Author's Notes: Yeah, read my profile and you'll find out what this came from. Basically, there's plenty of stuff for Jade, but not a lot for Black or other characters that don't receive the credit their due. I simply happen to like the good captain and want to see more stuff with him in it. So, without further a due, onwards to the fic!

The Files of Augustus Black

Talismans: Passing the Buck

Augustus Black was a man who, over the course of a long, hectic life, had met many people. None so fascinating and admirable than one Jackie Chan. They'd met in college, back before he'd left his overbearing attitude and cockiness for something more suitable for a professional environment and Jackie had still been chest deep in his glaring need to please and acclimate those around him. The details of their first meeting were truthfully spotty; he'd been drunk off his ass and the younger man had said something in passing that registered to his inebriated mind as an insult and he'd ended face first in the dirt, chewing grass, gravel, and some bitter-tasting pesticide. When he came to the next morning, it was on a couch that wasn't his in a far too clean dorm and with his future friend in a too large campus t-shirt and sweats pouring over an essay that Black was sure wasn't due until after break.

From there they'd met for coffee, as Black drunk little else and Jackie needed stimulants to ward off the crushing fatigue, which led to studying for exams which evolved to the younger man teaching him the basics of martial arts and somewhere along the way of going here and there, doing this and that, they'd become friends. Jackie told him of his ambition to become a renowned archeologist and after laughing for a while because really, only Jackie would choose such a tear-jerkingly boring career when he knew enough self-defense to lay out the whole starting line-up, Black confided his wish to join the military. His father had done so, as had his aunt and uncle and his grandfather would've if disease hadn't confined him to a chair for the majority of his years. His friend thought this was an equally bizarre choice since Black's major was in civics but had encouraged him all the same.

After graduation, where Jackie had somehow managed to not get elected valedictorian and yet took it with great stride and even congratulating the lazy transfer student who'd snatched it, Jackie had been accepted to the San Francisco Museum as an assistant to some professor who he never bothered to remember the name of and he'd enlisted into the Marines. After some of the most brutal training he'd ever undergone, throughout which Jackie had called and talked about his job, the minor discoveries he'd made and just be an overall godsend from the constant activity, he'd emerged as Augustus Black, Private First Class. He never was too sure about when he started been watched but after obtaining Chief Warrant Officer in record time, he'd been approached by some stereotypical man in a what screamed as shady clothing and then offered him a proposal.

Boot camp was hard, but it looked like recess compared to the training he'd received while undergoing training for the exclusive and technically nonexistent Section 12. The secret governmental organization handled such threats as war-mongering extremists, terrorist cells, and other such unsavory determents to national security. He'd been assigned a field position and posted out to the northeast, far away from anyone and anything he knew. The workplace environment was…sterile, he suppose was a good word for it. Not so much in the fact that everything looked clean, pristine, and almost untouched by human hands, but moreso in the vein that everyone he worked with was very…distant. There was no camaraderie, none of that invisible, but there closeness that had existed with his fellow recruits and certainly not the same friendship he shared with the Asian archeologist. They were professionals dedicated one-hundred percent to their duties with no time for frivolous niceties like bonds and companionship. To this day, he was still fairly embarrassed to admit that his being chosen to spearhead a new division whose sole purpose was to hunt down and eradicate a single, massive multi-national underground conglomerate was to throw up his hands and whoop to the ceiling. The psychiatric exam that followed was entirely his own fault.

The newly dubbed Section 13, and wasn't that just inviting trouble with that number, had been staffed with the finest criminologists, former law enforcers, and veteran agents their superiors could spare and Black's first official action as Captain had been to organize a meet-and-greet. Unorthodox it might've been, but Black wanted this Section to be different from his previous experience. He wanted to know his men, know the men behind the professional masks and standard issue shades. Figure out what made them tick, why they'd chosen such a path in life. Between that, catching up on the latest ventures of the dubious Dark Hand, and making sure all operations were running at peak efficacy, it'd been nearly two years since he'd last called his friend. The realization had been met with a stream of vicious, self-reprimanding curses and a fumbling for the cell phone tucked away in the far too many drawers of his desk.

Black spent the first few minutes apologizing, explaining that his previous Section had prevented personal calls to the outside and that he'd been recently promoted and getting acquainted with this team and setting up shop, but had been no excuse to not call his long-time friend when the first chance presented itself. Then Jackie had cut him off and started apologizing himself, saying how he'd only tried calling a handful of times, his schedule and calendar keeping him running without nary a moment's rest. From here, the conversation fell back into an easy, companionable dialogue, rants about the trails of work, recalls of past youthful exploits and casual remarks about the goings-on in their lives. The call had lasted nearly three hours, but felt as if barely a moment had crept by when his assistant informed him of urgent matters and Black had snapped a bit too harshly but Jackie had gracefully accepted his circumstance and excused himself.

When the Dark Hand decided that Settle was far too nuanced and tepid, not to mention wet, they'd moved their base of operations to San Fran, which allowed him an excuse to change venues as well, relocating to the populous, lively city. The fact that Jackie lived there, only a few minutes away had nothing to do with his decision, no matter what Johnson claimed. So, he'd met back up with his friend, in the flesh, had coffee like the old days, and went back to work with a renewed sense of purpose and a better drive to see the villainous organization destroyed. So, for a time, everything in his life was at an ideal state.

Then Jackie had called and informed him that his latest expedition had unearthed a strange artifact that a group of shifty figures seemed quite insistent on having. Black had suggested he return to the States and allow his men to look into the matter, but he'd declined. The Museum had offered him the reigns of a new dig in some secluded Mecca in South America, something about a lead on some lost sub-set of Aztec culture, and he expressed is explicit desire to go. They went back and forward, the Captain explaining the danger he might be in after the encounter while Jackie countered with the secretiveness of the project and how he'd already addressed the shield to his Uncle's shop, before Black finally caved, rubbing small circles against his temples. Of course, there was still one other, small matter he'd needed looking after by his friend…

Which is why Augustus Black, Captain of Section 13, former Marine and Section 12 field agent, was waiting, sign in hand as he attempted to pick out his target from the sea of faces of the San Francisco International Airport. Part of him wondered why he'd even agreed to this. After all, Jackie had other relatives, well a relative, he could've put the kid with, but his friend had told him of his…reservations, all entirely founded, about their capability to raise another child at their age, especially one as…rambunctious as she'd been called. Now, if only I could find her.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look Chinese. Or even a little Asian." Black snapped his attention front and center, vision sweeping over the crowd "Down here."

He tilted his head and was met with a pair of honey-colored eyes framed by two jutting bangs and dark, nearly black, blue hair. She wore an orange hoodie, a long sleeve made most likely of wool underneath with blue pants and red and yellow tennis shoes. Her expression was one of curiosity, mixed with a hint of suspicion and just a dash of contempt. Well, they were off to a great start.

"That's because I'm not." he crouched, bringing himself to her eyelevel and thus reducing the intimidation factor brought on by differing heights "I'm Captain Black, a friend of your uncle's. You'll be staying with me until he gets back."

"Back? From where?" she tilted her head, the gears practically whizzing as they spun out possible theories "The store? The Olympics? The Clink, 'cause that'd be so awesome, not that he'd got sent there but because he made it out."

…Alright, so he could check off over-imagination "No, he's at his job."

"What's his job? Is he a cop? Maybe a treasure hunter? Or is he…a mule? Is that why you're here, 'cause he's delivering the goods and you're a crooked cop whose covering for him in exchange for some product? Because let me tell you right now, I'm at least worth fifteen K."

…Yeah, better make that very over-imaginative. He shook his head once, just to make sure the image of Jackie smuggling anything anywhere had been properly dispelled, before clasping the little girl's hand and leading her back to his truck.

"So what's your name?" Not that he didn't already know, but it was common courtesy and would serve a welcome distraction from the previous topics of conversation

"…Yuan. Or was Jasmine? Maybe Tiffany?" And she was definitely being difficult for the sake of it.

This is going to be a long six months.

[FOAB]

Jade Chan, in all her eight years of living if one could call the boring drek that passed for it living, had never been in such a situation before.

When her parents -okay, her dad as her mom was still busy working on her latest pitch and couldn't be bothered- had told her that she was being sent to live with a relative for the next while, she'd been conflicted. On the one hand, she felt a bit stunned, dismayed, and even a bit betrayed. She knew she was a handful for her ordinary, sedimentary parentals. She never did like the traditional lessons her mother tried so hard to instill in her or the talks of future careers and prospects her father seemed to enjoy so much and definitely not the constant mingling she was obligated to at the company parties. First off, the dresses she wore were far too frilly and impractical. Secondly, the food was far too high class and upper crust for her burger and fries palette. And thirdly, and most importantly, she absolutely loathed the smiling, giggling, tittering drones that attempted to pass off as children .

They were spoiled, hungry eyed little clones-in-the-making that did whatever they were told how they were told to. The girls would yank her arms and pull her into a improvised tea party or worse, tea ceremony and gossip about the latest snippets of info gleaned from the far-above-them-so-they-must-not-anger-them adults. The boys would sweet talk her, honeyed words that reeked of falsehood dribbling clumsily off their tongue as they tried to curry her favor and by extension that of her parents. They wore the strict, confining suits and oxygen depriving dresses and reveled in their apparent superiority over the 'plebians' in their year. She doubt that half the words they spouted were done so with any real coherency or knowledge of what they might but it didn't matter, so long as the ramble remained ignorant as well.

And Jade Chan, true to form, was the odd man out. She'd sit in her seat backwards, sat slumped without the iron rod posture, and spoke in the disdainful slang of the lower class. She made her contempt for such gatherings known loud and clear and the others soon caught wise and shunned her for it. The girls would whisper behind her backs about the 'tomboy' and the 'ruffian' while the boys devised ways to circumvent her while still achieving the goal they sought. No big deal, she hated those snobs anyway, but at school it was the same. She was out-casted for her clothes, her speech, and even her attitude as her attempts at normalcy were seen as the passing fad of the privileged looking down on them once more. So there was no help to be found there.

However, on the other hand, she was excited. A change of scenery from the dull, listless China life to the mysterious and new American life. That was bound to be an adventure! So, after she packed her bags, regrettably in a pink, baby blue variety as her mother still insisted she was a five year old, she went to the airport, boarded and spent the rest of the flight fantasizing about what her new life might bring her. So, when she disembarked only to discover her transport was some bald, mysterious so called Captain, she'd been thrown a bit of a curve ball.

The car ride was suitably awkward. It was glaringly obvious that Black had never had kids of his own or been responsible for them for any given measure of time. He was constantly fiddling with the radio, or going for minutes without nothing but the soft pop beat between them before attempting another tread of conversation that she somehow twisted into an unrecognizable mess. But for her part, she felt justified. Apparently her new relative was exactly like the ones before…okay maybe not exactly, he'd at least found someone competent to pawn her off on instead of the nannies and baby sitters the others had. Clever of him too, this way he even gave the illusion that he cared about her as he'd dredged up some probably long neglected friend into taking in a complete stranger. Well, he had at least one point in the 'Not Sucking as Bad as the Rest' column.

The truck came to a stop next to an alley which Black told her to follow him down towards. She'd given him a look, that one that said 'How stupid do you think I am?' but he had insisted that it'd be nothing unsavory or shady or anything that numerous cop and crime shows had told her would occur. Stepping out of the truck, she let the man grab her hand -really, she doubted if he was trying something she'd be able to get away anyway- and guide her into a phone booth. Before she could comment on the randomness or make a Superman joke, he inputted some numbers and a card and suddenly they were moving and that was most certainly not a shriek of panic she cried as her grip on the man increased several fold.

The windows were black for a few moments before light once more exploded forth and she fought valiantly to relate the incoming images with her brain. Because what she was seeing was an entire underground base straight of a Spy movie complete with disgruntle looking agents in shades, multitudes of computers, and various tech and machinery buzzing all around. The phone booth landed with a soft clunk and hissed open, Black leading her forward as she took shaky, uneven steps after him.

This…this had to be a dream. It had to be, she reasoned as the Captain -he was so totally a Captain without any further doubt- led them deeper, passing several security points and answering myriad questions from all manner of people before coming to a stop at a plain looking door. She shot him a questioning look, still a bit out of it from the…everything and he returned it with a soft smile. He pushed the door open and her eyes nearly fell out their sockets.

The room was big, bigger than even her parents room back home, with two sets of bunks positioned within the walls -How freakin' cool was that? Completely, that's how much!- and lit by at least a dozen fluorescent lights overhead that dimmed then brightened as the man slid a slider. There was a desk with what looked to be a very slick looking laptop -Top of the line, steel finish, hopefully gaming compatible- and a bookshelf mostly bare save a few hardbacks and on the far wall was a massive, mounted television. A dresser of polished oak with matching nightstand and a chest filled with who knows what -please be toys, please be toys, please be toys- finished the place off along with a strangely analog clock.

"I'll let you get settled." he leaned down once more, reaching her gaze "You need anything, just phone an agent. It's speed dial one. And if you need me, I'm down the hall, to the second left."

He ruffled her hair playfully and then rose and left. Jade simply stared about the room for another few minutes before giving her arm a good, firm tweak. When the pain registered and she didn't wake up back home or in some frumpy, down beaten apartment, she rejoiced and did a victory jig about the spacious room. Yes! After so many long, painfully dull years, she'd finally hit the jackpot! She was in a super-top-secret underground base in an unbelievably awesome pad and was under the care of the head honcho: sweet! Body still humming with energy, she darted about, eager to take in all the complete epic-ness of her new living arrangements.

Two hours later found her sitting on her stomach, munching on a protein bar complements of the mini fridge -She had a mini fridge. Her life was officially awesome.- idly flipping through channels presented in High Def so crisp it looked as if it'd come right of and grab her as she dabbled on a handheld. Even with all the amazing-ness that was Casa de Jade, she still felt the onset of boredom steadily inching its way upon her. Unlike other times, however, it was easily remedied. Finishing off the bar with a final chomp, she balled the tinfoil and shot it into the waste bin, nailing it. Fist pumping to herself, she slid from her bed and made her way towards the door, sticking her head out before inching her way out. Because as if she was going to let some mook show her all the boring parts when she could see all the good stuff herself.

The hallways were surprisingly barren, Jade only having to duck for cover a few off times and even then there'd been a convenient hiding spot available. When she wasn't hiding, she was looking around and found herself quite impressed at the sheer size of it. Black's down the hall meant down a long, winding corridor and taking a left meant going passed several high clearance areas. Sighing, she was about to give up hope of finding an unlocked door when one readily presented itself a moment later. Giddy with excitement, she pulled the knob and swung it open only to be assaulted by the noxious fumes within.

"Gah!" She gagged, eyes watering as her hands waved away the worse of it "Geez, did something die in here?!"

"Only my peaceful solitude." Jade started, head whipping round towards the source of the deadpan voice

It belong to a man, surrounded by mechanical bits and bobs with wires and cables spread about amongst a far too small desk. Most of his bulk was covered by a white lab coat and what could be seen beneath was a orange shirt and jeans. He wore a black cap, bill twisted backwards over his messy chestnut locks and his eyes were mis-matched as one was normal and baby blue and the other was distorted and large behind a magnifying lens attached to some contraption that seemed a hybrid of lab equipment. He raised the lens, squinting at the diminutive girl as she took a nervous step backwards.

"Um, hi?" Because what else did you say when you encountered a new person? Especially one as queer and strange as he was

"You're Jade." She started, eyes wide in surprise "Jackie Chan's niece. You're the kid Black's looking after as favor for him."

"How do you-"

"I make it my business to be as well informed as possible about whatever goes on around here." he leaned over something, sparks flying as he worked on it "Never know when something might pop up unexpected. Or someone."

That last part had been aimed at her specifically, she knew, but couldn't bring herself to dwell on her embarrassment for too long as the scene around her demanded more attention. She was in a lab of some sort, the array of gadgets and gizmos hinted at that much, but there was a surprisingly lack of personal. You'd think with an operation as seemingly big as their's, there'd be more hands working on it.

"Research and Development is a largely defunct department since we receive most of our standard equipment from our superiors. I'm charged with inventing new crime stopping/prevention measures and weaponry to deal with the increasing threat. So no, there's not a lot of people working on it, for that, you'd want the Equipment/Tool Maintenance Division."

And his guy was apparently a mind reader, if he was able to answer her question without her asking it. Matter of fact, what was this guy's name any-

"Kepler."

Okay, that was just freaky. Desperately seeking a change in topic, Jade proceeded to examine the various pieces of finished and half-finished products around the lab. Kepler piped up with an explanation, warning, or declination whenever she stopped at something that caught her fancy. After passing over what appeared to be some skeletal construct of a person with wires and circuits for innards, Jade paused as her gaze swept over a rather intriguing bit of tech.

"Can I borrow this?"

"Sure." Kepler droned, more sparks flying "Just don't break it. That's the only working prototype."

Jade Chan smiled, broad and radiate. This would be fun.

[FOAB]

Black sat at his desk, reports splayed out in front of him and a cup of freshly brewed coffee clasped in his hands. So far, everything seemed to be going quite well. Jade had appeared quite dumbstruck upon entering Section 13 and even moreso after seeing her room. Black had had that particular space renovated as soon as he confirmed he'd be receiving the young girl. The Captain couldn't say he exactly knew what children liked or what they expected, but he'd done a bit of research before decking out the girl's quarters. If her reaction was anything to go by, he'd managed to succeed on that end. Now, all he needed to do was call the school and transfer her documentation and she'd be all set to start next week-

"Captain!" Black shot his head up, giving the agent his full, undivided attention "We have a problem."

Black gave Agent Mickey a dubious look. While he certainly didn't lack for size, -he was big enough that even Black had to work a bit to take him down in a spar- he had the tendency to overreact to any given situation. He blamed it on the man's still wet-behind-the-ears status and high strung nature. Still, as his commanding officer he was obligated to hear out all possible determents to their priorities.

"What sort of problem?" And he was curious, Mickey brought all kinds of peculiar cases. Like yesterday, when he'd barged in like it was the coming apocalypse when they ran out of copy paper

"That girl, Jade I think her name is, she's-" The agent never finished as he bowled over as Black muscled out the doorway and towards someone more competent. Because it'd be just his luck that something would happen to the girl the day he gets her. If anything happened to her, Jackie'd have his head.

"GANG WAY!" And suddenly he was rolling to the side as a streak blurred past, whistling by as a group of agents trailed in its wake. Captain Black blinked before scrambling to his feet and after the fast moving posse.

He'd only just caught up with them when the zipping U.F.O gave a shuttering creak before it's entire frame started hiccupping and its flight became erratic as it barreled through the space of the main area, spinning out dizzying paths as it hollered in alarm. Then, it jerked, puttered, and fell into one of the main monitors, glass and electricity flying as him and his men swarmed the crash site. Once upon it, Black gave it a closer inspection and deduced that it was one of Kepler flying drones made to be piloted manually. The silver, dark grey colored oblong saucer hissed, steam billowing out as the canopy popped off…

…revealing a nervously chuckling Jade, hair mussed and slightly frayed with a smattering of soot on her hoodie, pants, and face. Black once again blinked.

"Um, steering malfunction?" Black massaged the bridge of his nose, shaking his head softly

This is going to be a long six months.

Author's Notes: Well, bet people weren't expecting this! Yep, this little number is something that's been in my head since chapter four of ADF and really, I love the absolute crap outta it. Black doesn't get nearly enough love folks, sad but true and even though Jade's the second main character, don't think she'll be hogging that spotlight for too long. And yes, this is my main Breakout fic and please, enjoy the light-hearted, easy going atmosphere. It won't last. TTFN!