A/N: Look, I know that I said I would try to be more vigilant, but it just isn't working. I'm still having difficulty with keeping this plot going, so much that I've had to throw in a few of my own twists. I've also got another story that I'm working on, and honestly, I'm finding myself more inclined to write it, only because I have more material. With that said, you can expect more updates, but I can't promise you any consistency with them. I am really sorry, and I will try to rekindle my passion for this story.

Disclaimer: The rights to the characters in Torchwood and Maximum Ride do not belong to me, but to BBC and James Patterson respectively. I don't make any money from this.

Chapter 18: Times are Changing

Max knocked on the Captain's door. After having an extremely relaxing sleep and some food, followed by a long discussion with the Flock, she had finally decided to talk with Jack about some of the things he had asked of her on their way back from Germany. The door slowly swung open at her touch, and so she walked in, already beginning to speak.

"So I was thinking about what you said earlier, and I think-" she trailed off as she faced an empty office.

"Jack?" she called. "Hey, Jack?"

A grinding noise caught her attention as the manhole on the floor opened up and out popped the tousled and sleepy head of Ianto Jones.

"Ianto!" she smiled, nodding in greeting. "Where's Jack?"

"Good morning to you too," grumbled the Welshman. "Is he not in the Hub?"

"No, I mean, he always seems to be up here, especially this early." Max replied.

"Yeah, that is strange," replied Ianto, climbing out of Jack's bedroom in a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt. "He usually tries to wake me up every morning for-" Ianto caught himself before he spoke further, and blushed at the slip of the tongue.

Max rolled her eyes and carried on. "Well, I need to talk to him. I'll go search the Hub."

She stuck her head out the door. "Hey! Doctor Harper!" she called to Owen, who was at that moment staring very intently at his computer.

"Yes, what is it this time," he sighed, looking up at Max. "I'm actually doing something rather important right now."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll let you get back to your game of online poker, but first, tell me, do you know where the Captain is?"

"Haven't seen a sign of him since last night," replied Owen. "I've been in the morgue the past hour, so I wouldn't have seen anything. Isn't he up there with the teaboy, getting it on? I know that those two go at it like rabbits after there's been a particularly dangerous case."

"Funny, Owen," commented Ianto. "At least I can get it on, so shut it." Ianto replied crankily. "Don't think that I've forgotten about the whipping cream. There is nothing I won't say. And, anyway, Max, I found this note on his desk." Ianto held out the ripped sheet of paper with the messy scrawl of the Captain.

Gone out to deal with the School. Will be back before the end of the day.

XOXO

Jack

"Hmmm," Max sounded. "I think the hugs&kisses were for you."

Ianto only rolled his eyes.

TORCHWOOD TORCHWOOD TORCHWOOD

"I demand an explanation!" shrilled the Director. She had been forced to change into the hideous orange jumpsuit that the U.N.I.T. soldiers had provided her, and Jack could say with certainty that orange was really not her color.

"Has she been like this since she got here?" he asked, turning to Martha as they both viewed her from behind the one-sided glass.

"Oh, it was hell getting her blood drawn. And don't even start on getting that thing," Martha gestured towards the jumpsuit, "on her. She was absolutely horrid about it. You could hear her screams down the hall. And you would think we were torturing her."

"Well, you obviously weren't. That's reserved for a room with no cameras," Jack said grimly. "Though, let me know when you do start. I'd be happy to help."

"You don't mean that!" exclaimed Martha. She may have worked for U.N.I.T., but that didn't mean that she had to agree with all of their practices. And she certainly didn't want Jack to be showing interest in them.

"You're right," Jack sighed. "That person is long gone, but he does occasionally make an appearance. So, what's the story with her blood?"

"It's quite amazing, actually!" exclaimed Martha. "When I ran the tests on it, DNA showed not to be 100% human. There was, in fact, almost 5% tortoise in it. Galapagos tortoise to be specific."

"She doesn't show any reptile qualities," Jack said. "Though it would explain her longevity."

"Yeah, she said herself she was 107 years old. Which I personally find hard-wait," Martha trailed off. "How did you know about that. I hadn't told anyone about that. In fact, I was planning on you being the first person to know, seeing that I knew Owen would love to examine it himself."

Jack sighed once more. "I guess I might tell you now. The Director and I, we had a past. Marian Janssen. I met her after World War II, after Estelle and I had split. She was German, but moved from there shortly after the start of World War II. But she had been raised with a strong nationality towards it, specifically, with ties to the Hitler Youth. Her father was one of the generals in the Nazi Party and, well, she had basically been raised to take Hitler's word as gospel. Of course, after the defeat of the Germans, and the execution of her father, they went into hiding in Britain. Marian got sent to some relatives who had moved into Britain simply because of a job opportunity and she settled with them. Her mother moved back to Germany and Marian never heard from her again. When I met her, in 1945, she seemed fine. A distinguished young lady of 25, she seemed lovely. I was looking for a way to forget Estelle, and she helped me do that. But then I realized that things were off. She always talked about how the weak ones caused her family to split up. How the Nazi generals could have won the war, if only they had had better instincts. She talked about how Hitler was right about the ultimate, superior race, but how it couldn't be just human, because that was too weak. But I didn't really care, because she was helping dull the pain, so I went along with the ideas. Then, one day, she followed me to work, saw the aliens that I was dealing with. I had to retcon her, it was protocol, but she begged me not to. I don't know what I saw in her, too much Estelle, maybe, but I didn't retcon her. I told her that it was for her own good that we never saw each other again, and she agreed with me. Looking back now, I can see that was a mistake. The aliens must have sparked her interest in science, and bringing her ideas to life. I mean, if aliens were real, then who was to say the recombinant DNA couldn't be?"

"You can't blame yourself for what she did," said Martha. "You weren't the cause of her actions. It was how she was raised. You are a good man, Jack, you have to know that."

Jack looked at Martha, tears sparkling in his eyes.

"How can I not feel guilty? She was basically responsible for the whole operation. The creation of hundreds of children who lived a meager life span and then died painfully, all while being treated like lab rats. You're saying that this isn't my fault?"

"Jack, there was nothing you could have done," said Martha. "I truly believe that there wasn't"

The immortal captain looked at Martha as thoughts ran through his head. "I want to talk to her." he said decisevly.

"I don't think that's a good idea," cautioned Martha.

"Please," said Jack. "I need to know why."

Martha sighed. "Alright, I guess. You have five minutes."

Jack nodded. "Thank you."

Marian jumped as the door opened. "Thank goodness. Someone's finally here. I trust you have my lawyer."

"You're not getting a lawyer," said Jack, as he turned around to face her.

"It's you!" she exclaimed. "From the gas chamber! Wait, what do you mean, I'm not getting a lawyer? I'm entitled!"

"Not when you're planning a world terrorist attack. We have proof of your By-Half-Plan, not to mention all those hybrids you tortured and killed. That kind of crime is punished by those above the government."

"This is outrageous!" exclaimed the Director. "I have the right to a trial!"

"You gave up your rights when you planned a mass genocide of half this earth. Didn't what happened to your father teach you anything about this sort of thing!"

"How do you know about my father?" she demanded.

Jack looked at her intently, his face switching from angry to sad. "You really don't remember me?"

She peered intently at his face, as recognition began to dawn. "You're not-that's impossible-it can't be you..."

"It is," Jack nodded.

"Jack? But you haven't aged a day!" she exclaimed. "How is that possible. What kind of animal did you use?"

"I didn't perform genetic experiments on myself!" exclaimed the captain. "And what happened to me does not concern you. I am here to talk about you."

"You rejected me," the Director looked at him. "You left me alone and unwanted. I thought I meant something, and you played with those feelings."

Jack put his face in his hands. "I know, and I shouldn't have. You were a replacement for someone, and I'm sorry that you had to go through what you did."

"I really was trying, you know," she said. "To build the perfect race."

"Yes, but at what cost?" Jack nearly cried out. "You killed innocent children. You tortured them and made them live a life that was far too painful."

"All in the name of a Utopia," she muttered.

"Is that what you think?" he exclaimed. "A perfect world? How perfect is a world built on the blood of billions?"

"You don't understand," she said.

"You're right, I don't! I don't understand how you could do that. Even think about doing that!"

"I had them put in this world, I could take them out!" she cried.

"That's where you're wrong," said Jack. "You can make a person, but that doesn't mean that they belong to you. Once you create that life, you leave it entirely in their hands. You don't control it like a puppet master. You don't make them dance. They're children for Christ's sake!"

"They're are nothing but genetic experiments for the betterment of the human race. They were going to be the foundation, nothing more, nothing less."

Jack looked at her, contempt clear on his face. "You disgust me. I really thought that you were better than this. I had heard all the talk, back in the 50s, but I never imagined it would come to anything. I thought you cared. I thought you were human." He stood. "We won't be seeing each other again."

"Fine," shouted Marian. "Go. Leave me like you did before! I always knew you were too much of a coward to amount to anything! This work wasn't just for me, it was for us!"

Jack slammed the door before he had to hear anything else coming from her mouth.

Martha stood outside, a concerned look on her face.

"You're not going to pull a Tosh with this one, are you?" she asked.

"She's not worth it," Jack said bitterly, as he turned and headed towards the exit the the U.N.I.T. prison facility. Then, right before he left, he turned to Martha. "And she's lying, she's only 87."

So, was it worth a review? If not, I understand. I'm truly sorry for this wait. Though if any of you out there support Jack and Ianto and hate the ending of Children of Earth, come check out my new story, a retelling of the series four Miracle Day with a very special character addition.