Chapter 5: Gifts and Gratis

On his way back home Jet did some window shopping. The fashion of this new age had been a bit of a culture shock for him and 003, but they had both acclimated fairly well. Francios still preferred dresses and skirts of modest length (to Jet's relief), and the later series 00 Cyborgs has been a great help. Jet's own style was resistant to change until he met Cathy and Jimmy. His preference for worker's jeans and white t-shirts under leather jackets led to Cathy asking him if he was an actor of some kind when they first met at her cafe job. Jimmy's own comments on how Jet dressed like a cool grandpa did not help his confidence. After getting to know the two more Jet felt better about asking Jimmy for advice on modernizing his style, but as he now perused the shop windows Jet truly felt like a man out of his time. The tattered looking jeans left fake on the rack, and the gib of the shirts was far too queer for him to feel comfortable in. It was all well and good to see another person walk by in such attire, until Jet realized that they were about the same age as he was, physically. That was the issue with the stasis Black Ghost used, it was not as complete as they'd hoped. Time had continued to pass for Jet and the others, just not as smoothly. It may also have something to do with the environment in which he was raised, but Jet found it easier to blame such discrepancies on Black Ghost. What could the dead do about the living's complaints?

Pausing briefly at a boutique, Jet admired the sky-blue sun dress, and imagined how beautiful Cathy would look in it. She rarely wore dresses if not for work, but neither the waitress dress nor the housekeeping gown suited her. While imagining her dirty-blond hair down in the dress and white sun hat Jet went in and bought the outfit on impulse. Back out in the street he had a flash of buyer's remorse.

Two blocks down was a sports shop, and again Jet made an impulse buy. The display that caught his attention was Michael Jordan, and a slick new basketball in red and black. The life size poster had for a moment looked like Punma, but the ball was what caught his eye. Jet had enjoyed basketball as a kid, and was more than happy to teach Jimmy. They spent hours at the public court, going up against better players from the neighborhood, and a few times gathering a small squad of younger kids to teach. Cathay always chewed out the both of them when Jet returned Jimmy home after dark, too exhausted for homework. A newly bought basketball in hand, Jet continued home, with less buyer's remorse than before.

Back in his apartment Jet observed the gifts he'd collected. He contemplated boxing them up and leaving them across the hallway for Cathy or Jimmy to discover, but reconsidered upon remembering what Cathy did the last time someone left hand outs for them. He considered just walking over and saying:

"Hi, I'm back and I got you some things."

But somehow, that felt wrong.

Jet tousled his hair and set about making some food and coffee. Plotting and planning had never been his job, he was a strong second in command, not the commander. Having to make his own decisions felt good up to this point. Jet tried to put the items out his mind while he ate, but they sat there like pound cake on an empty stomach.

"What am I so scared of?" Jet wondered to no one.

"I've got two jobs, just like Cathy, and I can afford to treat them both to good things. She might even be able to take a vacation."

Jet's mutters turned to grumbling at the memory of how soon after her near death experience Cathy was up and working again. That is, immediately. The cafe did not cut her any slack due to no physical injuries, and the hotel layed her off while they rebuilt, so she was forced to find a job at another branch even further away. If Jet had not been so preoccupied with repairs and flying off to save the world, he might have stopped to save Cathy.

"Not as though she needs me to be her hero." Jet mused to himself.

A smile crossed his face at what Cathy might have said about his attempt to save her.

"I don't need your help, Jet, but if I ever grow desperate enough I might just ask. Now you run along and slack off for the rest of the day, Lord knows you need the down time."