Hey Guys! And we're back again! I just wanted to say before you get into it thank you so much to all of you for the fave's, follow's, and the review's. It does my heart good to see that I've entertained you enough to warrant them, even if it is just a little. Gonna Leave a note at the bottom, So I hope you enjoy this next Chapter!
Chapter 5
'There's no frickin way…'
Jack had seen many women in his time. He had seen beautiful women up close and personal, and obviously as a hot blooded male he'd seen many through a computer screen as most young boys tend to at one point or another.
Having the opportunity to see 'this' particular woman as close as he was now though left him awestruck.
Helena had a certain beauty to her, Jack wasn't blind. Jack could also clearly remember in his mind's eye what she looked like in the JLU show, and if this Helena was going to be anywhere close to that (which in a way she was already pretty damn close) she would be an absolute heartbreaker. Having any possible thoughts about her would be absolutely natural thing if not for the obvious de-aging and recent separation from his family that he had gone through.
'How did Cap not get creeped out in the MCU when he thought to go for Sharon?' Jack thought once that particular line went through his brain, even though he knew for a fact that the two situations were completely different.
Again though after shaking a little to rid himself of those awkward feeling's, that brought back the thought of who had just walked through the double doors of Ted's gym.
Even in his previous life Jack knew only a few women who looked even close to like who he knew this woman was.
She was slightly tall and if Jack had to take a guess he would be exactly eye level with her making her at the very least 5'6 to 5'7 without the shoes she was wearing. He knew from only the three feet or so that now separated them that Selina Kyle had very striking green eyes; almost like emeralds in the way they sparkled. Selina's hair was done up into a symmetrical pixie cut, her black locks short but most definitely lustrous if the light catching them was anything to go by.
Voluptuous didn't even cover the way this woman looked, and he didn't need the slight elbow that Helena had given him after aligning with his right side to know that he was staring; though to be fair Jack's mouth had only hung open for a moment.
So sue him… he is a guy, and most of the time guys do like to observe a beautiful woman.
Now however though he knew he was staring, and if anyone was able to actually see his thoughts they would think him a creep for a completely different reason.
He had already begun to size her up.
The fact stood this woman was and could still be a threat. She had fought Batman before numerous times and even got the better of him through guile and misdirection.
'Great…thinking like the Bat now. Gonna have to curb that a smidge so I don't become an absolute jerk.' Jack thought as he continued to observe Selina talking to Ted.
There was no doubt in Jacks mind that Selina could vie for the most beautiful women in the world title, but he was looking at her in a much more calculating way. Even knowing what he knew and how he felt about the way Batman's paranoia came into play, he figured he could at least copy it a little when it came to people like Catwoman.
The woman was much like the Bat himself that way, everything about her could be considered a weapon.
Though Voluptuous, if there was any fat on Selina at all it was in the more sensual parts of her body though Jack was convinced that she didn't actually have any real fat on her, that she just had the genetics along with having put in considerable work to look as good as she did. Her curves were in all the right places, but it was the definition in her forearms and her slightly exposed calf's that painted the picture of her athleticism and that was what left Jack in a bit of awe.
Even through her outfit Jack swore he could see her core contract and that he could make out the slight lines of her tone stomach. Her bust was more than generous looking though he knew that at the moment it was being pushed up by the top she was wearing. Her hips were slightly wide, and if Jack got a good side profile of her in work out gear he'd say she was definitely any and every Instagram models inspiration back home.
Everything about her screamed danger from her aura of confidence, to her looks, even to her outfit and the way it was meant to draw you in. Everything about her could and would be used as a distraction or in a lethal way, and that was what made her so dangerous in Jack's opinion.
Her outfit consisting of a very expensive looking gold chain necklace (that hung down to her slightly exposed cleavage was one of the tells) which at the bottom had a tear shaped crystal wrapped in a gold blockade that was reminiscent of a shaved peel that corkscrewed around the 2 inch long looking crystal.
She had a dark green slim fit leather jacket over what was obviously a black strapless crop top, black leather/pleather pants, and some very stylish thick 2 inch black heels completing the ensemble. On both of Selina's wrists she had bright gold bangles that both had gleaming crystals about the size of basic marbles the same color as the one in her necklace, and she had a plain unadorned rose gold band on her right ring finger.
Her posture was absolutely flawless and the most frustrating thing was Jack never understood how some women could be so comfortable in heels of all things, even if they were flat ones like Selina's.
Jack and Helena both proceeded to clear the space between themselves and the adults, and further Jack was watching Selina intently.
She had her right hand out on Teds Left arm and was sporting what seemed to be a genuine smile, though again the nasty voice at the back of Jacks head was saying it could all be a game which left Jack coaching himself in his own mind again.
'Need to try and remain calm, impassive. In the comics Ted first and foremost took Selina in and protected her/taught her to defend herself. Life kicked her in the teeth when she was down and she didn't have it anywhere near easy, but then again who ever really does. I also need to remember that Catwoman at times has been a certified hero, I mean hell she married Bruce in the one timeline…though I'm going to doubt that's happened here yet; if it's going to happen at all. No matter, the main thing is to not come off confrontational. Of all the things I would need it would most certainly not be having Catwoman of all people as a pain in my side at any point, not to mention I don't need any wedges between me and Ted for me being a paranoid ass.' Jack thought as they stood waiting for Ted and Selina to finish with their hellos and apparent catch up.
At that thought Selina herself had turned and started to look at both Jack and Helena. Her smirk was ever present, and with her right hip slightly cocked out while looking at them the silence then started to set in.
The bustle of the Gym was evident; machines, weights being set up and down, music in the back round, idle chatter, even one of the only two T.V.s that was down in the gym was on and apparently playing the news, but the silence between the four that were supposed to be going shopping was evident if you were paying attention.
Ted had his arms crossed with a slight smile on his face while he patiently observed what was turning into what could be considered a good old fashioned Mexican stand-off, (if this had been a movie that is) between his three students/companions.
Selina as always was poise and calm, but Jack could tell she was doing something all thieves and fighters learned how to do, she was sizing the both of them up. The look was calculating and if Jack was picking her vibe up right, just a tad bit condescending. All in all exactly what he'd expected when he ran into Catwoman.
"So kiddies…Ted tells me you two need a woman's opinion to get you outfitted with some half decent clothes." Selina said as she broke the silence.
The tone and inflection was playful with just an underscore of teasing, which did exactly as Jack knew it would in Helena's case as she immediately took offense and went straight on the counteroffensive; well-tried anyway.
"Listen here you hussy I don't need…" Helena's right hand was pointing directly at Selina her fiery temper immediately on display as she launched into her tirade, and it would have been a thing to behold but Jack had little time for it, and more importantly wanted to establish a certain footing with everyone present.
Stepping into the line of fire might not have been the best idea, but Jack was not one for wasting time.
"As interesting as it would be to see you have a go at her Helena, the lady was joking if you couldn't tell by her tone, and you having that reaction was exactly what she wanted. You need to relax some. We're going out to shop and that's not a big thing, so don't get your panties twisted up okay?" Jack said as he immediately interjected himself sideways between the two women he knew of placing one hand on Helena's arm in an attempt to lower it.
Having both women in his line of sight was to his benefit as he was able to see while also hearing Selina's slight chuckling, and Helena's immediate flushing of anger which let him quickly(quicker than he should have if he was being honest) dodge what would have been a quick left jab to the face as he stepped back fluidly.
Had Jack seen Ted or Selina at that moment he would have seen both looking impressed and curious as Helena was no slouch in the speed department, the look of brief shock on Helena however faded quickly into fury again as she took a slight step into Jack's personal space and poked him in the chest with her right pointer finger.
" First off let's make this very clear right now got it… my pantie's are none of your business and second; if you ever try and touch me again ill break the hand!" Helena said as she added slight pressure to the firm poke she was leveling at Jack's right pectoral.
The situation would have honestly been funny any other time to Jack, but he definitely didn't like being threatened or touched the way that Helena was at the moment but did his best to play it cool and simply raised his right eyebrow now mostly facing her. Quickly seeing that the situation was heading south Ted took over before it could escalate to anything further than it had already.
"Helena! That's enough…Jack is right. Selina was trying to get a rise out of you and you gave her exactly what she wanted. Dammit Girl I keep telling you, you can't get sore every time somebody says somthin you think is out of line, and going for a swing on somebody you know nothing about is just as bad as you overreacting to the words. You don't seem to be payin very good attention; that or your ego needs another check because Jack could have taken you apart after that swing and here you are antagonizing him some more!" Ted said as he was now barely a foot from both teens.
Helena immediately colored again from what Jack assumed was either embarrassment because of the crack about her ego needing a check(and the thought of how that was done), anger, or maybe both, but to be fair Ted wasn't wrong.
'One for All' and all of Jack's previous experience had been put to the test just then, and already the combo was proving great and Jack had only been channeling 2%.
Jack from the moment he had woken up had decided that he needed to have One For All flowing through himself as often as possible to acclimate to having it going, and so was resolved to have it going at a low enough output to not be overtly noticed by others or to cause himself any pain but still make a difference to his movement. There had been massive debate between fans back home whether or not people saw the green sparks that 'One for All' produced around Deku, or now in this case Jack himself. As far as he could tell they weren't on display yet because no one was staring at him weird.
Jack knew for a fact that he had shown Richard the sparks by concentrating on just his hand and made them more prevalent, and that was when he was using 5% but in the show you could see mild sparks all around Deku when he focused it around his body. But again Jack was only using 2% and as far as he could tell after the first few moments of channeling it, the sparks seemed to fade into nothingness though Jack could still feel the power flowing through and around himself.
On top of the fact that his quirk was now going through his system Jack also not only had a slight understanding of Helena's background and possible attitude but he also had the experience of having been through enough training, and having been in enough scraps to see her telegraph the movement through the draw back of her shoulder for the thrust of the strike she threw.
No mistake about it Helena was top notch in her speed, but if you see a strike coming a mile off and let it hit you that's on you, and there was absolutely no way Jack was going to let that happen.
Jack didn't like getting punched in the face as a general rule of life.
'This girl is gonna be a handful and a half, any attempt at making friends with her is gonna be just a Joy.' Jack thought as he was still looking dead into Helena's eyes.
The tenseness died down slightly when Selina's chuckles became more vocal as she watched the two teen's interaction.
"Teddy Bear's not wrong you know girly. The kid doesn't look like much at first but I can tell he's fought before now that I'm paying attention, and the second your shock set in there was probably about 3 different things the kid could have done to make you pay for that slip. The fact that he didn't; show's he's either chivalrous, generous, or very kind, all three of those things being very low held in my personal regard. I would have dropped you like a bad habit for such a blatant strike." Selina said as she crossed her arms under her bust while speaking in what was now obvious condescension to Helena.
The sneer that broke out on Helena's face was something to behold as she turned her vision back to Selina and if Jack was being honest it was ever so slightly intimidating, let it not be said that Jack didn't have a fully developed sense of self preservation.
'Jesus this is gonna be a long day if this is the road we're gonna go down. Normal women can be scary when they wanna be, one's that are close to Olympic level fitness and know how to fight are worse.' Jack thought as he again turned slightly so he was now able to look at both of the women at the same time.
Luckily any chance at a fight breaking out was quickly shot down by Ted's intervention, apparently he too had just about enough of the way things had been going.
"Helena Enough! Selina would you quit trying to antagonize the girl, she's a hot head and as much fun as it usually is to watch you wind somebody up we need to get moving." Ted stated as he looked between the two women after having pinched the bridge of his nose most probably in an attempt to stave off a headache.
From that point things went relatively smooth in Jacks opinion, with the two women acquiescing to Ted's request. Even though it was more like a demand. And the fact that it was done begrudgingly on Helena's part. Jack knew for a fact that if those two ever met suited up it was gonna be a serious problem.
The four quickly left the gym and hoped on a bus down the right of the block from the gym and took it to Gotham City Central Mall. The trip had been short and wound up only taking them about 15 minutes via the bus ride to get there and begin the expedition for the day.
The group had made mild small talk though it remained stunted due to the interaction from earlier that morning. Jack mostly decided to talk to Ted directly while Selina herself seemed content to just enjoy quiet as they traveled to the mall, while Helena had plugged herself into her phone to listen to some music or watch a video.
Ted and Jack again went over a small list of things Jack would need to get while they were at the mall. Richard had conjured a pair of black trainers with socks for Jack to wear when they had initially made the move to meet Ted, though he had immediately advised Jack to buy a pair this way he wouldn't have the unfortunate experience of them just disappearing off him. Conjured items would only last so long outside of the casters active magic after all.
Jack's list for shopping was very basic ranging from all the different clothes he would need as well as to supplement through the winter since they were already in September and sure enough the weather would quickly turn. He would also need a phone which Ted had said he himself would pay for so he could have Jack on his plan, making it easier for them to stay in touch. Ted had also pushed him to get some things for entertainment if he had wanted,siting that Jack was in fact a kid; though if he was being honest with himself he wasn't planning on being frivolous with his spending or on going much of anywhere until his training was up. Jack knew he would have to do the recon training that Wildcat planned to put him through, but other than that Jack wasn't interested in getting out much or having many distractions.
'My main focus is getting strong, strong enough that I'll hopefully be able to avoid the issues Izuku dealt with when it came to using 'One for All'. That and then figuring out what a patrol route would look like for myself, I need to make sure I don't bog myself down with too many overt distractions.' Jack thought as they disembarked the bus and arrived at the mall.
While walking into the rather large mall that rather reminded Jack of the one Mall he had visited back home in New York City, he observed his fellow traveling companions again. Helena had remained plugged in but was seemingly very aware of her surroundings as they made their way into the crowed 3 story building. Ted and Selina seemed to be reminiscing about something again, and Jack did his best not to eavesdrop.
They first made their way too Old Navy at Jack's request which Ted attempted to warn Jack off of saying that Richard had left him a decent bank roll of $3500.00 cash to work with, stating that he could get some really nice clothes if he wanted.
After mentally balking at the amount Richard had left him he shook his head and affirmed to Ted that he didn't particularly care about having vintage or expensive type clothing, and that he just wanted stuff that would fit and be comfortable noticing that he got side-long glances from both of the women with them.
Selina herself seemed to be tutting under her breathe at Jack though he wasn't overly concerned about it, he wasn't here to impress anybody with his looks and had never really thought much of himself any two ways about it when it came to that anyway.
The excursion into Old Navy had taken about 2 and half hours, and had Jack leaving carrying 4 bags while Ted carried two for him with a decent sized box under his left arm. At some point Ted had excused himself from Old Navy and left Jack at the tender mercies of Selina and for even a moment Helena, as they both offered up opinions about choices of color and style for his dressing needs. Jack now had a pair of real black cross-trainers, a simple pair of black boots, 4 pairs of black cargo pants, 3 pairs of blue jeans, 12 different T-shirts of varying dark colors, assorted underwear and socks, a light dark grey wind-breaker jacket, thermals for when it got cold, and all the other assorted essentials for the weather shift to winter.
Overall while slightly perturbed that he wound up having to deal with putting on an impromptu fashion show for Catwoman of all people (The woman was doing everything she could to make him blush and unfortunately even had he still been an adult he was bound to do so due to her remarks and invading his personal space) he found that the trip had been worthwhile, and the clerk had been nice and given him 30% off of everything he bought making it so he wound up only spending $480.00 dollars leaving him with quite a bit of the bankroll (thank Richard) left over.
Ted had returned as they were checking out, and had shown that he had gone and gotten Jack a birthday present which he immediately tried to tell him to take back but Ted would have none of it. Ted had gone up to the third floor to a vintage leather store and bought Jack a midnight Black leather jacket that reminded Jack of Dean Winchester's leather jacket from the first couple of seasons of Supernatural, and it came with a sturdy black leather wallet attached to a relatively sturdy looking chain as well.
Jack was already dressed in one of the pairs of the cargo pants, along with a dark green V-neck cut T-shirt, and the black boots and quickly donned the Jacket as well while tucking the wallet into his inner right breast pocket.
Immediately he got a thumbs up of approval from Helena, (though Jack wasn't surprised considering what she was wearing) and again as he had gotten a few times already Selina gave a sly wink and made a comment about him now looking rugged and handsome which of course had her chuckling shortly after as Jack again turned red from the attention.
'This is ridiculous, it is so much worse that I'm a teen again, and she knows that her looks would knock even a grown man outta his socks.' Jack thought as they continued the trek through the mall.
Jack was only able to thank his lucky stars that Helena for all intents and purposes seemed to not really care about him one way or the other, even though they had gotten off to a rocky start earlier that day. When she had offered her opinions she seemed very detached and had barely passed him a second glance, which Jack was actually quite thankful for.
Jack did not do well under scrutiny even at the best of times, and had resolved to fix that issue with Ted's help later on.
The group next visited the Verizon store and got Jack a smartphone that Ted was happy to put on his data plan, siting that he would need it to stay in touch with Jack when he was ready to venture out into the wide world. Though if Jack was being honest with himself, he had the sneaking suspicion that Ted would use it to keep an eye on him through GPS.
After that the group browsed for a while stopping at a coupe different stores for Helena and Selina as they both sited that they wanted to go for their own choices for clothes shopping, and even though she had seemed against it earlier Helena seemed to be deferring to Selina in the fashion department asking questions and even receiving her suggestions with little complaint; a massive change from earlier in the day.
They had wound up going to three different stores and each one left Jack feeling conflicted and mortified at the same time.
'I cant take this, the teasing is one thing but they are taking forever too on top of it.' Jack thought as he suffered through the shopping experience. He had done it many times before, but still didn't have to like it.
All in all the trip to the mall wrapped up a little after 1330, with the group having gotten lunch at the food court of the mall at Sbarro, again leaving Jack in slight awe that some things seemed to carry over.
'Verizon and Old Navy were one thing, though they seemed like smaller stores now. Oh well...at least they have some good food around.' Jack thought as they left reflecting over the deluxe sized slice of plain Sicilian pizza he had.
After the group took the ride back to the corner from the gym itself and then made it to the front of the gym, Selina excused herself saying she would go home and drop off her new purchases Helena following suit and saying the same thing as she headed left to head back to the group home.
For a moment Jack wanted to question Ted why he had never offered to take Helena in, but the thought better of it and decided to wait a bit before prying either of them with that line of questioning.
Jack and Ted then made their way inside, and Jack proceeded to split from Ted heading upstairs so that he could wash most of his new clothes.
The time started to fly by in the apartment for Jack and slowly but surely he had finished all his laundry and packed all his clothes away in his new room, he then started to commence with another set of workouts for the day.
After about two hours or so Jack was actually summoned by Ted so he gathered his wits and walked down into the gym proper noticing that it was relatively empty again even though it was close to 4 in the afternoon.
Seeing Ted walk out of his office now dressed in a black wife beater, and black workout pants with two sets of gloves in his arms Jack knew that things were about to pick up.
Tossing one of the sets of gloves to Jack, Ted started walking towards the boxing ring and gestured for Jack to follow without saying a word.
'Okay so we're doing this now…great.' Jack thought as he fastened the first glove on his left hand while he proceeded to get into the ring.
"All right kiddo it's time to see where you're at, now I'm not gonna lie to ya I'm not that great at holding back when it comes to this kinda thing so I expect you to give me all you got ya hear? I'm not gonna have you half assing me in this ring...ever. And for reference if you think I'm gonna go easy because you're technically a newbie you got another thing coming." Ted said as he started to bounce on the balls of his feet, both gloves now on while he basically glided from side to side in front of Jack in the ring.
Jack now had both gloves on and started to mildly stretch while keeping his eyes zeroed on Ted, knowing that if he dropped his guard this would be over rather quickly.
"Let's be clear on this one... right now is without your gift alright, I wanna see where you're at on your own so we can build you base. God forbid your ever in a situation where you can't use it I don't want you dependent." Ted said lowly enough for only Jack to hear as he squared up his guard and started to advance on Jack's position.
The movement quickly however snapped Jack back to reality and out of possible thoughts on what could impede him from using 'One for All'.
'Nobody that size should be able to move that quickly or quietly.' Jack thought with trepidation as he quickly took his basic stance, his hands up held in firm but loose fists his arms vertically covering his front allowing him to guard his front, face, and sides if need be; while imitating Ted and having started to bounce on the balls of his feet.
The slight smile that Ted gave was the only quick indication that Jack knew what he was doing was good before it began.
And oh boy did it start…
Jack's prior experience was all that kept him from getting his block knocked off right then, as Ted moved in with a quick 2 jab combo that followed with a right hook that would have put Jack's lights out. Jack had barely seen it coming but tightened his guard and lowered himself ever so slightly, and then started to bob and weave trying to flow into a quick Dempsey roll. Ted obviously saw it and the smirk on his face and light in his eyes showed what Jack took as approval, though he wasn't even close to done with the assault.
Ted pulled back barely half a step and then quickly lunged forward into what would have been a gazelle punch, but he used it as a push that nearly took Jack off his feet and forced him into the back right corner next to where he had entered the ring.
That alone though not having done any real damage at the time was a problem for Jack in its own way, as his head had snapped back a bit on impact with the corner padding.
'Jesus…he's not playing.' Jack thought as he had to quickly shake his head from the slight disorientation only to have to tighten his guard as his eyes widened like dinner plates realizing that Ted was already on him again… and that the disorientation was far from done.
The following onslaught was rough and Jack could already tell that his arms were going to be badly bruised, jabs and crosses rained down on his guard and were rattling him to his core as they came with barely seconds between each new blow that was all but witling him down.
"What's a matter kid you having a rough time?" Ted asked with a smile in his voice as he continued to batter Jack's guard.
'Gonna have to take a shot or I'm done here.' Jack thought as he continued to wait watching Ted as best he could from behind his guard, hoping to find a chance to at least attempt a counter.
Ted was relentless and it seemed like he wouldn't back off anytime soon, but then out of nowhere he slowed down a fraction and had seemed to drop his left shoulder a bit. Taking that as an invitation Jack made a move though he figured it would throw Ted off balance because Jack wasn't a sap and had no plans to just blindly swing.
Sure enough Jack saw Ted's eyes widen as Jack quickly feinted as if to take a swing knowing that's what Ted was expecting him to do, but he then squatted down and then quickly sprung forward in a vault under Ted's right side and then kipped up to his feet and turned to face Ted.
Knowing that he would just get more of the same as before Jack quickly two stepped and put himself into striking distance of Ted. A rabbit punch, followed by a one two combo starting with a left jab led into an attempt at a back elbow on Ted's chin. Jack knew for a fact that he was at way too many disadvantages even if this was just a spar, but he would be damned if he wasn't gonna give it everything.
Ted had blocked or ducked everything that Jack had thrown but Jack was determined, and he continued to relentlessly push forward even knowing that he might not have success at all in the venture of trying to land a blow on Ted.
The one two combos transferred into double jabs followed by right hooks and alternating straights, and after Jack would either attempt another back elbow from alternating sides and had even slipped in a backfist from his left which came perilously close to clipping across Ted's jaw actually making the old boxer's eyebrows raise.
'Just a little more…gotta keep pushing.' Jack thought as he continued to advance on his trainer knowing that it was all relatively in vain, and yet Jack couldn't help but be excited in the moment. The adrenaline was pumping and he could feel his pulse beating through his ears as he threw blow after blow.
Ted had begun to push back every once in a while not willing to fully give Jack control of their exchange, though that was when Jack decided to take a major risk.
'Well this ain't gonna tickle that's for sure…' Jack thought as he waited for Ted's next retaliatory swing which actually wound up being an uppercut to the body.
Ted had cleared the foot and a half of space between them and had swung, and Jack took full advantage of the hit as it came. Jack had dug his feet into the canvas leaning on the balls of his feet and allowed the hit to connect and at the point of contact had expelled his breathe trying to roll with the hit.
Jack had been hit before by plenty of people and Jack knew for a fact that the hit hadn't been full power but even still it had almost made him double over, Ted's form being perfect allowing him to drive all the force of the blow into him. But even so Jack had just enough presence of mind to go for his desperate retaliation strike, and believe it or not it had actually paid off…if only for a moment.
Jack had used Ted's surprise about him taking the hit to quickly latch onto the back of Ted's neck with both hands in what would have been considered a loose attempt at the Thai clinch, but knowing that Ted would be able to counter Jack waited for that attempt. The second that had passed ended like lightning with Ted attempting to bring both of his meaty arms up and knock Jack's obviously smaller ones away, and that's when Jack actually surprised Ted.
Jack quickly was able to break off the hold and jump back half a step landing on his left and had coiled his right leg and lashed out with a textbook sidekick which connected with Ted's jaw actually snapping the older fighter's head to the side and making him stumble back about two steps.
Jack didn't attempt to revel in the victory and quickly bounced into Ted's space to attempt another barrage, but was quickly cut off when his left straight was caught in Ted's right and he was dragged bodily into an elbow that rattled his ribcage and insides.
The follow up straight right sent Jack right to the land of unconsciousness.
About twenty minutes later Jack found himself waking up on Ted's couch in his office with a pillow under his head and an ice pack on his face, which Jack found himself wholly grateful for because he had a splitting headache and was sure that his face was either already swelled or would have if not for the pack.
'Jesus Christ the man hits like a sledgehammer... but I guess that's what makes you a five time world heavyweight champion and the basically normal guy that could smack down supervillains.' Jack thought as he slowly started to sit up on the couch while he clutched the pack to his face and his vision started to clear up.
As he looked up he could see Ted sitting behind his desk with both hands interlocked under his chin while he glanced at Jack with what Jack assumed was a pensive expression.
"Well Kid I'll give you this much you landed a solid hit on me, and it sure as hell didn't tickle. Sorry about that right that put you out, if I'm being honest I didn't think you'd actually land anything solid on me…so I may have put a little oomf in the strike." Ted said as he unfolded his hands and stood up and grabbed two water bottles and handed one to Jack before going back to sit behind his desk again.
"I'm gonna be brutally honest with ya here; you're not too bad, a little reckless but not bad at all. You were obviously watching me and you even picked out the opening I gave you and you knew that it was a set up…even turned it to your advantage to boot." Ted said as Jack sat back and listened while he gingerly drank his water.
If Jack was being completely honest, the praise he felt he was getting was a little much and again Jack found himself mentally lamenting over the state of his emotions because of his younger body.
But as they say all good things do come to an end…
"That being said don't for one second think that the stunt you pulled wasn't reckless as all hell because it was. Had this been a real engagement and the person had been taking you seriously like I should have done, you would have been out when you pulled that fancy little dive roll; hell you wouldn't have even pulled it off. Don't get me wrong kid you have talent your strikes are strong, your aim is true, your guard is tight but loose, your fast, and above all you pay attention. But… make no mistake you will not always be the fastest or strongest one out there, and if you misjudge it by even a second "you" or worse one of the people you're trying to protect will be the one to pay the price." Ted lectured though it wasn't said unkindly.
Jack had to viciously beat the voice at the back of his head that wanted to correct Ted and sight that once he had mastered 'One for All' that he very well might be the fastest and strongest out in the field, but Jack didn't wanna get another smack to the head. Not to mention he knew for a fact that he still might not be, he had no way of knowing how he would compare to the stronger fighters of this universe.
Quickly the two started to outline again exactly what Jack knew in terms of fighting from street fighting, to Tae Kwon Do, to Muay Thai, and then to traditional boxing. After going through the set up, they decided on how they would polish off his fighting abilities as well as adding on Sambo wrestling to give Jack grappling skills after Jack had explained to Ted that he had virtually no grappling or wrestling experience unless you counted backyard wrestling…which quickly led to Jack wanting to bury himself in a hole due to the laughter it brought out of Ted.
The two wrapped up for the evening and by that point it was already pushing on around six o'clock at night so Ted called out and ordered them grilled chicken sandwiches from a local place and they both retired for the evening shortly after to start the following day with Jack's full training regimen.
GOTHAM CITY- GRANT'S GYM
September 8TH 0600 EST
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'This man is trying to kill me…my heart feels like it's gonna explode.' Jack thought as he was going through his now third round of speed rope. Ted had woke him at 04:45 and immediately told him to get dressed, after getting dressed and out of his room they had gotten right into stretches and then a burst of speed rope to wake their bodies up. After that Ted had Jack going through body weight exercises at 4 sets of 15, and then after the sets were done he would be doing the same speed rope he was doing now.
All in all the experience was introducing Jack to a new kind of physical hell.
'I'll say this much my stamina is gonna be through the roof by the time the six months are up if it doesn't kill me.' Jack thought as he saw the timer ticking down from his 5 minute round.
As the buzzer went off Jack unceremoniously dropped the rope and proceeded to follow as he dropped to his knees, now trying to focus on steadying his breathing. This was only the beginning, as after this they would be picking a muscle group and focusing on weight training until 0645 and then Jack would be allowed to stretch to cool down and then he would have to shower and then put on his work uniform.
Jack's cheek was a little swollen from the hit the day before, and now the rest of his body was throbbing right alongside his slightly bruised face as he finished collecting himself. As he was getting himself collected he looked up to see Ted wrapping up his own speed rope set and the man didn't even look like he was sweating…Jack was convinced he was doing that just to add insult to injury.
"Not bad kid, not great but not bad. Most people that ask me to train them personally crap out and don't finish that little routine we just did, so you're in the top 5% of people I've ever trained. Now… remember today were gonna focus on your back muscles for our lifting so I'm gonna have you doing 3 sets of 15 Renegade rows, 3 sets of single arm dumbbell rows, and then your gonna finish it with 3 sets of 15 Inverted rows to finish. After that we'll do our stretches again and then you can shower up and head downstairs to help open and set the place up." Ted said as he walked with Jack over to the dumbbell rack to pick up their individual sets to start the workout Jack using 15 pound dumbbells' and Ted using 45's.
The rest of that morning passed in a hazy blur of sweat, aches, and Ted calling over to Jack to keep pushing. Being young again had its perks like having the ridiculous boundless energy again that Jack had always had when he was that young, but even that and having 'One for All' Buzzing at the back of his mind didn't change the fact that his 14 year old body had never really lifted. The whole thing was making Jack feel inadequate if he was honest but his face must have said it all as he finished the first set of all three exercises, as Ted had immediately told him not to get down on himself and to keep pushing forward.
Jack was able to finish the workout with plenty of energy still in the tank, and if he was being honest he wasn't sure how to feel about that.
'Is that 'One for All' backing me up or what?' Jack thought as he re-racked his weights and went to shower and change out.
After a quick shower and change and having some breakfast (Oatmeal, protein yogurt, and some fresh mixed berries) Jack relocated downstairs and was introduced to the main staff member that he had always seen here working, a woman named Jenny Trask who not only ran the front desk in the mornings but was also a personal trainer here during the evening's.
Jenny was about 5'5 with long dark red hair, a spotless complexion, a button nose, dark green eyes, and a slightly gaunt face. Her figure was that of a runner, but mixed with somebody who definitely lifted though not enough to gain mass just the opposite; she was relatively cut.
Overall Jack would have to say that the 22 year old was definitely attractive, though if stood next to Selina or even Helena she would be kind of pale in comparison. If anything she gave Jack the Sarah Conner from T2 vibes because of her build.
The rest of the day was spent in a great deal of monotony as Jack was introduced to his responsibilities throughout the gym by Jenny such as where to get cleaning supplies to replace what the customers would use like sanitary wipes, and he was then shown where to find what he would need to either clean the equipment, the bathrooms, or the hard wood floors. Of course Jack would see Ted every once in a while as he would come out of the office to check on the general comings and goings around the gym, or to check on Jack himself.
Around 1230 Ted gave him his 30 minute lunch break and Jack had a Turkey and cheese sandwich with some raw veggies mixed in, and while he was up in the apartment he started a pot of ground chicken chili for him and Ted for dinner.
After making his way back down and passing on the info about dinner to Ted so that he could keep an eye on it for about the next two hours to let the flavors permeate, Jack went about his normal routine through the gym which if he was being honest was a little nuts. He almost felt like he wasn't doing anything at all as more often than not he would be with Jenny as she moved around the gym as now her replacement for the rest of the day for the front desk had come in. He found he enjoyed the ladies company and overall presence, she was kind but also firm and he would gather and put away equipment for her and the clients she was with.
It was a little after 3:30 and Jack had just finished changing out back into a set of workout gear when he saw Ted talking to none other than Helena. Jack walked over just to say hello and wound up getting roped into another workout with the two, which then Ted told him that Helena would be joining them after for dinner.
After another rousing set of speed rope (which Jack was now calling all speed ropes murder machines) the group of three proceeded to begin the bodyweight workouts from this morning though Ted told Jack to take it slow in that respect and it gave Jack the chance to get the measure of Helena. After about a two minutes of the speed rope Helena was actually panting and wound up having to stop and catch her breath and Jack wasn't sure if he should feel bad that the murder machine was taking it out of someone other than him. Overall she held her own well though it showed that her cardio was more based in quick movement not prolonged activity.
After the workout was over Helena excused herself to the woman's locker room to shower and change, and Jack did the same only going upstairs with Ted volunteering to shower downstairs.
It was in Jack's personal opinion that Ted had only done that so that he could get out of setting the meal back up. After getting the chili pot back up and going again and setting bowls for all the fixin's on the side Jack set the coffee table up for the three of them to sit down for a meal. If he were being honest the whole thing still felt absurdly surreal and Jack knew that it would be some time before he found himself on an even keel with his feelings about being in this new world with people that were once only fictional too him.
Dinner turned out to be a rather subdued affair, though it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Helena passed on compliments of the food as did Ted and that left Jack happy. Conversation eventually as they were all finishing their dishes drifted toward schooling which again left Jack wanting to throw something at Ted's head.
"All I'm saying is, is that you should be worried about getting yourself your diploma…you need it to get places in life kid." Ted said with the infuriating smirk Jack had noticed he liked to wear when he was ribbing someone…mainly him.
"And I'll say it again when the time comes I'll apply to get my GED, but right now I'm more worried about making money and setting myself up a real Bank roll; but I get where your coming from and thanks again Ted…for all of this. I know it can't be easy dealing with a new mouth to feed." Jack said as he tried to communicate once again how grateful he felt towards Ted, while also trying to get Ted to change the conversation's course.
Fortunately or unfortunately for Jack the conversation did slide though more in favor of Helena, as she decided to get a better understanding of the situation at large as she had yet to really pry about Jack at all since his appearance.
"Yeah, ya know I've been meaning to ask about that old timer…" Helena stated as she gestured toward Jack, making him wary of what she would say or even ask.
"I may be old but I still kick your butt on a regular basis missy, so you better watch it." Ted stated as he pointed back at Helena though there was no real bite in his tone.
Helena merely rolled her eyes with a slight grin on her face obviously looking back on all the training she had done with Ted up to this point.
"Whatever…the point being here is who is this guy really? I mean he just showed up the other day and now he's started training under you and because of that you've got him living here…sounds a little fishy to me. What is he your secret love child or something?" Helena asked as she started to slightly waggle her eyebrows up and down at Ted trying to fish for any details.
The question caught both men flat footed; but immediately produced the same reaction from both of them as they started to laugh uproariously(Though Jack was laughing for the strange but familiar comparison), causing Helena to shrink a little in embarrassment and quickly adopt a scowl as she crossed her arms looking at the two waiting for an answer.
After catching his breath Ted took the lead, and did his best to settle his other trainee down as she was looking close to having another of her classic loses of temper.
"Look… a buddy of mine from back in the day brought Jack here okay? He's his uncle and he can't watch over him unfortunately due to having such a busy schedule with his own job, so he asked me to look after this knucklehead. He also decided in his infinite wisdom to give the kid free reign to what he wants with his life, and while I disagree with the way he wants to go about his schooling the fact that he asked for a job shows he can be responsible. So long as he doesn't stiff me with the work he does, I'll back his decisions I'm not his Dad just like I'm not yours. Anything else you wanna know about it your gonna have to ask Jack." Ted said as he glanced at Jack and saw that his face was contorting in what he could only assume was discomfort as being talked about while sitting right there.
Helena sat back for a moment and then glanced in Jack's direction and gave a very vague apology in his direction before sitting quietly, obviously in thought.
Jack found himself very confused by that reaction. As far as he was aware they had been amiable enough though she did seem distant even then, and could only conclude that she didn't really wanna bother getting invested with any attachments. Jack had to remind himself that this girl very well might just turn up as the New 'Huntress' sooner or later, and he was still trying to decide how to handle that thought and what the possibilities brought with it.
He was quickly brought out of his thoughts by Helena herself though with a piece of information that he hadn't been expecting…and it gave him an idea as to just where he was.
And while Jack had been suspicious as to just what Earth he had been transported too, he hadn't wanted to assume.
"I'll tell you this much you're lucky. I hate having to waste time going to school, and the new house manager procured funding and just transferred me into the Gotham Academy. I hate it the place is ridiculous, I can't even wear what I want to I have to wear their stupid school uniform. I can already tell that the place is full of snobs." Helena stated as she leaned back more into her side of the one couch where she sat with Ted.
Immediately upon hearing the schools name red flags flew up in Jack's mind telling him exactly where he could be, though it now raised some very pertinent questions in Jack's mind.
'I think... I'm in the Young Justice verse, but if so what else is gonna be different. Because Ted, Helena, and Dr. Occult were never mentioned at all.'
And Scene!
Okay once again I wanna thank you guys so much for taking the time to read my story. As always please pass on you opinions to your friends and please if you feel so Inclined leave a review as it would help to know how ya'll feel about the stories pacing. I will leave this as a snippet: Next chapter I plan to do the 6 month time skip while illustrating how Jack's training goes, him receiving his hero costume, and then his break out into the hero scene itself! Please let me know what your thoughts are on that and if you have any ideas, as anyone else I am willing to listen to input though PLEASE don't be angry if I go in a direction you don't agree with, If anything simply stop reading, I wont be offended. Also another point to bring up, this is my SI so I will be taking a bit of time before jumping to Canon story and will also be adding changes abounds, just some forewarning. However I haven't fully decided yet how many chapters will be between now and Canon, but once I have a clear marker I'll let ya'll know! I hope everyone is safe, happy and healthy during these crazy times! Also...HALLOWEEN Ya'll! Make sure to watch a good scary movie, eat your favorite candy, and if you can set some time aside to watch Hocus Pocus...It's a guarenteed staple for the day. This is Sojiro Signing off.