Rise of an outlaw
Wayne Manor.
For the first time since his mother died, he felt at ease.
The atmosphere in the house was calming, as if though it was welcoming him here personally and wanting to keep him safe from the hell in his past.
Though he did really believe in the supernatural, he believed in God and that there were always the wrongs of his past he will (most likely) be answering for, but for now, he had to take it easy and get refreshed.
Which is what he was planning on doing as soon as he got settled in.
Jack sighed in relieve as he finally put his bags down in the room Bruce had given him.
It was quite spacy, it reminded him of about the size of the kitchen and living room combined from his home in Jasper.
While large it was very basic in look.
It had a bed in the corner with a light stand beside it.
There was a dresser just across the room.
It had a bath room to left of the room with already clean towels waiting to be used.
The closet beside the dresser was a walk-in closet with a place for Jack to store the guns he had with him.
All-in-all if Jack could change any of it, he would have had his mother here with him to see it.
He jumped when someone cleared their throat behind him.
He turned to be greeted by an older gentleman, whom if Jack had to guess, was Alfred Pennyworth.
"You must be Alfred?" Jack spoke to man.
"That I am sir." The man said with a soft smile.
Alfred looked at the bags and offered his help in unpacking. To which Jack politely declined.
The butler understood the reasons without them need to be spoken.
"I will have dinner ready in about 45 minutes if you're interested." The older man offers as he began to walk out of the room.
However, the man stopped as he was pulling the door to, "And do be carful with the hot water, when it heats up it really heats up." The man warned the new occupant.
"Thanks for the heads-up Alfred." Jack said meaning it.
The man closed the door as and walked away.
Jack turned his attention to the bathroom.
He was looking forward to a hot shower, for a few weeks when he first came to Gotham, he had to use a rundown shack as a means of getting clean, never quite as relaxing as a true heated shower but it worked as it was initially made for early generations of the country.
And to help stay in shape, Jack would run around the abandoned harbor and then go for a swim in the frigid waters.
He never really felt the cold even in his swimming trunks as he did the exercises as the metabolic burn all but omitted the feeling of the cold.
Jack kicked off the boots he was wearing and started taking his clothes off on his way over to the bathroom in the room.
It was here in front of the sink did he finally get a look at himself in the mirror.
The young man in the mirror looked nothing like the Jack Darby that he knew.
The Jack he knew was skinny with a little bit of fat on his face and his hair was always a mess.
Now there was a strong jaw, sharp eyes, and not so devilish hair.
His chest was ripped as well!
He gawked a little at his reflection, there was no way that he looked that… good…
Was it?
He spent a good ten minutes looking at himself shocked and impressed.
And then he remembering why he was here.
"Right… shower…" he said to himself before he chuckled and when to turn on the water.
He spent a good 20 minutes just letting the water run over him, he could have stayed here all day and not have a single complaint for it.
Unfortunately, he couldn't do that.
A few minutes later Jack was finished with his shower and getting dried off.
He stepped out of the restroom with a towel around his waist and headed for the bag at the foot of his bed.
He was dressed not five minutes later.
Dining table
The bat clan was all sitting around the table chatting about various topics.
Damian was talking with Bruce about potentially starting a new teem in Jump city and calling them the teen titans.
Barbara was talking with Jason and Dick about school, and Tim was talking with Alfred, who was sitting at the table with them until the lasagna was ready.
Finally, Alfred noticed another figure step through the threshold of to the kitchen.
That brought everyone's attention to the young man who just moved in.
The features of all of the males in the room save for Alfred looked just like his.
Stormy blue eyes, and jet-black hair.
It, kind of frighten Jack a little.
"If I didn't know any better, I would have though I had been cloned…" Jack said aloud.
The response he got was something out of a stand-up comedy crowd.
Full blown laughter…
Bruce's smile said a lot about how he was going to enjoy having Jack around with the others.
He motioned to a spare chair between Alfred and Dick.
The timer on the stove finally beeped as Jack sat down.
Not even five minutes later Jack and the others had a complementary of pasta, Green beans, mashed potatoes, and garlic bread.
The Bat family just got one member larger.
And none of them were going to complain about it.
Gotham Police Station
After a few calls placed by the commissioner's secretor, a press conference was planned and dated.
It would be next week on Saturday.
The media was expecting a lot of things at this press conference.
But not what the commissioners getting ready to tell them.
Saturday
The stage was set for the meeting, the cameras were rolling, and the questions were ready.
The head the Gotham PD took the stage.
The Bat team and "Harry" came up after him and stood behind him.
Murmurs started about as fast as Jack came into view.
He kept the front of his hat down to shadow his face.
Batgirl could see the expression on his face.
"I don't belong up here with y'all…" he said lowly.
"You've been protecting people for a long time Jack; you deserve this recognition!" she said to him.
"Good morning people of Gotham City! I am Commissioner James Gordan of the Gotham PD." The commissioner started.
"Now I will address something everyone has taken notice of." He turned to look over his shoulder at Jack.
"That is the man that many have started to call "Harry", however today I will be giving him another Name.
A name that will mean more for our home, and for the rest of the planet watching.
This name will only bring to light the facts, that this young man had to hide his face after a tragedy that would scar anyone.
I have seen the mans face, and I have seen the darkness in his eyes.
But within those eyes lie a passion to protect others from the tragedy that hit him.
I know because I have met several others with that same look.
Today ladies and Gentlemen, Harry will cease to exist.
And an Outlaw will take his place.
He's not on the wrong side of the law as far as I am concerned.
The Law was on the wrong side of him.
Our Justus system has failed this young man.
That is why he has done what he has over the last few weeks.
This young man is a protector, he'll be joining with the Bats and the birds as our night time guardians.
He'll be the back up to pull officers out of a tight situation.
He'll be the one help stomp out the crime in our city.
He'll be the last thing that criminals will want after them.
And as such I will formally deputizing him as a protector, just like I have the Bat clan.
Harry! Please step forward."
Jack stepped forward, just as instructed.
James continued, "Up until this point, you have been a lose canon, with the knack of being in the right place at the right time."
Jack lowered his head, it was all true, he had that habit, and it irritated him sometimes.
"However, with that habit, you saved the lives of my police officers, and several civilians."
Jack chuckled sadly, that was also true.
"You've already proven that you have the responsibility and the courage for this job, all you need now is a badge and a former name.
What say you Harry, do you except the formal responsibility as defender of the innocent, for this city, to the edges of this planet?"
The silence was heavy with anticipation.
Finally, a strong voice came from the hatted figure.
"I do!"
"Harry was the name you went with to keep your identity in the dark, but from this point on, everyone will know you by one name and one name alone. Outlaw, let me be the first formally welcome you to our city!"
James offered his hand to the young man.
Jack grabbed the man's hand and gave it a firm shake, "Thank you Commissioner!"
True they were roll playing a little bit, but they had to make it look good for the people of Gotham.
James and Jack broke the shake and James turned back to the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the Outlaw!" he said as he started to clap the Crowd joined in just as prompted to.
Even the bat clan was clapping.
And for the first time since his mother passed away, Jack actually felt at ease.
And he also had a genuine smile on his face.
Things were finally looking up for him.
He didn't care what tomorrow held, he'd face that when it got here.
But until then, he was going to enjoy the positive energy in the air.
Darkness beware, the light is breaking through!
Outpost Omega One.
"So, what was the point of us watching this?!" Miko asked as she sat on the couch next to Raf and Fowler.
The other autobots save for Optimus had the same thought process.
Fowler stood as he turned off the tv.
"The man in the hat is the main one I was wanting you guys to look at. I'll give you a hint: He is someone you all know!" the agent spoke.
The was a silence in the room for a few seconds before Arcee figured it out.
"Wait, that's Jack?!" she asked.
The nod the agent gave was the thing that broke the sparks of all the other teammates.
Miko and Raf took a tad longer to realize which Jack he was talking about.
But when it clicked, the both gasped.
"You mean Jack "Who wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was hurting us" Darby was the man in the hat?!" Miko shrieked in horror.
"The very same." The man confirmed sadly.
Miko's jaw dropped.
Raf scratched his head in though.
"So, Jack is now a hero of Gotham?" the twelve years old asked. Pride slowly creeping into his tone.
"It would appear that way wouldn't it?!" Fowler smirked.
Silence fell on the group before Miko broke it.
"Hmpt, and he didn't believe me when I said he was never meant to be normal, HA! In your face Jackrabbit!" she said.
The rest of the group couldn't help but chuckle.
"I want to see him…" Raf said.
Fowler gave a sad sigh, "I'll see what I can do about getting you to him, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, he was kind of bitter towards me and Prime."
Miko's attitude did a complete one-eighty and she glared at the man.
"We didn't want to send him to an orphanage that was your idea!" Miko hissed at him.
Fowler backed up a little with her growl.
"I know, and I know it was a terrible mistake, but he hangs out with the bat family now and they have become fiercely protective of him. And with the batman being one of the League members, you can be promised that he is well protected!"
"I don't care if God himself is protecting him! He is our best friend, and we have an obligation to protect him and to check on him!" Miko got in the older male's face to make a point about it.
The man backed up as the girl pressed forward, "Unless you think he is going to attack us when he sees us…" the girl accused.
Fowler was baffled, "NO! He wouldn't hurt either off you!" he yelled at the girl! Fowler sighed at the situation at hand.
"Trust me, we had used a hologram of you to coax Jack out of where he was hiding to talk to him. We made him think that you were in danger by simulating an armed robbery gone bad with hostages taken. Him responding the way he did proved that he wouldn't hurt you."
"He cares about you two… he would never hurt either of you intentionally…" Fowler said softly.
"And as a 'thank you' you tried to send him away…" Miko finished, Still glaring at the man.
"We only wanted to protect him…"
"By sending him to a fragging orphanage with no real means of protecting himself? Yeah, smart idea, a terrorist organization with him on the top of their hit list because he flat out humiliated them…" Miko sneered.
"And you thought it would be wise to send him somewhere where his hands would be tied…" she finished.
Fowler looked down; he knew ahead of time that getting back on the kids' good side would difficult.
"I only wanted him to be safe." He said lowly.
"Pfff! In case you hadn't picked it up yet, Jack doesn't work that way, he doesn't want the government to protect him, he never has, he was a conservative long before he met the bots! And afterwards he didn't listen to the government much, they lie, cheat and steal! And when everything is said in done the only honest politician is one in prison! He never relied on the government, or any of the agencies surrounding it to keep him safe and after his father died his mother and him went to tactical classes for self-defense.
Add a triple black belt of Mao-tai, Ti-qun-doe, and kung-fu, and the only one you should be worried over is if the guy who attacks him is going to need a body bag afterward!"
Raf looked on with an uncomfortable expiration on his face.
"I know that now…" the agent said.
"Video footage of the attack on Jasper PD showed Jack and a few others helping in the fight back against the attackers. The death and destruction didn't stop them as they fought back."
"The footage afterward showed some of the teens standing over their parents that had been killed, Jack amongst them. His father was one of the first to go."
Raf eyes widened and tears started to form.
"Evil exist in this world with no other purpose then for disrupting peace, and with people like Jack ready to stop it, Evil people should be deeply considering another career.
Jack is a hunter, and a knight, he will go to the ends of earth searching for those that seek to cause death and harm for no other reason than just to do it. He would have made a fine Ranger."
Fowler finish his monologue zoned out, memories of everything Jack had done with the bots and for the bots flooded his mind.
From the first time he laid his eyes on the boy he knew; the boy was very different from others his age.
His eyes held a pain that only those who have seen war would understand.
He stood ready to fight off whoever some much a raised hand at him, or others around him, with the intent of doing harm.
He spoke in a "no-none-sense" tone.
His childhood was trashed the day his father died and his mother had to work more frequently to keep up with the bills.
He destroyed a decepticon's ship and would live to tell about.
He would cross another dimension and survived an undead con.
All the way down to the day Jack mother passed away.
Tears were starting to form as he thought of the boy he tried to send away.
"That boy…" his voice broke as tears started to run down his face, "Has done- so much more- for you bots- than any res-ource I c-ould have ever pu-lled for you…"
The Bots understood the man's remorse, they were all guilty of the same thing to a point.
Arcee should have check on Jack and told that she was in the wrong for a long time. And that she would be there for him to cry on her shoulder.
Bulkhead and Bumblebee should have been there in the same way as Arcee, letting him know that they were there for him.
Ratchet should have gotten on a more personal level with him rather than "Doctor-Patient" relationship.
And Optimus should have taken him under his wing and a legal guardian, after all the boy was much like he was, a prime in the making.
But all of them knew that the trust that Jack had for them once, would of no doubt be broke.
And the only way to get it back would be to prove it to him that they still cared about him.
And they all knew that that would be a major task.
But it would be worth it if they were successful.
And that was a major "IF".
So, if anyone has been paying attention, this story and my Middleton story are following the same lines.
both Jacks' had their father killed while they were in Law enforcement.
both June's were murdered in criss cross.
Both Jack's become absolute badafts.
and the girl whom Jack likes is also a hero.
Now, how is that significant?
the answer is simple, the parallels are meant to show these two story's are alternate realities of each other.
Middleton might exist in the world, but I think I will leave that up the readers if they want to see a Kim Possible cameo (like wise to my KP story) but for now I don't think Middleton is a thing here.
but anyway, thank you guy's so much for reading this chapter I you liked it, please fav, follow and comment, and I will see y'all later!