[RL WITH SULU]

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto sat at his desk in the tourist office, idly flipping through a magazine that he'd read about fifty times already that day. Needless to say, things were particularly slow. Gwen had been given the day off to go spend time with Rhys, and Jack was god knows where, so Ianto'd sent a quick phone call out to Sulu, to see if the man was interested in taking him up on his offer of a tour of Torchwood, and was currently waiting for his response.

Comments

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto stepped up onto the slab, jerking his head to motion that Sulu should follow him. He pulled what looked like a remote out of his pocket. "Well, maybe a little. I'd recommend staying close to the center of the slab, and not leaning over the sides at all, if possible."

[parked]

Sulu followed, taking the advice to heart. "I think I can handle that. Just don't kill me, I have to be on the bridge later."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"I'll try my best not to." Ianto reached out a hand, holding Sulu steady as he started the lift, and the lift made its initial jerk as it started rising upward. The word lift was used sort of lightly, because it really just was a 3 foot by 3 foot slab of stone that rose up to the ceiling of the Hub. A mechanism started, and uncovered where it was that the lift was going to rise up into. Ianto always liked this part, the being able to look down at everything in the Hub bit, feeling as if he was getting Myfanwy's view of the place.

As the lift finally rose through the whole in the ground, the block settled in front of the fountain in the middle of the Plass. Passers-by didn't even so much as bat an eyelash in their direction, even ones passing by directly in front of them.

[parked]

Sulu staggered a little when they started to move; thankfully, it wasn't that jarring, thanks to Ianto's hand on him. The view was pretty spectacular, as heights usually made things, but the best part was when nobody seemed to notice anything as they reach the top.

He paused, then looked at Ianto. "...They're not really this blind, right?"

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto shook his head. "Nope. They're not. There's...a complicated explanation to it all, but I don't really understand it myself, so here's the shortened version. There's some sort of a perception filter on this spot. It makes it so that even if people notice us, they don't really notice us. We could be doing whatever we liked on this spot, yelling, being obtuse, whatever, and they'd all be none the wiser. Only on this one slab, though." He smiles. "Invisible Lift, I named it. I think it has a nice ring to it, don't you?"

[parked]

"Huh. So, almost like a cloaking device. That's handy." He looked at the passersby with a smirk; something about being "invisible" when you actually wanted to be was pretty pleasing. "How much of Torchwood didn't you name, is what I'm wondering."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto smiled, blushing. "Well, I just happen to make catchy names up, is all. And the boss happens to agree with me, so. Life Knife, Invisible Lift, Risen Mitten, Myfanwy... When you have enough time to think to yourself, you can come up with these things."

[parked]

Sulu laughed. "Just make sure to put some kind of copyright somewhere, so everyone knows you're the genius behind it. So," he looked from Ianto to the Plass, considering the people around them. "What happens when you leave the social-invisibility shield this thing has? Does anyone ever stop to say 'I didn't notice you there a second ago,' or is it just a matter of everyone keeping to themselves?" He knew that in San Fransisco, at least in his time, you'd get stopped pretty fast by someone. Probably a cadet on the physics track.

[torchwoodteaboy]

"Nothing, really," Ianto says, shrugging. "I mean, they can technically see us here. We're not invisible. But they just aren't perceiving us here. Once you step off the block, they they are free to pay attention to you as they see fit, but while you're standing on here, you're kind of just like a shadow in the corner of a person's eye. That's why it's called a perception filter. I just think Invisible Lift sounds better, is all. We've got another one just like this on Myfanwy so we can let her out to fly around. She'd be a right terror, if we kept her cooped up in the Hub all the time."

[parked]

Sulu scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, it does. I'm just wondering if anyone could fall down the giant hole it creates when it opens up topside." He laughed. "That's some of the most useful tech you could have, then. I can only imagine how this city would like having a pterodactyl swooping around overhead."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto burst out laughing at Sulu's comment about the hole it creates, surprising himself. "You know, you think like a Welshman sometimes. Gwen and I both said the exact thing about the lift, and Jack waited no second in making fun of us for it."

[parked]

Sulu laughed as well, holding up his hands. "He can make fun all he wants, but it's an honest question! I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't want there to be a sudden downpour of civilians whenever I wanted to get topside fast!"

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto chuckled, still amused at the fact that the three of them all asked the same question about the hole. "No one's ever fallen through, that I know of. You kind of have to lure someone over to the spot in order to do so--otherwise they'll just avoid it out of habit. We did end up having a cat fall through once, but..." he trailed off, looking sheepish, "that...may have been my doing as well."

[parked]

He gave Ianto a look. "You couldn't be satisfied with a dinosaur and had to lure a cat into your Welsh grip, too?"

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto ducked his head. "Well. We needed something that wasn't human, and was still small enough to be able to handle, so... She just happened to be sleeping on the lift cover, is all..." He flushed. "She was fine. You know what they say about cats. They always land on their feet. Or, in her case...on my face..." The last bit was said under his breath, as quietly as he could.

[parked]

Sulu was about to ask what, exactly, they needed an animal test subject for, but he was distracted from the fact that Ianto was muttering to himself. He grinned, pretty sure he'd heard what he heard. "What was that? Something about your face?" It was pretty obvious from his expression that he was trying very hard not to laugh. Or, really, trying very hard to show that he was trying not to laugh.

[torchwoodteaboy]

"She landed on my head," Ianto said, embarrassed, but smiling at the same time. "Jack wouldn't let me live it down for days. Longer than the scratches lasted, at any rate. She wouldn't have anything to do with either of us for a long time afterward, but at least there aren't any more rats in the lower levels..."

[parked]

Sulu laughed and shook his head. "Wow. No offense, but I barely want to let go of that, and I wasn't even there. Jack had full rights." Though, at least that explained what they needed a cat for. Partially, anyway. "But, it's at least good to know that you're not going to have any pedestrians randomly falling on top of you. I have a feeling that it'd be harder to make it up to a person than a cat."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, smiling, flushed, but still enjoying himself. "Unfortunately, human beings haven't developed the habit of being able to land on their feet regardless of how they fall, yet. Although, that's not for lack of Jack people watching and commenting on how he wouldn't mind it if several of the passers by fell into his hole, if they happened onto it."

[parked]

Sulu made a show of rolling his eyes, intensely amused. "That's charming, really. I'm going to put a ticker on my PADD, waiting for the day he and Jim are introduced and begin the inevitable end of the world." He pointed at Ianto, "And I'm telling you, it will be the end of the world. Or maybe just the community." Which would probably make a lot of people happy. He smiled and shook his head. "I do have to say, though, I'm glad you called me. Being off-duty isn't usually this entertaining."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto smiled, stepping off of the block. He didn't get any looks about having appeared from out of nowhere--people from around the Plass were used to seeing him around, and thought that he was sort of a strange man anyway, to be hanging around the docks in a suit all the time, so. He spread his hands around. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Welcome to the 21st century, Sulu. You can come back as often as you like. As long as you don't bring any hostile aliens with you--we get enough of them through the Rift as it is." He motioned to the large fountain behind where Sulu was standing, around which the Rift itself was centered.