each other.

Index squeezes a drop of Jack's blood from a pouch and watches it roll across the floor, "Whoa. That's crazy."

"Oh, my God." Esther said.

"All right, that's it. I'm done. You know, I've seen some crazy shit with Torchwood, but now I'm at the limit." Rex said.

Shanghai hovel / Buenos Aires warehouse…

"So we've got blood heading northwest, fifteen degrees thirty eight minutes thirty nine seconds north. What have you got?" Gwen asked, looking at a laptop.

"Er, it's heading southeast, twenty three degrees six minutes four seconds south." Esther said, looking at a laptop.

"You keep that blood safe. They've destroyed blood banks in both cities. That's got to be important."

"I've got it. It's safe." Touma said, lightly tapping on the briefcase.

Jack groans.

"Um, who was that?" Index asked.

"Damn it." Gwen said, annoyed.

"Is that World War Two? What's wrong?" Rex asked.

"It feels like all the blood inside me is trying to get out, churning." Jack said.

"Same." Jared said, rubbing his arm.

"Tell me about it." Rex said, scoffing.

"Why? What's wrong with you and Jared?" Jack asked.

"You're not the only one affected by the Miracle. It saved Rex's life and we don't know what happens next if we stop this thing. Maybe death catches up with him." Esther said, sadly.

"Okay, okay, enough with the superstition. Let's get back to the mission, people." Rex said.

"Well, if both cities are connected underground. It's like a pole." Mikoto said, her eyes widening.

"A secondary pole. The magnetic pole goes north to south, and now this, from Buenos Aires to Shanghai." Jack said.

"What is it?" Shirai asked.

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

The Mother speaks Mandarin to three men carrying boxes.

"Forgive me, but according to our contacts, there are forces moving in, so we're advancing the plan. Midnight tonight, long after we're gone, we're blowing this whole thing sky high." The mother said.

"Won't that stop the Miracle?" Jilly asked.

"On the contrary. It'll become never-ending. The Blessing won't be hurt, just buried so that no one can ever change it again."

Shanghai hovel / Buenos Aires warehouse…

Gwen has a compass, "I'm gonna follow. If I keep going fifteen degrees thirty eight minutes north, I'll find it. Wait for my call. And Rex, Esther, Touma, Index, you take care, okay? You never know. We might meet in the middle."

"Yeah, well, I guess there's a first time for everything." Rex said.

"Good luck, Gwen." Index said, eating a hot dog.

"And hey, you take care. Don't do those stupid, lame-ass Torchwood things. Be professional for once." Rex said.

"Like you taught me, yeah?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, that's right. Just like I taught you."

"See you soon, yeah? When all this is over." Esther said.

"Speaking as a man who's walked to his death, can I say I did it with a lot less sentiment?" Danes asked.

"Just you wait. If this goes right, murder's coming back." Gwen said, holstering her gun and leaves.

"Jack, Jared, listen to me. I've got no choice now. I need to bring in the CIA for backup. Because if we find this place, we're gonna have to move in and take it fast and hard." Rex said.

"Don't give away our location. Keep Torchwood a secret. Promise?" Jack asked.

"Sure. And hey, let's meet up for drinks afterwards." Rex said.

"I know a spot in Okachimachi, Japan. It's called Dicey Cafe. I know the owner there." Jared said, smiling.

Buenos Aires warehouse…

"Well, Esther, you always wanted to be a part of Clandestine, didn't you? Well, you just got promoted." Rex said, looking at Esther before making a phone call. "Yeah, this is Rex Matheson."

CIA Analysts office…

Shapiro takes the call, then comes out of his office, "Ladies and gentlemen. As of this moment, Clandestine is running this room. I am declaring special ops, station one, as designated by field Agent Rex Matheson. Adam, secure linkup. Charlotte, we're gonna need translation in this room now."

"Yes, sir. What language?" Charlotte asked.

"Spanish. We need experts in Rioplatense Spanish. Now, listen up, everybody. It's eleven oh nine am. in DC, twelve oh nine pm in Buenos Aires. To confirm, this operation is active in Buenos Aires." Shapiro said.

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

"Buenos Aires, this is Shanghai. We're setting detonation at twelve midnight. Confirm one pm your location. Over." The mother said.

"One hour post meridian confirmed." The cousin said, over the speaker.

Buenos Aires Blessing chamber…

"What a beautiful day. Over." The cousin said.

The descendant of Ablemarch goes up the stairs as his guards start to set their explosives. He gives instructions in Spanish.

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

"Buenos Aires and Shanghai, perfect antipodes, give or take a hundred miles or so. There's a slight deviation, because the Earth's not a perfect sphere. Are you getting all this?" The mother asked.

Jilly is recording it on her phone, "Oh, yes. Every word. If that runs right through the centre of the Earth, why isn't this thing a volcano?"

"Again, no idea. Isn't that wonderful? The laws of The Blessing are beyond us. That's why it took us so long to work out what it can do." The mother said.

"How did you even find it?" Jilly asked.

"Well, we had to wait until the world grew up, until the information age became fast enough so we could crunch the numbers on a massive scale. Facts became visible that were never visible before, such as a tiny little statistic hidden in the heart of Shanghai Old Town. The average life expectancy of those living within a two mile radius of this point was exactly equal to the average life expectancy of the world, and it always had been. Say in 1998, the average life expectancy from birth on this planet was sixty six years, five months and thirty three days. In this area in Shanghai, it was sixty six years, five months and thirty three days exactly. Try going back a hundred years to 1898. The average life expectancy was forty nine years, nine months and five days. Shanghai, forty nine years, nine months, five days. It was as if something on this spot was calibrating a matrix, subsisting alongside humankind in harmony."

"But the Chinese didn't know about it."

"We paid them to look the other way."

"It does make you seem kind of colonial." Jilly said.

"Well, is that such a bad word? Besides, we changed the whole of the world, and this is just phase one." The mother said.

Buenos Aires warehouse / CIA Analysts office…

"Mister Shapiro, sir." Rex said.

"This is Sandra Lopez. She's handling translation." Shapiro said.

"Buenos dies, para usted." Rex said, then he then said something in Spanish. "…del Argentina."

"He said good morning, sir." Sandra said.

"Listen, Rex, confirming your request for armed support. Your liaison is going to be Captain Federico Santos. Now he's gonna need strict ratification. The Argentinean army is not allowed by law to get involved in civil conflicts on their own soil." Shapiro said.

"Yeah, well, these are the three Families, sir. They can classify it as a North American incursion. Oh, and by the way, Esther needs help. Esther, the Imagine Breaker, and Index are with me." Rex said.

"If you mean Esther Drummond, can I just point out she's officially on the run from the CIA?" Shapiro asked.

"I knew it." Noah said, laughing a lot.

"She'd follow him anywhere." Charlotte said, smiling.

"Miss Drummond, remind me to arrest you when this is all over." Shapiro said.

"Yes, sir. Now I need a check on all properties, residences and businesses falling in the path of this line. Sending it to you now." Esther said.

CIA Analysts office…

"But that's one of the densest populations on Earth. With a backwards economy, half that information won't even be recorded." Charlotte said.

"Excuse me, but foreign investment's still rare in Argentina, so we've been tracking contract intensive money since 1980. The information's on file just waiting to be filtered." Sandra said.

"Excellent. Good call. Thank you."

"Hey, might be a good time to start that trace." Noah said.

"What, in the middle of all this? It's not tested. I mean, it could bring down the whole system. I want that line passed through every single intel division." Shapiro said.

"Hey. So, what's the trace?" Charlotte asked.

"Er, it's new software from the DIA. So, the three Families, they use that vine technology to piggyback their calls on fifty thousand different lines. But the trace runs backwards, so it detects vine activity and then follows it back to the source. If there's a mole working in this department, it means we can find him." Noah said.

"Excellent. Good news."

Shanghai shop…

Gwen is following a straight line regardless of obstacles, and angry Chinese women, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I am sorry. I've just got to keep going fifteen degrees north and your shop is in the way, so tough, really."

Gwen comes to a very stout door.

"Whoa. I need to get out. Can I get out?" Gwen asked, while the woman speaks Mandarin. "Well, if you open it, you get rid of me, okay? So door, gone, me bye bye."

"No door." The Chinese woman said.

"No door? Why no door?" Gwen asked.

"Bad place. Many ghost."

"Okay, listen. If you open that door, I will give you all the money in the world. Yeah?" Gwen asked, holding out a bundle of notes, and the woman takes it. "Yeah?"

Gwen is let out into an alleyway which ends in a blank door. The alleyway Jilly walked down. She gets a bad vibe and returns to the shop.

"Very bad, yes?" The Chinese woman asked.

"Very, very bad." Gwen said, as she phones the hovel. "I think I found it."

Shanghai hovel…

"Oswald, Jared, Mikoto, Shirai, we're moving." Jack said, looking at Danes, Jared, Mikoto, and Shirai.

Buenos Aires warehouse…

"Esther, Touma, Index, this is Captain Santos, Fourth Manoeuvre Unit, Second Brigade." Rex said.

"I think they found it." Esther said.

CIA Analysts office…

"There's been no paperwork around this site since 2001. Access is via an alleyway running between South Pacheco Street and Rivadavia." Noah said.

"What's the name of the alley?" Shapiro asked.

"Well, that's the point, sir."

"It's not designated. It hasn't got a name." Sandra said.

"Just like the three Families. They wiped it off the map. All right, that's it. Rex, prepare to mobilise." Noah said.

Charlotte tries to warn her employers.

Shanghai hovel…

"Anything you don't need, leave behind." Jack said.

"Mikoto, Shirai, go on ahead. Find Gwen. We'll catch up." Jared said, smiling.

"Right." Shirai said, happily.

"We'll see you there." Mikoto said.

Shirai grabbed Mikoto's hand and the two teleported away.

"We're coming back though, isn't that right? We're coming back?" Danes asked.

"I don't know. Are we coming back here?" Jared asked.

"So much for your death fetish when it all gets too real, huh? Still, that victim of yours, Susie Cabina, how much choice did she have?" Jack asked.

"Who are you?" Danes asked.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness and he's Jared Shay." Jack said, grabbing Jared's hand.

"No. I spent a long time in prison, and I know the smiles of men who've done terrible things. And your friends, I've been watching them. Sometimes they like you, sometimes they love you and sometimes, just once or twice, glittering away in those tiny little gaps, they fear you." Danes said.

"Jack and I, we're from the future." Jared said, happily.

"Well, now."

"We come from the future. I come from an even further future than Jared." Jack said.

"I come from the future in a parallel world where all this was a show on TV." Jared said, squeezing Jack's hand.

"Then, Jared, you must know. Do we make it through this day?" Danes asked.

"Oswald, time can be rewritten. It can change. And it's being written right now."

"Jared's right, Oswald. He is always right due to his foreknowledge. But one thing Jared and I do know. We've seen the stars. We have seen the Universe. We have seen the human race become vast and magnificent and endless. And I wish you could see it, Oswald. I wish you could see that too. Because then you'd know how small you've made your life." Jack said, smirking.

Shanghai shop / Swansea home…

While she is waiting for Jack, Danes, Jared, Mikoto, and Shirai, Gwen calls home.

"It's me. Still alive." Gwen said, phone near her ear.

"You'd better be or there'll be trouble. Anwen says hello." Rhys said.

"No, she doesn't. She's tiny. She hasn't got a clue." Gwen said.

"All right, okay."

"Sorry. Ready?"

"Yeah, we can get into the camp. Andy's worked it out. He's here now. He's got me this police visa. That should get me in."

"Torchwood calls and here I am." Andy said, happily.

"Tell him thanks." Gwen said.

"She says thanks." Rhys said.

"She'll be the death of me." Andy said.

Shirai is teleporting around Shanghai, holding Mikoto's hand to look for Gwen.

"The trouble is, there's only the one visa, so we can't get your mom in."

"I wouldn't go, not to that godforsaken place." Mary said.

"Saten and Uiharu, the friends of the Railgun, offered to look after your mom and Anwen. I said yes, even though she refused at first for those girls to look after her. Because she and our daughter need looking after while I'm in the camp. And Andy's checked the list and your dad, he's still there, Category One. He's in one of the wards. They haven't sent him. They haven't sent him off yet. Is there anything you want me to say to him, Gwen? I mean…" Rhys said.

"I feel like I'm killing him. Because if this goes right, the Miracle ends, my father dies." Gwen said, sadly.

"Well, you know what? Let him die. I mean, bless the poor bugger. I mean, he's had his time. You just come back alive. You got that?"

"She'd better. Tell her for me." Mary said, scoffing.

"Yeah, you come back or I will be furious." Rhys said.

"All right, will do. Got to go." Gwen said, ending the phone call.

Shanghai shop…

"Sad girl." The Chinese woman said.

"Yes, I am." Gwen said, and she was offered a cup of tea.

"Crazy girl."

"Yes, that's me. Thank you. Cheers."

Outside the Buenos Aires warehouse…

Rex is briefing Santos as Esther loads her gear into the army truck.

"And if that happens, the regrouping will go through me. We'll have to ratify that with Washington." Rex said.

"I help you, yes? Give it to me." The soldier said.

"Thank you. There you go." Esther said, handing something to the soldier.

"We take care. American goods."

"And that." Esther said, handing the case of Jack's blood to the soldier.

"Thanks." The soldier said.

"Someone help me up?" Esther asked.

"Don't forget me! Touma, help me…" Index said, pouting.

"Alright. Alright. I'm coming." Touma said, carrying Index around her waist.

But Rex doubles over in pain, so Esther, Touma, and Index run back to him.

"Rex, are you all right?" Esther asked.

"You okay? What's wrong?" Santos asked.

"He was injured." Esther said.

A soldier starts to break into the blood case.

"No, no. No, it's, it's nothing. It's just an old war wound." Rex said.

"It's getting worse." Esther said, looking at Rex's wound.

The soldier starts speaking rapidly in Spanish, including the word Familia, and his fellows aim their weapons at him. He appears to be holding the trigger for a bomb. They shoot him, but the truck explodes anyway.

"Touma…" Index said, watching the fire.

"What the hell happened?!" Touma exclaimed.

Santos tries to radio in, "Capitan Santos…"

Rex grabs the radio and smashes it, "No, no, no, no! We're dead! Don't you get it? We're dead! We were in that explosion. Come on, let's go inside. Let's go. Get up."

CIA Analysts office….

"Sir, we've lost radio contact. The link with the army just cut dead." Charlotte said.

"Can't have. Get hold of them." Shapiro said.

Sandra tries. The satellite feed on the big screen moves over to the warehouse area.

"That's an explosion." Sandra said.

"That's special ops station two, sir. That's Rex and Esther." Noah said.

Buenos Aires warehouse…

"All my men." Santos said, sadly.

"Captain, snap out of it. On your feet. Now, listen to me. I need you to go to that base, okay? But I want you to tell them that we died. Understand that? Now look, you can try to get another squad, but do not tell them that Esther Touma, Index, and I are still running, okay?" Rex asked.

"What are you gonna do?"

"They think that we're already dead. So now's the perfect time, and I'm going in on my own."

"I'm coming with you." Esther said.

"Me too. You need me. Hmph." Index said, crossing her arms.

"You might need me too. With my right hand and all." Touma said, looking over at his Imagine Breaker.

"Oh, shit. Fine, yeah, whatever. Come here, all of you." Rex said.

"But two of you have only got handguns. There's just four of you. You need more than that!" Santos said, angrily.

"Our special weapon went up in smoke." Esther said.

"We had the blood. The only mortal blood in the world and it's on that truck." Rex said.

Touma's phone rings with Mikoto's caller ID as Zapper.

"It's Misaka." Touma said, looking down at his phone.

"Short Hair is calling you? Why is she calling you?" Index asked.

"Don't answer it. Even if it's your crush, Touma. Everyone needs to think that we're dead, okay? Now, come on, let's go. Let's move." Rex said.

CIA Analysts office…

"Somebody betrayed us. They had information inside the Directorate. All right, Miller, run that trace." Shapiro said, looking at Noah.

"I need clearance from the…" Noah said.

"I don't care about the protocols. I don't care if it brings down the whole pissing system. Run the trace and find the bastard. Now, let's go!" Shapiro said, angrily.

"Okay. If there's a vine this should track it right down to the handset." Noah said.

As the trace starts to lock onto digits, Charlotte leaves her station. She goes into Shapiro's - formerly Friedkin's - office and retrieves a small package from the back of a filing cabinet drawer. As it goes into her handbag she activates it. Then she returns to where Noah and Shapiro are doing the trace and puts her bag on the desk next to them.

"Any luck?" Charlotte asked.

"Almost." Shapiro said.

"I hope you catch that traitor." Charlotte said, leaving her bag there and goes to find the translator. "Oh, hey, Sandra. I think Mister Shapiro wanted to see you."

"Okay. Thanks." Sandra said, while Charlotte headed for the exit. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"No. What for?" Shapiro asked.

Just one digit left. 202-555-013.

"I don't know. That analyst said…" Sandra said.

9.

"I'm sorry, what's her name?" Sandra asked.

Phone registered to Charlotte Wills.

"Charlotte?" Noah asked.

Shapiro spots Charlotte's bag, "Oh, fuck."

KaBOOM! It knocks Charlotte off her feet.

"What's going on? What was that? Was that a bomb?" Charlotte asked.

Shanghai shop…

Jack, Danes, and Jared burst in, to the consternation of the Chinese woman. Mikoto and Shirai are waiting there with Gwen.

"Whatcha got?" Jared asked.

"Not good." Shirai said.

"We lost them." Mikoto said, frowning.

"We did. The sublink's just said there's been an explosion in Buenos Aires. Special ops. It's Esther, Rex, Touma, and Index." Gwen said, sadly.

"They're dead?" Danes asked.

"What do you care? Why don't you just shut it!" Gwen said, angrily.

"Okay. Oh! Look, I'm sorry, but we can't do this, not now." Jack said, looking at Gwen.

"This is about you, Jack. If the Miracle is connected to your blood, then God help them, but they had the only reserve. The only blood we have now is in you." Gwen said.

"Then I'd better be careful." Jack said.

"But you could die this time."

"That's the game."

"Yeah."

Jack hugs Gwen, "Let's go."

Buenos Aires…

In both cities, the two teams knock out guards and break into the Blessing locations. Explosives are still being laid in Buenos Aires.

"How do we get down there?" Index asked.

"I'm looking. I'm looking. There's got to be stairs somewhere. You know, you could stay up here with Touma and Index if you want, Esther." Rex said.

"Oh, I was kind of hoping you wouldn't say that." Esther said.

"I got you in a whole lot of trouble, huh?"

"I did that all on my own."

"I never did thank you, did I?"

"No, you didn't."

"Yeah, well, don't expect it now. There. Stairs. West block hallway. Right here. Come on."

Shanghai…

They carry a body out of sight.

"Over here." Shirai said.

"There's gonna be guards all the way in. You can't keep doing this. They're gonna find us." Danes said.

"Shut him up. Of all the bastards to bring on a mission…" Gwen said, annoyed.

"You condemn me? You Category One these men with your bare hands."

"Oswald, keep your voice down." Jared said, grabbing Mikoto's hand.

"He's got a point. He's got a point. We're just like bandits. We're just on the perimeter here, Jared. How the hell are we meant to get deep inside?" Gwen asked, when her phone rings. "Damn. It's Rhys. He's found my dad."

Cowbridge Overflow Camp…

Rhys goes to Geraint's cot, "Hey. It's me, the useless article. I brought you a message. Gwen sends her love. Mary sends her love. We all do. All of us."

"He's the lucky one. See that girl over there? She was brought in as Category One. She must be fifteen, sixteen. No one's tried to claim her. We don't even know her name. Anyway, you've got till the end of the shift and then we're moving this lot. They're going to the furnace." The nurse said, frowning.

"No, I, I want to spend more time with him, please." Rhys said, sadly.

"Make the most of it, then."

"Can't we delay the transport?" Andy asked.

"Look, we've got this place running like clockwork now. You've got ten minutes, then they're gone." The nurse said.

"But they're still alive. And you're gonna burn them?" Andy asked.

The nurse leaves. Andy holds the young girl's hand.

Shanghai…

"Yeah, all clear." Shirai said, walking back to the others.

"Hang on. The TARDIS is translating for me. Everything back to English. To: Frenda Seivelun. If I'm right…" Jared said, opening a wooden box to see explosives outside after reading the label. "Yes! Oswald, I changed my mind. I'm happy you're here. Mikoto, mind if you take a look?"

"Are those the same explosive fuses I fought before?" Mikoto asked, looking down at the

"Yup. I'm glad they didn't get rid of these…"

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

The computer reports Motion Detected. Jack is on CCTV.

"I knew it." The mother said.

"What's happening?" Jilly asked.

"You're about to meet the creator."

"It's that soldier."

"Hmph."

"He's with Oswald?"

As Gwen, Jack, Jared, Mikoto, Shirai, and Danes come down in the lift, the Mother goes to meet them. Her guards have their guns ready.

"Captain Jack Harkness. At last." The mother said.

"No, no, no, no, this isn't about Jack. No, ma'am. Excuse me, but it's not at all. My name is Oswald Danes. Well. Hmm. Good evening, Miss Kitzinger. You've been promoted. And this is the new empire you're servicing? My, my, my, my, my, my, my." Danes said.

"With all due respect, Mister Danes, you're a by-product of the Miracle. Not really relevant at all."

"That's what the Captain said with Jared. He tried to tell me that my life has become a very small thing. Tiny. And yet right here, right now, at the very end, I would describe myself differently. I would call myself vital." Danes said, opening his coat to reveal a suicide jacket of explosives while arming the trigger. "Madam, you're a fine woman. You should be careful now, very careful indeed. It seems like you've been planning some kind of an explosion, but I'd love to make sure you're still inside."

"Advantage Torchwood." Jack said, smirking.

"Well, I'm afraid we have a major disagreement here in Buenos Aires." The cousin said, over the speaker.

Buenos Aires Blessing chamber…

"I'd say advantage Families. Say hello to your friends." The cousin said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mikoto asked, over the speaker.

"He means us." Index said, frowning.

"Rex? Touma? Oh my God." Gwen said, her voice over the speaker.

Both Blessing chambers…

"And Esther? And Index?" Gwen asked.

"We're here. They caught us." Esther said.

"Just glad to hear you're alive." Gwen said.

"I'll swap your standoff for my standoff." The cousin said, aiming his gun at Index's head.

"Don't you do it. Don't you hurt Index." Touma said, looking at the cousin.

"But nobody dies. She'll keep on living, just perforated."

"Threaten me, not Index."

"Touma…" Index said, looking at Touma. "Stop it…"

"I swear. If you hurt Index. We have explosives here ready to go that can be detonated by a pedophile." Jared said, grabbing Mikoto's hand.

"And don't imagine I won't. Whatever happens here tonight, there's no place on Earth that I can go, and I wasn't planning on coming out of here alive." Danes said, holding the trigger for the explosives.

The Cousin lowers his gun, "So, who's gonna lose their nerve first?"

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

"The thing is, we don't need explosives or guns or threats, because I've got the most powerful thing of all." Jack said, as he walks to the cleft in the world and cuts his finger with his blood flies into it. "It wants me. Mortal blood. The only one in the whole world. So I suggest you're very careful with me, okay?"

"And if you fail to take the Captain's advice, you can certainly come to oblivion with me. Jack, Jared, you're the future men. The two of you have seen wonders beyond this world, so tell us of these Blessings and Miracles." Danes said.

"What the hell is that thing?" Mikoto asked, looking at the Blessing.

"Gwen, Mikoto, Shirai, can you feel it?" Jared asked.

"Yeah, I can feel it."

"Yes. I can too." Shirai said, also looking at the Blessing.

"God, I can. Okay, God. Oh, my God." Gwen said, looking at the Blessing.

"It is said that it reflects your own self back at you. What can you see?" The mother asked.

"Enough guilt to last me a lifetime. But that's okay. I'm a working mother. I don't need the Blessing to tell me that." Gwen said.

"And you, Jack?" The mother asked.

"I've lived so many lives. And now I can see them all. Hey. Not so bad." Jack said, happily.

"Well, you might want to question your choice of weapon, soldier. Let's see. You brought the world's biggest bastard, wired him up to a bomb and then showed him his soul. Hmm, that's good work. You know, I feel really safe right now." Jilly said.

"Hey. Oswald. Don't lose it." Jared said, squeezing Mikoto's hand.

"Sin. The Blessing feels like sin." Danes said.

"Oswald. Don't give into it. Jack and I need you. We need you, Oswald." Jared said, happily.

"I guess I'm accustomed to sin."

"Thank you. For being here with us for this. God, it feels weird saying that."

"I still don't get it. What are we looking at? The Blessing, is it the rock or is it the edge? What?" Gwen asked.

"It's the gap in between, the nothingness. The space. It's alive." Jack said.

"It's like they broke the world." Shirai said, sadly.

"Well, Jack, you're the expert for this. More than Jared. What is it?" Mikoto asked.

"The world's been turning for over four billion years. There's so much buried under its skin. The Doctor used to say there's Silurian mythology, Huon particles, Racnoss energy, an expansion of their hibernation matrix, maybe." Jack said, smiling.

"You don't bloody know, do you?" Gwen asked.

"No."

"No. It's been here since the Earth began?"

"Could be."

"Yeah. Oh, it has. I can feel it. We're so used to these things being extraterrestrial, but this might be the most terrestrial thing of them all. Wow."

Buenos Aires Blessing chamber…

"So, you found The Blessing and you worked out this morphic field." Rex said.

"The Blessing exists in a symbiotic relationship with the human race. It transmits a morphic field around the planet, binding us together like magnetism, like sunlight." The cousin said.

"But finding The Blessing wasn't enough, was it? You had to experiment on it." Index said.

"No, we fed it."

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

"We fed it the blood of an immortal. We had one remarkable artefact. We found a second remarkable artefact. The combination was inevitable." The mother said.

"So The Blessing absorbed the blood, copied it like a new template. So, the system changed its setting." Gwen said.

"You know why it did that? I think you hurt it. It was being attacked, so it took the blood pattern and made it a gift. It's exerting itself to sustain every person on the planet. This whole Miracle, it's trying to be kind." Jack said.

Buenos Aires Blessing chamber…

"You've seen immortality. I'm living it. Why would you want this?" Rex asked.

"This is only stage one." The cousin said.

(Jared's POV)

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

"But you ruined the world out there!" Mikoto said, angrily.

"The Miracle shocked the economy. The economy collapsed. We tear down in order to rebuild. And now it's almost within sight. The new world." The mother said.

"Yeah. You messed up big time. There's no room for the poor, the weak, or the people that don't fit in. Like Magical Girls or espers."

"That's the way the world works. Now, we're just making it official. The families have just been waiting. Now we can step in to control the banks. The banks control government. The government controls people. Soon we'll be able to decide who lives, how long, where and why."

"It's about time!" Jilly said, excitedly.

"Great. Just great. I have my family here. And it's the world according to Jilly Kitzinger. Just what we needed!" I said, angrily.

"I don't want a world like that!" Mikoto said, as an electrical shock came out of her head.

"I know, sissy." Shirai said, frowning.

"Listen, you can bleed your liberal heart all over the place, but are you really gonna tell me the world was working before? Because I have worked for the rich and the powerful and the obese. I have stared into the high end of Western society and let me tell you, it is like shoveling an open sewer. These families, they want to make the world fitter, more compact, more disciplined. And I like the sound of that. That sounds like salvation." Jilly said.

"But before you launched this brave new world, you had to deal with one more thing. Yeah. Me." Jack said, smirking.

Both Blessing chambers…

"So as soon as the miracle happened, you sent the Torchwood email." Esther said.

"His blood endangers the plan. We had to draw him out into the open." The cousin said.

"Well, you failed. I got to Shanghai. I've got the only mortal blood on the planet. If it gets into The Blessing, life switches back. I can make the whole world mortal." Jack said, as he is about to slit his wrist, Mother laughs.

"No." The mother said.

"Oh, no." The cousin said.

"Sadly not."

"He's not listening."

"He doesn't seem to get it."

"No, no, no."

"Polar dynamics, Jack."

"Everything on this axis operates in a polar dynamic field." The cousin said.

"You could reset the Blessing, your blood could make the whole world mortal again, but only by introducing it to both cities at once." The mother said.

"Blood in Buenos Aires."

"Blood in Shanghai."

"Entering The Blessing simultaneously."

"That's how we fed it."

"That's how we made the world immortal."

"And for you, I'm sorry, it's impossible."

"You did very well, almost worked it out, but all that spare blood of yours went up in flames."

"So I'm just gonna have to kill you." The mother said, and she gives an order to her Chinese henchmen.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa." Jack said, at a loss for words.

"Jack, I know how your mind works. Even now you're ferociously calculating how you can get your blood to the other side of the world. But I can't allow that. Absolutely not." The mother said.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. I'm warning you, I'll do it." Danes said, his button still over the explosives trigger.

"Then I'll die. And that's a shame, because you can blast his blood into that wall and it won't make any difference at all."

The henchmen cock their weapons.

"Listen to me." Rex said.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Danes said, his button still over the explosives trigger.

"Wait a minute. If you need the blood of Jack Harkness on the other side of the world, then just…"

"I'll do it!"

"Just listen to me! Jack! Jared! All right. I'm all right. As I was saying, if you need Jack's blood, how about this?" Rex asked, cutting his finger and the blood flowed to the cleft.

"And how about this?" I asked, cutting my finger and the blood flowed to the cleft.

The ground shudders.

"What was that? What happened?" The mother asked.

"Rex, Jared, what did you do?" Gwen asked.

"That's impossible. No way. There's nothing special about the two of you." The cousin said.

"Oh, but there is, when I've got Jack's blood flowing through my veins. It's inside me." Rex said.

"And it's inside of me. I've also got Jack's blood flowing through my veins."

"For me, Jared told Touma and Index what we should do over the phone."

"What?" Shirai asked.

"Oh, my God." Mikoto said, in awe.

"Which was to tell us to use Jack's blood. See, we knew this blood was important, so as soon as we arrived…" Rex said.

"We did as Jared requested, which involved us transfusing it into Rex. We exchanged Rex's blood for Jack's." Esther said.

"And back in Scotland, I told Esther to exchange my blood for Jack's." I said, smirking. "I had two months to prepare with Esther while Jack was physically weak."

"Exactly. On most days it might've killed us. But we're all living on Miracle Day." Rex said.

"And everyone thought the blood was gone, so no one even suspected. All we did was keep two final bags, filled one with Rex's blood while Jared's blood filled the other bag, and Jack's mortal blood…" Esther said.

"Just walked right in. Hey, Oswald, you want to be a walking bomb like Saten Ruiko?" Rex asked.

"Get them out of there!" The mother said, terrified.

"Well, try this. Shoot me! Shoot me! Come on! Shoot me!" Rex said, angrily.

"Shoot me! You don't have to kill Jack! You can just kill me! Rex and I can reset the world together!" I said, happily.

"Don't! Don't! Don't!" The cousin said, worried.

"Pull that trigger! Splatter our blood! Shoot me and Jared! Or shoot me and Jack! It doesn't matter! The blood will still make it to both sides!" Rex said.

"Get them out! Get them out!" The mother said.

Jack produces a gun, "Nobody move! Huh? Wow, Rex, Jared, you're geniuses!"

"You just shut the hell up. All right? This shit hurts." Rex said.

"It really does. I had to come up with a backup plan in case the timeline changed." I said, squeezing Mikoto's hand.

"Yeah, we've got blood on both sides of the world, Jack, Jared, but…" Gwen said.

"But they will die. Is that what you want? The Blessing will take every last drop. The three of you will die, gentlemen. You three will kill yourselves. You will die in a pit in Shanghai. Is that what you want?" The mother asked.

"I think I've lived long enough. Jared, you can take over Torchwood for me. Are you ready, Rex?" Jack asked.

"Oh, you know I wish I'd never met you, you World War Two idiot. Good times, huh?" Rex asked.

"Yeah." Esther said, happily.

"I'll see ya."

"Just one last thing, Jack." Gwen said.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"You're never gonna be a suicide." Gwen said, aiming her gun at Jack.

"Thank you." Jack said.

"Bye, then." Gwen said.

"Bye."

"Face front."

"This is it, Rex." Jack said.

"Nothing's gonna stop me." Rex said.

"I think this might." The cousin said, shooting Esther.

"No! No! No!" Rex said, worried.

"What was that?" Mikoto asked.

"Rex, what was that?" Shirai asked.

"You bastard! You son of a bitch! Esther, come here. Oh, God." Rex said, looking down at Esther's body.

"These are the days of the Miracle, Mister Matheson. She can't die, and we have infinite resources. We can help her. We can make her better." The cousin said.

"If the Miracle ends, she dies. Is that what you want? All of you with your fine and noble deaths, do you really want to bring about hers?" The mother asked.

"Jack, Jared, what do I do?" Rex asked.

"I don't know." Jack said.

"Neither do I." I said, sadly.

"Oh God, what do I do? What do I do?" Rex asked.

"I'll tell you what you do, Rex. You carry on. Keep going back to the plan." Gwen said.

"We'll kill her." Index said, frowning.

"I know." Gwen said.

"This is Esther we're talking about." Rex said.

"Yes, I know it's Esther, and it's my dad and it's everyone who's ever gonna die. But, Rex, we've got to do this and I'm gonna tell you why. Because I'm standing here and I'm staring at Oswald Danes. And he chose when that girl lived and he chose when that girl died. And no one should have that power. Not the rich, not the mad, not anyone." Gwen said.

"You're choosing now." Danes said.

"Yeah, you watch me."

"You'll kill Jack, Rex and that girl Esther. All of your Torchwood team. You'll kill them all. Except Jared."

"Yeah."

"Oh, you are magnificent."

"Ready? Rex!"

Rex kisses Esther goodbye, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah." Esther said, sadly.

"I'm so sorry." Gwen said, frowning.

"Don't do it! Don't!" The mother said, worried.

"Don't do it! You'll kill her!" The cousin said, angrily.

Gwen shoots Jack in the back, creating a big exit wound in his chest. Rex pulls off his bandage. Their blood streams into the two ends of the cleft. The chambers tremble and the guards panic.

I then closed my eyes to imagine what Gwen is thinking right now.

"And that's what I did. In a pit in old Shanghai I brought death back to the world. They said it was like a breath. The breath that went around the whole wide world. The last breath. And then no more. We said goodbye to them then, the dads and the mums, the sick and the old, the friends and the neighbours, and the people we once met, and the people whose names we never knew. We said goodbye to them all on the day that death came back." Gwen said, her voice in my head.

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

"Jesus Christ almighty!" Gwen said, trying to find Jack's pulse, then left him.

"Sissy!" Shirai said, tugging Mikoto's shoulder.

Jilly runs for her life.

"I know, Kuroko. We have to go." Mikoto said, an electrical shock out of her head.

Danes grabs the Mother, "Go."

"Shirai, thank you." I said, happily.

"Jared, I'm not a taxi service." Shirai said, rolling her eyes.

"No!" The mother yelled.

"I'm giving you this one chance." Danes said.

"I'll give you estates. I'll give you places to hunt."

Gwen and Jilly close the lift doors and head upwards. Jack comes back to life. Shirai grabs my hand and Mikoto's hand and she teleports away with us using her ability.

"Hold that lift!" Gwen said.

(Open POV)

Buenos Aires Blessing chamber…

The Cousin is gathering up the laptop and papers when Touma grabs him.

"Hey, I have good news for you. Death came back." Touma said.

"No!" The cousin said, when Touma threw him into the cleft.

Shanghai Blessing chamber…

"He changed back! He's immortal!" Gwen said, getting out of the lift and Jilly starts to close the doors. "Wait!"

The two women fight for control of the escape route.

Danes sees Jack's wound close up, "At last! A miracle!"

"How much bloody lipstick can you wear?" Gwen asked, punching Jilly into oblivion and returning for Jack.

"Better run, Torchwood! Some of your friends ran ahead! I'm taking this thing with me. The whole thing!" Danes said, happily.

"Please! For God's sake, help me. Help me!" The mother said, terrified.

Gwen and Jack get into the lift.

"Oh, soon. Oh, soon I'll see her." Danes said.

"You won't see anybody. You're going to hell, Danes." The mother said.

"But that's where they go!. All the bad little girls, they run straight to hell, and I'm following."

The lift gets to the top.

"Come on!" Jack said.

"Susie, keep running! I'm coming to get you. Run! Faster! Faster!" Danes said.

Jilly falls in her high heels. Danes detonates his explosives, which also set off the charges in the building.

"Jilly!" Gwen said.

Buenos Aires Blessing chamber…

Rex, Esther, Touma, and Index are still alive. Just. The army arrives.

"Get them out! Get them out! Get them out!" Santos said.

Shanghai…

"Esther and Rex, did I just kill them?" Gwen asked.

Esther, Rex, Touma, and Index are treated by paramedics.

Chapel…

A memorial service. Gwen and Rhys have been reunited and everyone present is singing John Ellerton's hymn based on Psalm 42 verse 8.

"The day thou gavest, Lord is ended. The darkness falls at thy behest." The congregation said.

Jack and Jared are also there.

"To thee our morning hymns ascended. Thy praise shall sanctify our rest." The congregation said.

And Charlotte, and Rex.

"We thank thee that thy church unsleeping while Earth rolls onward into light, through all the world her watch is keeping, and rests not now by day nor night." The congregation said.

And Touma, and Index.

"As o'er each continent and island…" The congregation said.

Park…

"We meet again." The blue eyed-man said.

"I have been coming here every day for weeks, waiting for you." Jilly said, sitting on the park bench.

"We tend not to repeat patterns of behaviour. But, just this once."

"I've got nothing. What the hell am I supposed to do? I had to buy my way out of that godforsaken country. I had to sell my own jewellery! I can't go home. I've got the CIA watching out for me, the FBI, SHIELD, S.O.N.G., the Time-Space Administrative Bureau, everyone. What do I do now?"

"You start again."

"With who?"

"Us."

"Why would I do that after everything you have put me through?" Jilly asked.

"Because we very nearly succeeded. As trial runs go, it was good." The blue-eyed man said.

"Trial runs for what?"

"Plan B. Interested?" The blue eyed man asked, walking away.

Jilly ponders for a moment, then follows.

Avenue of Rest…

Walking along between the walls of memorial plaques.

"I'm sorry, Rex. She was more than a colleague. I'd like to think she was a friend." Charlotte said, sadly.

"Thanks. Appreciate it." Rex said, frowning.

"Lucky she got a full service. There's ten funerals every hour these days. Catching up with the backlog." Jack said, happily.

"Well, that's made us all feel better." Rhys said.

"You'd think if that Blessing was so kind, it could've shown some sort of grace. Esther died right in front of it. That morphic field could've reached out and saved one last life. Why not?" Gwen asked.

"I wish that would have happened. Esther being saved by The Blessing." Mikoto said, smiling.

"Like that would ever happen. We don't even know what The Blessing truly was." Saten said.

"And all we know is that it caused Miracle Day. So will we ever know?" Uiharu asked.

"Probably not." Shirai said.

"Yeah. We'll never know. UNIT and SHIELD sealed those sites up forever. Let that thing stay buried." Jack said.

"Yeah. What about you three, this Torchwood team? You reunited or what? Say no, please." Rex said, looking between Jack, Gwen, and Jared.

"Don't know. You staying?" Gwen asked.

"You want me to stay?" Jack asked.

"Please say no." Rhys said, annoyed.

"I think I want you to stay, Jack. I can't take over Torchwood. You can." Jared said, grabbing Mikoto's hand.

"Touma…" Index said, her stomach growling. "You didn't let me eat after we stopped the Three Families!"

"Index. We had to fly back to America." Touma said, while Index got really angry and bit all over him. "Rotten luck!"

Rex's phone beeps, "Oh, boy. Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"Is there something wrong?" Index asked, jumping off of Touma's arm.

"It's about Noah. You know, the analyst who died with Shapiro? They just retrieved his software from the explosion. The good thing is he told me his password because it's the same place I used to go for doughnuts. His last job was to look for that leak." Rex said, typing away on his phone.

"What is it? What's it say?" Mikoto asked.

"Shit. Charlotte! Charlotte! Charlotte!" Rex yelled.

Charlotte shoots Rex. Other CIA men shoot Charlotte.

"Get help! Clear the area! There might be more!" Jack said, angrily.

"Oh. Why? Why did he have to die like that?" Mikoto asked.

"No way. I forgot death came back." Jared said, looking down at Rex's body.

"Oh, come on. No, no, not after everything he's gone through. No!" Gwen said, looking down at Rex's body.

"There's nothing we can do. I'm, I'm sorry, Gwen. I am so sorry. He's dead." Jack said, as Rex gasps. "What?"

"What?" Rhys asked.

"What?" Gwen asked.

"What?" Jared asked.

Rex rips his shirt open and sees his wound heal, "What?"

"What the hell?" Gwen asked.

"That's impossible." Jack said.

"You, World War Two, what the hell did you do to me and Jared?" Rex asked.