Warning: this is going to be one hell of a long chapter to read, but I can guarantee you that the wait would be worth it. Eighth chapter and it'll be the start to Jack's destiny.
P.S. There's a surprise character in this chapter. Hope you enjoy his cameo.
Now, without further ado, the moment you've all been waiting for…
Chapter Eight
May 31st, 2010
Washington, D.C.
Coulson's Apartment
"Hello?"
"Raf, it's me. Are the others around?"
Raf shouted to the others rather excitedly, and Jack chuckled in response. He only had to wait for a second before Raf informed him that he was going to be put on speaker mode.
"Jack, what in the name of Primus were you thinking?" Ratchet shouted without a beat. "What made you think it was a good idea to just get up and leave us —"
"Ratchet," Banner had spoken up. "Just calm down now, okay? I'm sure he has a perfectly good reason to leave."
Heavy footsteps echoed on the other end and Arcee said all in a rush, "Jack, you there, partner?"
"Yeah, it's me," Jack said, this time softly. "Look, I'm sorry for ditching you guys without a warning, but I had to get away to think. I'm happy that you guys want me to stay but…" His voice cracked a little and he stopped.
"Jack, just breathe," Tiger said. "It's understandable why you left. The only problem was not at least talking to us about it first."
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, and next time I leave or decide to come over, I'll give you guys a heads up," Jack said.
"You have that right," Ratchet chided. "Hey, don't touch that."
"But I need to get back to Asgard," a deep masculine voice whined.
"Do not make me break out the wrench again," Ratchet threatened.
"He'll do it, too," Miko said.
"…Um, who was that?" Jack asked.
"Never mind," Ratchet dismissed the stranger.
"Hey, Jack. How is it over there?" Sierra asked, a worried tone in her voice.
"I'm fine. I wake up feeling great no matter how exhausted I've been before," Jack replied. "Seriously, I'm okay. But I've been catching up with Uncle Phil again. He's been a lot busier and has a lot of interesting stories." He tried to hide the joyful tone in his voice, but he had been feeling giddy to be back in Washington. "But what's happened while I've gone in the last couple of days?" he asked.
Miko scoffed. He knew it was her because right after she said, "Seriously? In Jasper? It's been dullsville since you put the whole town in a scare. Not even the Cons have been active."
Jack rolled his eyes but smile nonetheless. Good old Miko, no matter how annoying she could be. However, his concern turned towards someone else. "Is Optimus there?"
None of them answered straightaway, and Jack fidgeted in his spot. He only realized now that the first time he answered, they seemed hesitant to say where he was.
"I miss her," he blurted out quietly, without a thought. He drew in a breath and rubbed his eyes. "I miss her a lot. All I could keep thinking about was the last thing that I said to her. She was trying to tell me something important and I just blew her off. I called her a hypocrite and a liar. I should have been over it by now, but lately I've been thinking more of it."
Heavy footsteps sounded from the other end. Jack held his breath, waiting for the owner of those steps to say something. He had hardly spent time around the Autobot, but he knew right away that they belonged to Optimus.
"How you feel is understandable, Jackson, but you mustn't blame yourself for your misfortune. You could not have known what was bound to happen that night. Your words had not killed her, but the actions of Airachnid and MECH alike. She loved you and, despite what some will say about her hovering over you like a helicopter—" Jack could just imagine Optimus glaring at Miko as he said that. "—I'm sure she would have moved the heavens and earth to save you if the positions were switched."
Now that sounded like something Jack thought he would never hear but needed to. The weight was lifted off of his shoulders, and the pressure that choked him released its grip. He could relax now and hopefully one day reclaim his life and his sense of security. He thanked the Autobot leader and imagined him smiling in return.
The conversation continued for several more minutes, the subject once again forgotten as they talked about various other subjects, with Miko and Raf filling them in on what else he had missed during his absence after his mother's death. The more they talked, the more relaxed Jack became. They finally had to end the call as the monitors went off, with Ratchet explaining that it was an unknown energon signature setting off. Jack promised them that he would call back as soon as he could.
As he hung up, he examined his hand holding his phone. He swallowed as he slowly turned it down and placed it on the table. He was more than relieved to find that it was not stuck to his hand this time around like some of the other stuff.
He shook his head as he picked up his bags and headed for his room. He would figure it out tomorrow when he had more time.
Jack woke up from a very cryptic dream. One that he had been having recently, but it was all fragments of blurred images and mixed-up words.
Maybe that was what brought him to alertness. But he noticed how the shadows of his ceiling looked off. He stared up at it in confusion for a few minutes before remember where he was now.
He tried to go back to sleep, but his stomach interrupted his thoughts with a growl. With another groan he turned to his bed and pulled out his suitcase. Opening it, he fished out some clothes he felt appropriate for the day. By doing so two items were pulled out in the process.
He hesitated as they fell against his knees. He picked up one of the items — a sketchbook held together with rubber bands — and slowly opened it up. It contained a lot of drawings from his fourth-grade year. They were of a comic book character he had drawn with many other characters and designs he made up. It had been a hobby he'd developed during his free time in the past. He had been so surprised to still having it that he had to take it with him.
Jack ran his fingertips over the drawing of his hero. Not wanting to reminisce on childhood memories for so long, he placed it underneath his mattress. The second item, however, caught his curiosity.
He lifted them up and saw what they were. Once, when Jack was out for a ride with Arcee, Raf's curiosity got the best of him and he discovered the spiders. Of course, Miko still didn't have a clue, but Jack made the younger boy swear not to tell anyone what he saw.
The day after the cave-in experience, Raf had come over to the base. He tried to avoid much conversation with the others as he went looking for Jack. He found the older boy in a corner fixing up his bike.
"Jack!" Raf greeted the older teen as he entered the alcove. "Hi. How do you feel right now?"
"A little lightheaded right now," Jack said. He yawned. "I just woke up from a nap. Did you need anything?"
"Not really. I just wanted to know if you were okay, and I have something to show you." Not wanting to contain his excitement any longer, Raf fished a small box from his bag. It looked like a small pellet, but it was strange in appearance. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the other parts looked like thrown together household items.
"Okay, please don't get mad at me. But I was looking over the spiders and I noticed that they looked a lot different from your average jumping spider. Well, the man in the hangout area did slip out that they were yours, which left me confused. But I got curious and put their webbing into the pellets because I was trying to understand their uses, and I think I've found it!"
"Um, Raf? Where did you find these pellets?" Jack asked. "They don't look that homemade."
"Well…" Raf was hesitant to say.
"Raf?" Jack pressed him.
"These were my dad's project and I may have taken a couple of them," Raf admitted.
"Your dad's? Raf, you know that he may not be happy to know that you took them," Jack said.
"He's got a ton of them, and I figured he wouldn't mind if two of them went missing. Look, if he finds out, I will handle it. But can I please show you why I came here?" Raf pleaded.
Jack looked straight at the kid in the eyes and sucked in a breath. It was the exact same expression he used to make his mom when he was little. His mother sometimes would give in, and Jack did just that. "Okay, what is it?"
Raf perked up and held up the devices. "Anyway, I used the pellets and placed them into these devices that I made out of some old wrist watches and spare parts. If I did the calculations correctly, then they should be able to shoot the webbing out of them like an actual spider does."
"Wait a minute. You're meaning to tell me that you managed to create a device that will spit out webbing like a spider would?"
"Yeah. I was hoping you would be able to test them out for me," Raf said.
Jack obliged and strapped them to his wrists, while Raf taught him how to work them. The trigger pad rested in the palm of his hand, and the middle two fingers by the pinkie would activate them. Jack pressed down on the pad, but as soon as he did, he felt a small jolt in his wrists, causing him to yelp.
"Oops. Sorry, Jack."
"Ah! It's not your fault, Raf. You just made these; they don't just work wonders at the beginning."
"I'll get it eventually. I forgot to ask, what kind of spiders were those?" Raf asked.
Jack had then laughed and ruffled Raf's hair. If he had known that was the last time Raf showed him something he had made, he would have stuck around longer to see them work.
Jack drew in a breath and now and rubbed his neck. When he put the devices away, he finally got dressed before heading out of his room.
Coulson was in the living room, dressed casually and his feet propped up on an ottoman. He was watching WHiH News, one of the more popular news channels, and on-screen Christine Everhart was covering up some story overseas.
Jack never liked to watch the news. Most particularly because most newscasters were bias or only told one side of the story without covering the whole topic. Everhart was no different. He never watched her, just that there was something about her that he didn't like.
Not wanting to distract Coulson, he walked into the kitchen and went to see what there was to eat. In the kitchen sink, he spotted, was Coulson's favorite coffee mug, a nice big one with a picture of the cast of Friends. Jack had gotten that for him when he was three for his birthday. Coffee was considered a luxury in his house, but his mom had always been cautious about what he ate or drank. Now he knew why.
As Jack poured himself a cup, he looked out the window. Nothing had changed in the nine years he was gone, but in a city like Washington, why should it? He caught a whiff of morning dew and the canal. As a child, whenever he visited Coulson, he would stare out the window and try to peer at the C&O canal, waiting for a barge to pass by.
Outside the sun was rising from the east. It was a sight he had missed terribly. Once in a while a jogger passed by on the path. There was no fault in them for wanting to exercise along the artificial river.
Jack sipped his coffee and looked until a barge lazily came by. Then he went back into the kitchen for a second round of finding breakfast. Perhaps he would call Ratchet about the blood results.
"Hey, Jack."
He stopped. "Yeah?"
"How'd you sleep?"
Jack blinked. Was that really what Coulson wanted to say first thing? Well, looking at his situation — two hours of discussing how the Autobots wanted custody of him didn't exactly feel like a picnic — he couldn't fault the older man for asking that.
"I slept fine," Jack said. "Sorry for not giving you a warning ahead of time. I just had to get out of there and breathe."
"I'm over that, kiddo. You don't need to apologize for it." He beckoned Jack into the living room. "Why don't you sit down for a while? You look exhausted still."
"I've had a long month, Coulson. Everything else is fine now." He noticed a lot of paperwork and manila folders on the coffee table. "How's work been while I was gone?"
"The same." He looked up at him. "Say, about what you said with the Autobots…"
"What about it?"
"It's not my place to say this, but I don't know about you being under their care for two years. Especially with Airachnid and this terrorist organization placing you on their interest list. In fact, how you've even gotten involved with them—"
"Phil, please don't." Jack's voice came out harder than he'd intended. He cleaned his throat and continued, "They're not the ones at fault. MECH and Airachnid were the reasons why Mom's dead and I was in a difficult position."
"Jack, the risks—"
Jack looked at the window. He did not want to have that conversation. He did not want to be reminded of what he would lose. Especially when he managed to pry the truth about himself at Barton's place.
Coulson's phone rang on the table next to the couch. He went over to answer it. Jack wanted to know so much more, but he knew that answers didn't come easy. Already he left Coulson baffled about the broken faucet in the guest bathroom, but not even Jack could explain what was happening.
"Yeah, okay. I'll be right down there in a second." Coulson hung up. That got Jack's attention.
"Fury?"
"Same old song and dance," Coulson sighed. He grimaced suddenly. "That list you made long ago about the places you wanted to see—"
"Say no more, Phil. Work is work no matter what." Jack gave Coulson a calming smile, even if it felt like it didn't reach his eyes. "If it's a burglary or a world ending situation, give them a beating to remember."
Coulson smirked and gave him a thumbs up. "Chinese takeout for supper. How does that sound?"
"Sounds like plan," Jack said. Without another word, Coulson left him alone in the apartment, and Jack waited until he was absolutely sure he was gone before rushing back into his room and coming out with the pellets. He figured that he would ask Coulson to take him around tomorrow to see Georgetown. His childhood in the city was short, mostly because he saw Coulson during the summer and during the holidays.
As he inspected the devices, though, it was like a sudden blow that he was back to one of the places that he ached to see again. It also meant that he was a step closer to the part of the life he was kept away from. He felt a little bit safer and securer there.
But, he asked himself as he tinkered with the mechanics, was he truly safe this time? His mind doubted it. After what Airachnid had done, he couldn't imagine going on in life, pretending now that everything that happened since that October day was a dream. The more he thought of it, the more he began to wonder if leaving Jasper was a good idea or not.
It would not matter anyways. When someone requests something once they died, that had to be respected to honor their memory, and he had to honor his mom's. He wished he had discussed it more with Fowler, but the agent would probably make some decent points in both cases. He hated feeling like he was being torn down the middle, but he never was one to who just did whatever he wanted. June had reared him to be a good person, to be a gentleman, to be respectful and responsible.
Now he wished for more than anything for her to teach him how to be prepared.
As lunchtime hit around, he was sure that he had fixed some of the bugs. He was hungry, but he was indecisive, so he rummaged through the refrigerator for any of last night's leftovers. He was about to heat the leftover meatloaf when…
"We interrupt this program for breaking news," the TV sounded. "A terrorist attack is taking place right in the Georgetown Inn. From what we have gathered, there are at least forty-eight people being held hostage in the lobby!"
That caught Jack's attention.
"They appear to be armed with some very highly advanced gear and are considered extremely dangerous. The local police have tried to get close, but were forced to set the perimeter due to the terrorists' strategies."
Jack barely paid attention to the commotion of others as he listened to the news. He fished out his phone, curious to know more of what was going on, as he scrolled through the many articles covering the attack. As he looked each one over, an uneasy feeling tightened in his stomach.
Advanced high-tech gear. Extremely dangerous. It couldn't be. But as he looked everything over, the answer slammed into him. There was only one terrorist group he knew that fit the description. And somehow, they had found him out.
Optimus watched the children from a corner as they studied a map of America's capital. Ratchet was, for once, not at the controls but in his medical bay. Banner was patiently trying to explain to Thor some of the difference between Asgard and Earth, but their conversation had turned to the Bifrost and Asgardian technology, comparing them to Dyson Spheres and ER Bridges. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee lingered nearby in a conversation of their own with Tiger, who was explaining to them of her origins and her homeland.
The Prime was as stoic as ever from his place, observing his allies. However, his spark and processor were anything but such. A civil war incurred within him and his decision to not converse with Jack the night before. But how could he, when he realized just how much he had the same thoughts as the others and wanted Jack to stay?
He had, but he only contemplated the dangers of forming such attachments. If Megatron learned how much he valued the children, he would not hesitate to hurt the humans in any way he could. For their safety, he often tried to separate himself from them as much as possible.
But it was hard to ignore them, especially when he caught a glimpse of the hurt expression Jack had when he was griped on by the others. Optimus could no longer dismiss the ache in his spark when they dropped the news on Jack's disappearance. Now he was starting to question his own actions. Was letting him go the right thing? Or should he ask Fowler to talk to Fury?
For the first time in a long time, Optimus Prime was confused and unsure about what was right. His only hope was that he wasn't making a grave mistake.
"I've just received a message," Ratchet announced suddenly. "Fowler has found a base of MECH operations east of Norwich."
"That's in Connecticut," Raf pointed out as the coordinates were loaded into the ground bridge.
"Sweet! Make sure there's no mercy for them, Bulk!" Miko encourage, and the Wrecker pounded his fists menacingly.
"Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee; prepare to roll out," Optimus ordered as they quickly moved towards the bridge.
"I'm coming with as well," Tiger spoke as Optimus was ready to take charge. He turned to argue with her, but she continued in a low voice. "I promised Jack's father that I would protect him and his mother while they were out here, and I failed. Allow me to at least help round them all up so they can be brought in for justice." The Prime was silent for a moment, obviously thinking, before slowly nodding.
"Very well then. Autobots, roll out!" And they all disappeared through the vortex.
"She gets to go with? Unfair!" Miko complained.
Banner gave her a look. "Unfair? You know that it's dangerous out there, right? If these guys are as bad as you say they are, then you shouldn't have much of any business out in that field."
Ratchet sighed. "Don't bother, Doctor. We've all tried."
"Why can't she go with?" Thor frowned.
"Because a lot of people keep telling me how unsafe it is," Miko growled.
"But it's fine when she does?"
"Guys, I think you might want to see this," Raf said suddenly. He repositioned his laptop around to show the video he had stumbled on. It showed a group of terrorists inside a hotel.
"Oh, my god," Sierra covered her mouth. "Those look like the guys that took part in June's murder."
"What?" Ratchet turned to them. "Show me."
Raf complied, typing quickly on his laptop that showed a live feed on the monitors. Ratchet's shoulders became stiff as he watched it, right before he put two and two together.
"By the Allspark, it is them."
"But why would Silas attack a very populated area?" Banner asked.
"Especially the capital of the United States?" Miko added in.
"Isn't that where your other friend is at?" Thor asked.
Ratchet's optics widened in realization. How could he not have noticed that? But how did Silas know that Jack was there and not in Jasper still? Unless…
"They were watching him," he stated. "Optimus, come in. Do you copy?"
"I am a little busy," his commander responded.
"Well, MECH just targeted a hotel over in Washington," Ratchet informed him. "And by the looks of it, they're armed and hostile towards the police force."
"Understood, Ratchet. Have Agent Fowler informed of the situation as he is still stationed over there."
"No, you don't understand. The fight you are engaged in was a distraction. The hostages over there are made as bait."
"For what?" Ratchet did not answer, but it was not long before they heard Optimus whisper as it dawned on him. "Jackson!"
Sirens wailed from the distance as backup approached fast. The cruisers came screaming in, their sirens blaring and flashing the entire area in hues of red and blue.
They watched as the police cruisers made a barricade down the road. The captain's megaphone crackled to life, letting out a hiss of feedback that made everyone wince, before falling silent and was brought to the captain's face. "This is the police. You are surrounded. Come out with your hands up."
And when he said that, all hell broke loose.
The doors to the place were blown outside. The police and bystanders had to duck down as they went sailing through the air. Many people cried out in fear of the onslaught, but they became more frightened at who came out.
A MECH agent stepped out of the building. Except, for some odd reason, he was wearing body armor and an army suit. A blue mask covered half of his face.
"Supercharger? How did he get out of prison?" one of the officers asked aloud.
The police aimed their guns at him, but Supercharger didn't seem fazed by it. It became chaotic when one of the dumber, less experienced ones ended up firing anyway. It struck him, but the wound had quickly healed up. Supercharger glared at him.
"Big mistake," he snarled. Electrical currents covered his body, making a strange powering up noise. He threw out his hands and sent the currents towards the police cruisers, forcing the police and citizens around to scatter.
Supercharger approached the scattered police and said, "Listen to me, and listen well. Scientists and anthropologists have lied. I am living proof. Max Shiffman saw it himself before I put him out of business. He and everyone would have died for a good cause if not for those arrogant heroes you have hailed for so long."
He smiled, raising his hands again to once again show his display. "But don't worry. You will all just do nicely. And I've built up enough nice charge to make it painlessly instantaneous!"
He was about to deliver the killing blow when he heard the sound of an engine's roar. Confused, Supercharger looked around for the sound of the noise. It sounded like a motorcycle's engine, but where was it coming from?
Inside, the men realized too late what was coming at them. The doors behind them rammed open, revealing a motorbike flying in. It slid a few yards into the lobby before coming to a halt. The hostages coward away as he watched all four MECH soldiers took in the intruder.
The motorbike was black, with a sleek coat and white areas at the front. What puzzled the occupants was its rider. He was wearing jeans and sneakers from the waist down. Otherwise, he had a red hoodie and ski mask with tinted goggles over his eyes.
Jack pulled the hood from the top of his head. If he was going to do this right, then he was going to make sure that no one saw his face. Heaven knows how freaky it would be if the Autobots saw him on tape. Actually, they would have to get in line. Coulson would want him alive so he could kill him himself.
Jack smirked underneath his mask. He picked up the fire extinguisher he had hidden at the side of the motorbike. "Let's see what I can do," he growled. As the men closed in, he whipped it out and sprayed at them with foam. Taking advantage of their temporary blindness, Jack turned to the security guard and shouted, "Evacuate the entire building and get everyone out of here now. Go!"
The security guard widened his eyes slightly. Then he motioned for the others to follow his lead. As soon as they were all close enough to the exit did Jack turn his attention back to the MECH group. He held up a hand again, going straight to work and wrapping them all up. As soon as they were taken care of, he switched his attention to the front.
Supercharger, much to his surprise, was watching and waiting for him outside. Jack realized that he should have thought about this more, but it was too late to turn back. He threw the doors open and shouted, "Supercharger!"
Supercharger nearly jumped at the harshness in Jack's tone of voice. But he seemed to regain his composure as he said, "Did you really just try to out best them all? That was a mistake! Nobody outsmarts the likes of me and my crew."
"Good thing that time changes the world," Jack said. "I don't know much about you except for what I saw on the news, but even I know it's not polite to just come to town and take hostages. Especially in the capital of the United States of America."
"P-polite?" Supercharger choked out.
"Yes, polite. What, you've never read a dictionary in your life?"
"Ooh!" someone exclaimed. "Burn!"
Supercharger narrowed his eyes. "You really wanna try this, don't you?"
Jack made no reply. His subconscious was screaming hysterically at him, calling him an idiot, but he stood his ground. He was actually glad his mom made him take some defense classes growing up.
"Fine," Supercharger snarled, clenching his left fist.
Without a warning, he sent a charge at Jack. He was sent flying backwards, colliding into the wall. A lot of people cried out as a result. However, everyone was surprised as Jack stood up.
"…Ow," he groaned out. He brushed the debris off of his shoulders. "Guess you've gotten stronger since you went to prison."
Supercharger charged forward. Jack readily leaped over him, grabbing his shoulders and flipping him onto his front. The impact didn't have much of an effect.
"What, you decided to wake up just for attention?" Jack crouched down next to him. "Gotten a lot ambitious in your quest to prove empowered people are an error in the human race since you were broken out, haven't you?"
Supercharger pushed himself up. Jack had to crawl away in case he tried to strike him again. "You should talk. People like you and me are the reason why my dad died."
"And I'm sorry about it. I lost my mom recently, so I know how you feel to watch someone you love die. But she wasn't killed by an empowered, and I wasn't going to judge a specific group of people based on what my mom's killer was. I will guarantee you that once this is over, I'll have you handed to the cops." Jack looked around. "Or whatever is left of them here."
Supercharger tried to get at him, but Jack leaped upwards so he was out of reach. A lot of people shouted as he willed himself to stick to the building. He smiled…until he saw Supercharger suddenly coming his way. The teenage boy dropped himself before coming back up and deliver a punch to the face. His opponent slammed into the ground.
"I've got to get the fight away from these people," Jack mumbled to himself. "Or else the two of us won't be the only ones to get hurt."
"Playtime's over."
Jack turned around to Supercharger, who just seemed to be pissed off now. His entire body was charging up with newfound energy. With one quick thrust, he surged forward and began to fight Jack. He blocked every move that Supercharger threw at him, but each punch and kick shocked him beyond comparison.
He focused on his blind side, leaving it patterned with a tapestry of gaping wounds. All the same, Supercharger's fighting was brutal and quick. No matter how hard he delivered a blow, he refused to go down.
Maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe it was the summer heat. Whatever it was, Jack prevailed with the shock wounds, using his newfound agility to dodge each energy packed punch. He was running out of options, and he knew that he couldn't keep this up forever, not with so many citizens around. In one last attempt, he resorted to a plan that was simple. He balanced himself on one foot and, mustering up his strength, he pivoted on his heel, bringing up his leg to have it crack on his opponent's head.
But Supercharger had a different idea. As soon as Jack swung his leg, he had raised his arm up, charged up and ready to be used. Jack's heel slammed into his forearm, forcing him to re-aim. They watched as the charge flew upward and slammed into the building near the top. Both of them cringed as the top exploded, and a fire started to break out.
One of the cops whistled, taking off his cap and scratching his head. "Tough luck for a guy like him."
Both men turned to each other slowly. Before Jack could say anything, Supercharger resumed his attack on him. On instinct, Jack shrieked and swung his arm. He delivered an uppercut that forced Supercharger to go flying and hitting the ground hard enough to knock him out.
Jack slowly approached him when he heard a groan. "Phew! I thought I'd killed him for a second."
That was when he heard the shouts followed by a breeze and a whirring sound. Jack quickly turned around and his eyes doubled in size. For above him was an impressive costumed man in body armor and a full body suit with harnesses. Attached to his back were a pair of engine powered wings with turbines smack centered in each one. His face was covered in a mask that was similar to a bird, a scavenger of sorts.
Like a vulture.
"Hey, Jackie."
Jack took a step back from the man. How did this guy know who he was? But he knew now that this guy, whoever he was, had to be in league with MECH.
"Nice outfit, kiddo. When did you decide to become a vigilante?"
Jack didn't say anything. He was still focused on the possibility of this guy being associated with Silas.
"Guess the cat took your tongue then," the newcomer said. "Welcome to Washington, D.C. They call me the Vulture around here."
"I can't imagine why," Jack said as he finally found his voice. "But what is your thing besides…that?"
Something forced him to go flying backwards, and Jack cried out as he was sent sailing through the air. He landed hard on his back, the pain scraping against his back. Through his pain, he could hear the man land in front of him.
"Gotta give you credit where it's deserved," the man said. "Not too many people stick around when they see me. Well, whenever they do, it's lights out for them."
"You—" the stunned teenager started, but the man cut him off.
"I normally draw the line when it comes to kids. But then your old pal Silas showed me your profile, and that's when I got curious. I had to see it for myself, and shit, you almost look like your old man."
"My what?" Jack froze up at those words. They were the only ones he could register. There was a profile on him? He shouldn't be that surprised given his circumstances, but the thought that this guy not only knew but read it left him reeling. But if this guy knew things about him, then did that mean…?
Renewed anger forced Jack to prop himself on his elbows. "If he hears about this—"
"If your dad really cared about you, you wouldn't be here right now," said the man. "You're still young, Jack. You don't understand how this side of the world works."
"I know what you're doing is wrong," Jack bit out. "Working with terrorists and shit like that."
"How do you think guys like Stark get their fortune? You know how the minds of those men work, Jack, how they do whatever they want and don't care about the consequences. There will be victims, lots of ruined lives, and they still won't care as long as they've got a scapegoat. They say we're all equals, but we're not."
Jack pushed himself up to his feet. "Why the hell do you even care? This is our first fight together, so I don't see why this has to do with me."
"Because I think that deep down, you know it's true. Why else would you be here and not with your old man? Did your mom even tell you why he never went with you two?"
Jack nearly faltered at that statement, and it gave the Vulture an opening. He flew straight at him, but Jack dove underneath him. Quick on his feet, the teenager turned to face him again.
"Chief!" a cadet called out.
The chief had already dusted off bits of tar from himself and grumbled his distaste for machinery. He fished out a police communicator and was already barking out orders.
"All units — this is a worst case scenario, and then some! Engage planned protocol procedures!"
As the Vulture continued to toy with Jack, sweeping at him like a bird of prey with their next meal, he didn't even notice the activity around them until he saw himself in the midst of a wide enclosure of officers with their weapons aimed at him.
"Hey, back off now. This is between me and the kid," he told them.
"Yeah? And I should care about your business why?" the captain said.
Behind his mask, Toomes simply frowned at the man before, nonchalantly, he raised his arm and shot apart one of the cruisers without even looking at it. Officers and bystanders ducked to avoid being injured.
"This is why I hate machines," the captain grounded out in annoyance.
Jack retaliated and surged forward, but Toomes ignited the thrusters of his wings and shot over his opponent before bringing out his own firearms.
"Shit," Jack cursed to himself. He activated his shooters and allowed a thick strand of web to catch the dented door. He managed to rip it off and used it as a shield before using it as a disc. But Toomes only kicked it away.
"Okay, let's get civilians as far away from here as possible," an officer addressed to a group of his fellow comrades. "Let's hop to it now!"
Jack cried out as Toomes slammed his talon-shaped boots against his chest. He grunted harder as his back hit the ground. Safe to say that this was the dumbest thing he had ever done besides getting on Airachnid's bad side.
"Get off of me!" he shouted as he struggled to yank the foot off of him. Instead, Toomes raised up a gauntlet clad hand and proceeded to bring it down on him. On a faint memory of someone screaming stop forced Jack to suddenly lift up a hand and catch the man's fist.
"Stop it!"
He pulled the man in and butted his head against his. It stung, but by the way Toomes reacted after, it had an effect on him as well. He just didn't expect him to head straight up into the air with Jack's sweatshirt still attached to his talons.
Frustrated, Jack grabbed hold of the talons and began to pry them off. Toomes had a different idea, as he deliberately released him. Jack used the shooters again to latch himself to the Vultures chest plate. A mistake on his part, as he was slammed into as he pulled himself upwards. But Jack was quick to reposition himself over Toomes and slammed into him again, this time with the intent to make sure he hit the ground beneath him. He succeeded as they hit the ground hard.
"Hey! There's a kid up there!" A man was pointing upwards.
Jack craned his neck up. Sure enough, to his horror, a kid no older than ten was poking his head from a window.
"That's our son!" a woman shrieked. Her hands flew to her face as her stricken husband stood there in shock.
They must have gotten separated during the chaos, Jack thought to himself. But why is he up there and not down here?
He heard Toomes groan beneath him. He looked down at the masked creep before looking back up. Now he saw himself facing a moral choice: rescue the boy himself or make this guy a top priority. He knew he had to make that decision, but he barely had time to as he heard a cry.
Fear coursing through his veins, Jack wasted no time in trying to reach the boy. He scaled up the walls, hoping the top part of the building wouldn't collapse on itself. The boy almost panicked upon seeing Jack approaching and went back inside. Jack had to get him out of there. He couldn't risk seeing another life go out.
He reached the window and poked his head inside. The boy had crawled into a nearby corner. He had dark skin, dark brown eyes, and short hair with a backpack slung to his shoulders. He screamed and crawled further back.
"Hey, hey, buddy. It's okay," Jack tried to coax the boy.
"Get away from me," the boy cried.
"Hey, buddy. Look." Jack ripped off his mask. If he was going to save the boy, then he needed to get him to trust him. "See? I'm a normal kid like you are."
The boy looked at the mask. Jack offered it to him and tossed it at the kid. "What's your name?"
The boy blinked up at him.
"You know what? That's okay. Let's just get you back to your parents, okay? You think you can let me do that?"
The boy hesitated before he allowed Jack to pick him up. He carried him over to the window, pressing the boy's face to his shoulder so he wouldn't breathe in the growing cloud of smoke. But as soon as he swung a leg out, he heard a faint crack from overhead.
"I'm scared," the boy whimpered.
"It's okay," Jack said softly. "It's okay." He had an idea. "Listen, I need you to put on the mask. It's gonna make you strong, trust me."
The boy hesitated, but he did as Jack said. It allowed him to climb out of the window and started to make his way down the wall. Halfway down he retrieved his mask, and he had the child promise not to tell anyone that he saw his face. Once he knew the secret was safe, he continued down until his feet were on the ground.
He watched as the mother scooped him up in her arms and hugged him tightly to her. The dad had his arms wrapped around them both. He leaned against the building and watched the family dynamic happen. The scene made him choke up; how he missed having a mom and dad in his life all at once.
A commotion from behind regained his attention. He turned around and watched as Toomes struggled to get back onto his feet. All guns were suddenly pointed at the man, and Jack jumped in front of the family to shield them in case he decided to attack.
"Did you really just choose that kid over me?"
Jack narrowed his eyes at him. He waited for Toomes to say something snarky or for him to attack again. Instead, the man turned his attention to Hilliard. He walked over to the younger man and picked him up before turning to Jack again.
"Honor to the end. I admire that. I've got a few secrets of my own. I'll let you be for now, but that doesn't mean that this—" He gestured between them. "—isn't over between us yet."
Before Jack could figure out what he meant, Vulture powered the engines of his wings. Jack scrambled to his feet, reaching out to stop him, but the Vulture would not let him. Instead he held Supercharger with one hand and took off into the air.
Jack stood there in disbelief of the Vulture leaving. He threw back his head with a groan. This wasn't how he wanted to spend his first day back in the city. He just watched time.
Suddenly, Jack felt the sensation of being watched, and looked behind him to see a dozen or so civilians looking at him. He quickly scaled up one of the walls and over the rooftop. Below him, the people started to cheer, a sound Jack never could get anyone to do up until now. But he couldn't help smiling. He was amazed that he was able to pull it off as a mysterious hero, and he was glad!
Rhodes watched as Stark paced around in his lab. Those last few days was a mess for them.
Avengers Initiative? An absolute 'no?' Natasha Romanoff? Safe to say that this was the worst week of Stark's life.
The birthday party had been no better. Stark had straight up gotten drunk and donned his Iron Man suit. Seeing him acting as a disc jockey while wearing it would've been entertaining if it wasn't for the risk of getting someone killed. A reason why he wore the War Machine armor to begin with. Of course, Pepper had blamed it all on Rushman — no, Romanoff, that stupid little minx — for everything that had happened. It didn't leave him unpunished.
While he had no interest in working for S.H.I.E.L.D., even with the chances of it taken away, he had to admit that it would've been cool to be working with a team of superpowered and extraordinary people. He wasn't much of a team player, so he didn't have any interest in joining a super-secret boy band anyway. He did a fine job acting solo. Pepper and Rhodes had told him many times that he didn't have to suffer through things alone. But he shrugged their words off, stating that he was fine since he'd been doing that his whole entire life.
All of that had been pushed down when Fury had saved them, except they had not only manipulated him, but they personally violated his privacy. He should have been smarter than to let Romanoff that close to him and into the company. That's not up to you, she had told him. Fuck her! And fuck Fury for interfering with his life. He should have known better after Obadiah.
"Tony?" Rhodes waited for Stark to speak, but his friend said nothing. He continued, "Look, I'm sorry you got screwed over big time this month. But you can't just let it get to you like that. I mean, look how much good can be done if you partnered up with them. They did save your life."
Stark stopped his pacing and glared at him. "So?"
"So? You were acting irrational and…you didn't even tell us or Pepper what was going on. Why didn't you tell us you were dying from palladium poisoning?"
"Who told you…? Was it Fury or that leech that told you?"
"None of them did. I just had to find out myself why you were acting like a bigger ass during the entire week."
"Whatever. At least now I know who to request my first restraining order against."
"But you agreed to be a consultant to them."
"Not anymore. Tony Stark belongs to no one but himself."
"Not with that attitude of yours."
Stark sent him a small glare. He refused to admit that he was wrong. Though, if he were to try and at least get a part of himself back, then he would definitely have to.
"Fury isn't getting his stinkin' hands on my stuff. I'll see to it that he doesn't touch mine or anyone else's work."
Rhodes's eyes went wide at that statement. "I'm sorry, what?"
Stark strolled past him and picked up one of the flight stabilizers. "My entire life I've been defined by my intelligence or the company in general. Or my behavior and what it brought on my image. All favors without expecting anything from me, and Fury wants to try that trick on me himself? He can learn to do things the old fashion way and find out himself." Then he said to his personal virtual assistant, "JARVIS, turn on the news for me, will you? I don't feel like talking anymore."
"Yes, sir," a British accented voice echoed in the room.
"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Rhodes exclaimed. He threw his hands up for emphasis. "It's not like you can just discover something and beat him to it, will you?"
Stark didn't bother to answer him. He just turned to the screen and concentrated on the news. However, he was shocked at what he saw on it. He watched as a guy swung through the buildings and fighting two guys. It was part of a terrorist hostage holding before the mysterious vigilante appeared and fought them off enough for the police to take over. It also showed him saving a boy from a burning hotel building.
"Uh, you're seeing that too, right?" Rhodes turned to Stark.
"We can start with him," Stark mumbled before he turned to his virtual assistant. "JARVIS?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Take a screenshot of the news close enough to this guy. Then do a thermal scan and identify this masked vigilante," Stark said.
"Tony? What are you doing?" Rhodes said.
"Getting even with Fury," Stark answered. "What else would I be doing?"
"What does that guy have to do with Fury?" Rhodes pointed at the still.
"Because I want to get to that kid before Fury does. And besides, how would you feel if people like Nat or Fury upped one you like they did to me?"
Before Rhodes could speak, JARVIS concluded his search, "I have found one identification: a mister Jackson Darby, age sixteen of Jasper, Nevada."
"Hold on. How old?" Rhodes turned to the screen displays.
"Would you like to view his profiles?" JARVIS said, ignoring Rhodes.
Stark plopped down on a chair and pushed it towards the desk. "Sure, why not?"
A series of holograms appeared in front of him. One of them displayed a web page in front of him. First was a picture of a boy's headshot. He looked bored and annoyed all at once in it. Stark instantly began taking in features of the boy: black hair swept neatly, blue eyes that no one could forget, and pale skin. There was a hint of gray on the shirt he was wearing.
Stark scanned more into the slightly personal info that Jack had put on about himself. He went to one of the two schools in his hometown, a Memorial High School in Jasper, Nevada. He had no current idea to what he wanted to do after high school, nor what to study if he planned to go to college. His only two known friends were Miko Nakadai and Rafael "Raf" Esquivel.
But that wasn't the best part. After looking it all over, it also showed that his mother had recently died. His father was killed when the Twin Towers had collapsed in '01. And yet, much to their surprise, it turned out that there was a profile of him from S.H.I.E.L.D. Just why there was made Stark even more curious about this strange child.
"Why does S.H.I.E.L.D. have a folder on him?" Rhodes asked. "And at the age of four? Who is this kid, a type of alien from another planet?" When he didn't get a response, he turned to the only other person in the room. "Tony?"
Stark's eyes never left the screen. Rhodes waited for his response. A minute passed, but nothing happened. He thought he might as well leave before Stark turned around with that look. The kind where he got an idea that could potentially kill them both.
"Rhodey, do you have any plans for the next week?"