As he flew into the corridor, Shock wondered what he should do now that I was resting. Then he had a brainwave and as he shot towards the Stasis Cells, Jason paced in his cell. Still shackled he muttered under his breath at the injustice of being reduced to being leverage.
Still at least I only have to face Forge and not Dredd, Jason thought to himself and that's when he heard someone speaking directly to him. Turning to face the front of his cell he was a little surprised to see Shock hovering there, watching him.
"What do you want?" He sneered at the Ultralink and that's when Shock moved closer to the cell, being careful to avoid the lasers keeping Jason inside the cell. "I have nothing to say to you."
"I came here to ask why you saved Jessie. Even though I'm not happy you used her to escape from Dredd, I think I understand why you did what you did." Shock told him and Jason stared for a moment before he actually sighed.
"I knew she wouldn't just help me if I asked so I needed her as...leverage." Jason explained and when Shock glared at him, he shook his head. "Look I'm telling the truth! I needed to get as far away from Dredd as I could."
"So you're afraid of him? Isn't he the reason you're...well you were CEO of THI?" Shock asked and Jason sat heavily on the seat wielded to the back wall.
"I know but now...look I want to break away from Dredd and do what I want. And that was impossible on my own, no matter how I looked at it." Jason said as he stared at the Ultralink, crossing his fingers that the alien would believe him.
"And you can't exactly walk away from Dredd. Unless you work for N-Tek anyway." Shock replied, surprised that he was starting to believe what Naught was telling him. "Hmph I'm not so sure about this. You haven't been truthful before and now I'm supposed to trust you?" Hearing that Jason stood suddenly and rushed forward, almost walking directly into the lasers keeping him inside.
"You have to trust me! If Dredd finds out that I wasn't really kidnapped..." Jason trailed off and tried to nervously adjust his tie, before he realized he couldn't with his hands shackled. "Look get Jessie to speak with me and let her make the choice."
"How do I know you can be trusted not to attack her again?" Shock asked, arms folded and after a long moment Jason spoke.
"I know her true identity and I haven't told Dredd. That's my leverage." Jason said, all fear and nerousness gone from his voice and Shock nodded before he left to find me. "I won't use it unless I have to." He whispered to himself as he sat back and waited.
By the time Shock made his way back to the Medical Bay I was already awake, rubbing at my eyes and trying to remember how I'd gotten back to N-Tek. The moment Shock appeared in the doorway I sighed, letting out a yawn before I sat up.
"Oh you're up. How do you feel?" Shock asked as he flew over and hovered in front of me, watching me closely.
"Like I stuck my finger in an electrical outlet." I muttered trying to rub my neck and avoid the burn on my neck. "Did you say something about Naught before? Sorry but I must have passed out or something because I really can't remember."
"That's okay. You needed to rest anyway after what happened. Now don't get angry or anything but Jason wanted to talk to you." Shock told me, bracing himself for me to get angry and to his complete surprise I let out a breath. "Jessie you alright? You don't have to face him if you don't want." But I shook my head carefully climbing down and for a moment I leant against the bed, taking a few short breaths before I started for the corridor. And as I walked outside Shock followed me and I turned to him having just realized I had no clue where the villian was hiding.
"He's in the Stasis Cells. I'll lead you there." Shock told me and as I followed I began to wonder why I had been dragged into this mess. Why couldn't he have asked Max Steel and not me, I thought as I gingerly rubbed the burn mark. When it began to sting I gritted my teeth against the pain and vowed to knock Naught on his ass the next time I had the chance.
Once we reached the Stasis Cells I strolled right on by Mega Elementor, ignoring his threats and focused instead on the youngish orange eyed guy in the fancy suit. As soon as he noticed me walkking towards his cell he climbed to his feet, pretending to fix the cuffs on his sleeves before he focused on me.
"Oh there you are. Took you long enough to get here." He muttered and I growled, forgetting my earlier promise to stay calm and not let him get to me.
"You burned me!" I growled at him and he chuckled at the uncontrolled anger on my face. Then his face paled a little when my eyes glowed briefly and he moved back a little, not looking so smug.
"Jessie just calm down." Shock said hovering beside me and I took a breath before giving him a slight nod. "You need our help so would you please stop making Jessie mad? Not a smart idea."
"Fine then I'll get straight to the point. I need your help in keeping Dredd away from me." Jason began and I almost burst out laughing right there and then. Instead I let out a giggle before I moved closer and grinned at him.
"Heh you need my help yet you kidnap me and almost cost me my life. Plus you threaten and hurt me and Shock. You really think I'd help you? After everything you and Dredd have put me through?" I told him, my eyes narrowing as he stared at me. Before I could turn away, wanting to walk back to my dorm and rest for a while as I began to feel light-headed again Jason's eyes went wide and he shot forward.
Seconds later he found out why metal and electricity don't mix well and he lit up briefly, letting out a yell before he struck the wall at the very back of the cell. To everyone's amazement I quickly asked if he was okay before my eyes went wide and as I stood there, Jason slowly climbed to his feet. After coughing he raised an eyebrow at me, impressing me a little that he could walk away from that, and voiced what I didn't want to admit myself.
"You do feel sorry for me, don't you? You want to help me." Jason said as I stared at him and when I shook my head he actually chuckled. "Look we both have something to gain from an alliance. I remove the threat of Dredd from myself and you..."
"I what?" I muttered as I crossed my arms and he grinned back at me, smoking rising from his suit. "What do I gain from all this?"
"Someone who knows Dredd and can help you bring him down, once and for all." Jason replied leaning closer to the cell and I sighed, finding myself wanting to trust him. And that scared me since he'd caused nothing but trouble for both us and N-Tek but I couldn't ignore the value of his help. "If you let me help you I'll keep your secret. Deal?" He asked and after the longest minute of my life I finally nodded, unable to shake on it since I didn't want to fry myself. "Good then first things first...let me out of here." He added as he held up his shackles almost as an afterthought. "Oh and unlock these."
"Excuse me but what are you two doing?" I heard a voice ask and I cringed, turning around. When I saw Forge and Kat standing in front of us I sighed, knowing I was in a lot of trouble right now. "You weren't thinking of letting Jason out, were you?"
"Would it help if I asked nicely?" Jason asked and getting a glare from Forge he blinked. "It was worth a shot." He added moving back to his seat and sitting down, pretending he wasn't there.
"What were you two thinking?! Letting out a criminal!" Forge yelled as I stood beside Shock and I winced, more due to the volume of his voice and not his anger. "Explain yourselves right now." Now standing in Forge's office I took several breaths, trying to get my thoughts together before I spoke.
"Before you get mad...well madder I was the one responsible. Look Jason knows my secret identity and in exchange for not telling anyone he promised to tell us everything he knows about Dredd." I told him as I stared down at the floor, trying to keep myself awake as my head throbbed. "I'm...sorry." I mumbled and Forge sighed seeing just how weak I looked.
"He can't be trusted. He worked for Dredd up until a few hours ago and who knows how much information Dredd knows just from you alone." Kat said as she walked over to me, checking my injury and I flinched as she pressed an icepack against my neck. "Sorry."
"I know that but something tells me that he's telling the truth...for once. It sounds strange, me actually wanting to trust him but he gave Shock back to me when I was about to overload." I replied my voice raising and Forge frowned, not sure what to say. "Please can we just give him a chance?" I asked holding a hand against my forehead.
"We have a good reason not to believe him." Forge started to say before I leant against the wall, closing my eyes for a few seconds. "Go and rest for a while before you collapse." He suggested and I shook my head at him, annoyed that he'd think I was affected by my injury.
"I'm not saying this because my head's all over the place. If he wanted to he could have told Dredd and that would have been the end of my secret. Can we just give him a chance and see what happens? I'll take full responsibility if anything goes wrong. And I'll be the first to kick him out on his rear." I explained and as I watched Forge and Kat exchanged a look of concern at my current state, Finally Forge gave me the answer I had been hoping to receive and I managed a tired grin.
"We'll give him one chance but on the condition that you and Shock keep your eyes on him. If he slips up once then..." Forge told me and I nodded, immediately wishing I hadn't when it caused my head to spin. Thankfully I didn't faint but I did need to be helped back to the Medical Bay by Kat. Once I was out of earshot Forge sighed. "I just hope you and Jessie are right."
"Yeah I hope so do, Commander." Shock answered before he went after me.