Rip winched in pain and opened his eyes as he woke up on the floor of the Waverider's main console room. "Gideon, where are we?"
"It seems we've crash landed some miles outside Calvert, Oklahoma, United States, 1866." Gideon replied.
"What's the damage?" Rip asked. Gideon showed him a diagram of extensive work that would take him weeks to fully repair. "Looks like we'll be camping out in the old American West for a while. Show me all the information you have on the time period, please, Gideon." Flashes of news articles detailing The Civil Rights Act of 1866, The Indian Removal Act and other key moments in the history of the surrounding area came up in the console.
This was only Rip's third mission after being granted the rank of Captain. He was nearly expelled from the Time Masters a year before, following an illicit affair with a Lieutenant Miranda Coburn. Unbeknownst to the Time Masters; Rip and Miranda were still meeting in secret. Now to add another reason for expulsion; he'd failed to return home without blowing drastically offcourse.
He stepped outside to get a lay of the land. He was in the woods with no sign of civilization nearby. He didn't mind it really; he usually prefered to be alone. The only person he really enjoyed spending any time with was Miranda. And even she got on his last nerve sometimes. He walked to a lovely stream not far from where he'd cloaked the Waverider. The sereneness of the location quickly took a turn as he heard the click of a trigger behind his head. Rip rolled his eyes and sigh as he turned around with his hand where they could be seen. A rugged looking man in a faded confederate army jacket and a nasty scar on the side of his face had a rifle pointed straight at Rip's forehead.
"Who the hell are you?" The man asked.
"No one of any importance." Rip replied. "So if you don't mind putting that gun down and..."
"If you ain't important to anyone; what's keeping me from just shooting you now?" The stranger asked.
"Excellent point, Mr... Sorry I didn't catch your name." Rip seemed amazingly nonchalant for a man staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Hex" The man replied.
"Well, Mr. Hex, as you pointed out, I'm actually someone of incredible importance and there would be serious repercussions for you if you tried to kill me so if you don't mind I'll just..." Rip gets cut off again.
"You ain't from around here are you?" Hex scoffed.
Rip smiled. "Is it that obvious?"
Hex chuckled at Rip's ability to charismatically talk his way out of a bullet to the head. "What brings you so far away from queen and country, Mr...?"
"Hunter." Rip replied. "That's Captain Hunter, by the way. And I came for the scenic view."
Jonah Hex put down his weapon and shook his head. "You're twenty miles from the nearest town with absolutely no provisions besides the clothes on your back."
Rip sighed. "Yes, truth is, I'm stranded."
"I got a camp you could rest in not far from here. But it ain't much." Hex replied.
"It'll suffice for the time being." Rip looked up at the darkening sky. "Like you said, the nearest town is a ways out and it's nearly sundown." Rip could have spent the night in the Waverider but he figured it would look suspicious if he declined the man's offer. They ate their mutton and beans in relatively comfortable silence around the fire.
"This is all I've got." Jonah brought out a blanket and a satchel intended for Rip to use as a pillow. "You don't really look like you're used to roughin' it."
"I've actually had worse if you can believe it." Rip half smiled. "Thank you for the hospitality, Mr. Hex."
Jonah promised to take him into town in the morning. But they were woken up earlier than expected by three bandits trying to steal their provisions. It escalated into a wild fist fight. Until one of the bandits pulled a gun out on Rip. Rip spun around quickly and shot two of the three bandits in a flash. Jonah took out the third and gave Rip a surprised look.
"The hell is that?" Jonah pointed at Rip's gun.
"Ion Blaster." Rip shrugged and put the gun back in his holster.
"A what?" Jonah reached for Rip's gun.
"No, don't ... touch it." Rip sighed as Jonah Hex took hold of Rip's gun and shot it off at a nearby tree.
"How does it work?" Jonah examined it.
"I'd tell you but you wouldn't understand." Rip replied.
"Cuz you think I'm stupid, right?" Jonah scoffed as he threw Rip his gun back.
"I didn't mean to sound like I was belittling your intelligence." Rip apologized. "I guess I might as well explain from the beginning. I'm from London as you've easily noticed but I'm also from..."
"The future?" Jonah chuckled when he saw Rip's surprised expression. "See, I knew you thought I was stupid. You're just too polite to admit it."
"Not stupid, just primitive." Rip replied.
"Ok so maybe not that polite after all." Jonah laughed. He pointed to one of the horses the bandits had left behind. "They got horse riding in the future, Mr. Hunter."
"Yes but not... I've never.." Rip approached the beast with slight trepidation. "I'm sure I'll get the hang of it."
"You'd better cuz I ain't too keen on carrying you on my lap all the way back to Calvert." Jonah mounted his horse and chuckled as Rip clumsily climbed onto his new horse. The ride would take a few hours. After riding the first hour in silence, Jonah spoke. "Seems you've learned quickly enough."
"I think she likes me." Rip petted the horse. It neighed happily.
"I'll be honest, Mr. Hunter." Jonah replied. "I underestimated you. You really held your own back there. I wasn't expecting so much fight out of such a pretty boy."
"You think I'm pretty?" Rip gave him a mischievous smile. "And they say chivalry is dead." Rip paused for a moment. "Or is that more of a late 20th century phrase?"
Hex rolled his eyes. "This is why I gotta stop picking up strays."