Oh wow, I haven't updated in quite a while! Super sorry guys! I've been really busy DX
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Jack was surprised when Jason didn't hunt down the M.E.C.H base right away, the vigilante instead taking an entire week to plan things out. It seemed that, despite the man's impatient nature, he knew when it was best to plan ahead.
The week was spent sitting around indoors for most of the day. While the Arizona heat was horrid, especially in the powerless apartment with no air conditioning, Jack didn't complain. Jasper had been sweltering as well, and after living there for years Jack wasn't one to complain about the heat.
Often, Jason could be found researching...something. Jack wasn't sure what the man was looking up, and decided he didn't want to know. Jack spent the time recovering from his wounds. His ankle was much improved, and the bruises and lacerations were slowly healing. There wasn't much for him to do, but he'd managed to convince Jason to get him a notebook and some pencils during one of their few excursions to the convenience store down the street, and so Jack spent most of his time drawing whatever came to mind. He wasn't an artist by any means, but it at least kept him preoccupied.
Sometimes though, when the room got a bit too stuffy, Jason would drag Jack with him to a nearby diner where they'd relax for a couple hours and share a meal. Whenever Jack asked Jason why they didn't just stay inside, the man would always grumble something about how "if he wanted to share a house with a hormonal teenager twenty-four-seven, he'd have stayed back in Gotham". Jack figured that was 'Jason speak' for "I think you're decent enough, so I don't mind hanging out with you outside of the apartment".
It was on day eight that Jack awoke to see Jason preparing his things. It was early morning, from what Jack could tell, as there was no sunlight peeking through the curtains yet, but cars could be heard outside -early birds heading to work. A lightbulb that was lit up using one of the portable generators provided enough light for Jack to see Jason moving about. The vigilante was arming himself, selecting a few choice weapons to take with him. Jack pushed himself up on an elbow, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Jason?"
The man paused, and when he turned his head towards Jack, he seemed surprised to see the teen awake. Recovering quickly, Jason finished tucking a knife into his boot.
"Hey kid. Thought I was being quiet enough, didn't think I'd wake you up..."
Jack sat up fully, running a hand through his messy hair.
"What're you doing?"
Jason straightened up, rolling his shoulders.
"Getting ready to head out. I was going to let you know before I left, but you beat me to it."
Jack frowned.
"You're...you're going to go hunt M.E.C.H down?"
Jason nodded, kicking the dufflebag with his remaining weapons under one of the kitchen's overhanging counters.
"Yeah. I think I've got enough info now that I can get in, take them down and get out before tomorrow night."
"Oh..."
Silence fell for a few moments, Jack watching as Jason double-checked his equipment. Jason glanced over at the younger male.
"While I'm gone, don't open the door for anyone, don't go anywhere outside of the building, and make sure to keep quiet so you don't draw any attention. I'll leave one of my guns with you. Think you can handle a pistol?"
Jack froze, shoulders hiking up and body tense. A gun?
"I...I can't."
Jason paused, turning to frown at Jack.
"Huh? It's just a pistol, I modified it myself, hardly any kickback-"
"I mean I can't shoot a gun."
Jason's eyes narrowed.
"...Can't, or won't?"
Jack gulped nervously.
"Both."
Jason sighed, shoulders slumping, head lolling back in exasperation.
"Crap. You're like Bruce..."
Jack sent the young man a thoroughly confused look. He'd heard Jason mention the name 'Bruce' once or twice in passing, though had no clue who he was.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, nothing..." Jason muttered, rummaging through his bag of equipment. "C'mere kid."
Jack hesitated, unsure for a moment, before he stood and shuffled over to join Jason's side. The teen watched, curious and wary, as Jason pulled a pistol from the bag. Jack tensed slightly-
"Relax, kid. This gun shoots electrified pellets that shock and knock out, no killing required. Non-lethal enough for ya?"
The tension left Jack's shoulders, the teen clearly feeling a weight lifted off of him. Jason held out the pistol to Jack.
"Know anything about guns?"
Jack shook his head.
"Nope."
Jason sighed.
"Alright then."
The older male pushed the gun into Jack's hands, calloused fingers adjusting the teen's grip until it was correct. Moving behind Jack, Jason pushed up on the boy's elbows until his arms were raised into an aiming position and his larger hands moved to cover Jack's smaller ones. Jack felt oddly safe, with Jason's arms pressed against his and the man's warm jacket at his back.
"When you're aiming, you have to keep your hands steady. Perfectly steady. If your hands are shaky, you'll just f**k up your shot. This pistol's got eight shots per clip, so if you ever have to use it, then keep count of how many shots you use so you don't end up going to shoot, have nothing happen and end up getting yourself shot." Shifting a bit, Jason had Jack's finger on the trigger. "And when you shoot, don't flinch, and don't ever close your eyes."
Jason pressed down, forcing Jack to pull the trigger. The boy slightly twitched, expecting to hear a gun shot, but there was only a click, signaling the safety was on. Satisfied, Jason let go of Jack's hands and moved back around to stand before him.
"This is the safety here," He placed his finger directly next to the safety trigger. "Don't forget to switch it off when you go to use it. If you have to use it." Jason crossed his arms. "This pistol's silenced, so it shouldn't alert anyone outside."
Jack lowered his arms, face pensive.
"And if I'm attacked, and my attacker's have guns that aren't silenced? No doubt the second there's a gunshot there'll be at least a dozen people coming to investigate..."
Something akin to approval flashed momentarily across Jason's face, the vigilante apparently appreciating the teen's forethought.
"Then you grab what you can and get the f**k out. If you have to leave, then head for the train yard and I'll meet you there."
Jack nodded, face pensive as he stared down at the pistol in his hand. Jason allowed him to think, watching a myriad of emotions flash through the younger male's expressive eyes. Soon, Jack looked back up to Jason.
"How long do you think you'll be gone?"
Jason shrugged, crossing his arms. His teeth flashed as a feral smirk pulled at his lips.
"Depends on how long it takes those M.E.C.H b*****s to die and how long it takes to look through their computer systems for anything interesting." Rubbing the back of his neck, Jason's eyes lifted to the ceiling as he mentally tallied things up in his head. "Let's see...Half a day to get there, half a day to get back, unless I get any injuries that slow me down, time to get through the base and make sure I get all the agents stationed there..." Blue eyes moved to Jack, and Jason again shrugged. "I dunno, two days? I want to take my time looking through their systems, see what I can find and then scrub it clean and all when I'm done."
Jack nodded in understanding, watching as Jason moved to finish his preparations.
"Anyway," Jason continued, "I won't be too long, either way." The vigilante pulled a wallet from inside his jacket, and Jack watched with mild surprise as the man pulled a twenty from it. Jason turned, holding the bill out to Jack, who hesitantly took it.
"This is for emergencies. If you need to get to the train yard, that should be enough for a ride there." Jason pointed warningly at him. "You use that for anything else? Then you'll be paying me back, and with interest."
Jack nodded solemnly, far more serious then Jason had expected.
"Got it. Emergencies only."
There was a pause, then Jason scoffed, reaching for his Red Hood helmet.
"Jeez, kid. Lighten up a bit."
Jack blinked, bewildered by the man's words. That was honestly the last thing he'd expected to hear from Jason. He went to reply, but before he could Jason made a flippant gesture.
"Whatever. I need to get going." He stated, tucking one last weapon into his jacket and heading for the door.
"Stay safe?"
Jason paused mid-step, turning to look at Jack in surprise. He inspected Jack's face for any sort of amusement, thinking maybe the boy was just joking around...But he didn't see anything aside from sincerity in each line of Jack's expression.
Jason...he couldn't quite remember the last time someone asked him to try and stay safe. He had his family tell him to be cautious, to not do anything stupid, but the word 'safe' had never been in their well wishes for him.
And yet here stood Jack, a boy he hardly knew, asking for him to be safe.
Managing to shake off his surprise, he offered a lazy, two-finger salute in return.
"Always am, kid."
As he left, Jason had to resist the urge to tell the boy to be safe, too.
Jack sighed, resting his chin in his palm as he doodled absently in his notebook.
It had been a day and a half (give or take a couple of hours, Jack wasn't quite sure himself) since Jason departed, and Jack had been constantly on edge the entire time. He knew it wasn't possible, but he kept imagining M.E.C.H soldiers bursting into the room, dragging him back to their headquarters to torture him again, this time with no one to save him...
It had crossed his mind that, just maybe, Jason might sell him out if he got caught. That thought only ran through his head for a second before Jack had dismissed it with an odd amount of ease. He trusted Jason surprisingly much, despite how little time they'd known each other. He couldn't see Jason ever selling him out.
There wasn't any reason to worry, Jason said he'd probably take up to two days, Jack reminded himself. Jason knew what he was doing, Jack was sure of it. He'd heard stories about the mysterious Red Hood, after all. There was no doubt in Jack's mind that Jason was more than capable of handling M.E.C.H's particular brand of trouble.
Still, as if it could ward away any of his fears about being taken back, Jack kept the pistol Jason had left by his side when he slept (although, sleeping didn't really happen while he was alone, he was too nervous to really doze off much). It made him feel better. Or, at least a little bit.
Heaving another heavy sigh, Jack set down the pencil in his hand, pushing himself up to his feet and heading for the kitchenette. His stomach was starting to revolt, and while the cabinets weren't fully stocked, Jack could still stave off his hunger with some generic brand cereal Jason had bought their second day in town.
Pulling open one of the cabinets, Jack pulled out the half-finished cereal bag, glancing over the contents as he went to shut the cabinet once more-
Jack froze when he heard something knock lightly against the door.
Slowly, as quietly as he could, Jack set down the cereal bag on the counter and moved to the pistol he'd left laying on one of the other counters. The doorknob rattled, and Jack's grip tightened on the pistol, his knuckles turning white. Jason would've used the window by the fire escape, Jack was sure of it, they didn't have the key to the door of this apartment.
The sound of the lock clicking open echoed through the apartment, and Jack quickly decided on a course of action, and moved to hide behind the wall that hid the kitchen from view of the entryway. The teen shifted the pistol in his hands a bit, enough to switch off the safety as his mind ran through what Jason had told him before.
Keep your hand steady. Eight shots in the clip, keep count of every shot.
The door opened with a shrill creak that sent a shiver up Jack's spine. He quickly shifted, enough to point the gun and see what he was aiming at with both eyes, but still keeping partially behind the wall for some cover.
Don't flinch. Don't ever close your eyes.
Jack's finger was on the trigger, and he pulled the second he saw a figure in the dark entryway and decided his aim was close enough.
There was a muffled pop, and the shadowed figure only just managed to shift out of the way in time. Jack felt a spike of panic as the shot buried itself in the doorframe, but that fear was short lived as a familiar voice muttered a few colorful curses. Jack squinted, trying to see though the darkness of the entryway (he wondered, absently, if maybe he should've moved one of the generator lights over here despite how he hadn't wanted to mess with anything connected to the portable generator).
"Jason..?"
"Yeah, no s**t!"
While Jack quickly lowered the pistol, Jason idly kicked the door shut behind him as he pulled off his helmet to examine the pellet in the door frame.
"Oh m-man, I'm sorry!" Jack choked out, horrified that he'd nearly shot his companion. "I thought you'd come back in th-through the fire escape! I just- we don't have the key to this place, s-so I thought whoever was at the door was-!"
Jason waved a hand flippantly, and Jack was surprised when the man offered a shark-like grin.
"Relax, kid." Jason's gaze returned to the doorframe. "Nice shot. If I'd been anyone else, I'd be laid out."
That didn't make Jack feel much better about nearly hitting the man with an electrified shot, but if Jason was willing to let it go, then Jack wasn't about to push the issue.
The two moved into the kitchen where there was more light, and Jason dropped his helmet on the counter. Now that Jack could better see the vigilante, he noted that Jason looked a bit disheveled, but aside from a slight limp, a few bruises on his face and a small cut on his cheek, he seemed no worse for wear.
"So..."
Jason's eyes lifted to Jack, and he raised a brow when the boy didn't continue right away.
"What?"
Jack hesitated, then,
"M.E.C.H. You...You got them?"
Jason stared for a moment, then grinned.
"Yeah, kid. I got them."