[IC] To be or not to be (Heroes)

[StarBoi]

"Because" his voice was something dark and serious, "that's not you, what happened today, wasn't you. Did you not listen to anything I said back at the bar? About justice? I kill those creeps so no one else has to die. Sure I have a revenge plan. But I'm just like you. In a weird way. Trying to fix the wrongs in the world. To stop them."

"Does that make any sense?" He paused and hung his head, chuckling a little. "If you wanna kill me Lex, please just do it while you have the chance. I tried to kill the guy, the guy who tortured me for years. But hell, I couldn't catch the fucker... I guess the game is over then, eh?"

[c3p-0h]

Something between a gasp and a laugh escaped Lexa at his words. Because… was he serious?

"You're so full of shit," she said. "Will you shut up about justice!" She ran a rough hand through her braid, restless energy needing some sort of escape. "I don't care about your vendetta, I don't even care about the people on your stupid hit list. You kill them so 'no one else has to die'? You leave a trail of fucking carnage in your wake. You don't give a shit about other people so stop using the theoretical innocent lives you're saving to ignore the real ones you're throwing away like they're nothing!"

In that moment she hated him. Somewhere in her tirade her voice had grown into an enraged shout as she stared at him, anger rolling off her in waves. She hated his delusions of morality. She hated his self-serving single-minded quest for revenge, whatever the cost. She hated the gentle, forgiving way he's spoken to her after she'd killed a man for the first time.

She hated him because she knew he was right – Lexa couldn't kill him.

But lord, did she want to.

Lexa took a step forward, though she was still a fair distance away from him,

"You. Leave. I don't care where you go, you just get the hell out of my town. I ever see you again, you'll find out who I am and what I can do."

And then she was gone.

[StarBoi]

Jack knew, she was right. He didn't give a damn about justice, about saving peoples' lives. He didn't care, he couldn't care, he didn't have the mental capacity. He was completely numb to it all. For some reason there was an ache in his chest that he had never felt before. At least not for a long time. He had made some sort of connection to this girl, at least he had felt he had, and now she was gone, out of his life forever. All she wanted to do was rip him to pieces. Jack closed his eyes tight and his brows knitted together. "Lex..." When he finally opened his eyes, nothing had changed, only a minute had passed but it seemed like a decade . Slowly, very slowly he headed back to where he lived.

No. His thoughts screamed at him in the mental whirlwind they were in. No. No. NO!! "Justice? What the hell do you know about Justice...?" The young man hung his head once more as he walked. His eyes narrowed, his glare looking sinister in the shadows cast on his face. "Hmph, this isn't right. I'll show her. I'll show them all." Jack kept his last spare bag of Black Jack's clothes above the bar where no one would find it. He spent quite a bit of time there and it only made sense. With an angry expression, Jack climbed up the side of the building with ease while muttering bitter curses. It took a few minutes but at last he had changed into Black Jack and was ready to wreak some havoc. "FUCK HER. I DON'T NEED HER, I DON'T NEED ANY ONE." Deep down the loneliness was biting at him, but he ignored it.

There was one place he knew Kenji would be hiding. The place he knew if he beat the shit out of the guy just enough, he would get the location of Shirley. Hell, he could even show up if Black Jack was lucky enough. Black Jack lept down from the building and did a dorky pose with his hands on his hips looking up a bit. Kinda like Superman. "Now, for some justice." A grinned formed beneath his mask and he threw his head back to laugh maniacally. "Honey, I'm home. AND I BROUGHT SOME JUSTICE." He joked to himself in the alley way. If Trick was going to kill him, she would have to try pretty hard, he wasn't scared at all.

Black Jack used the money he had brought for Luca and took the nearest bus to the bus stop that would leave him at least a mile from his destination. Of course, it was safer that way, if someone called the cops they would have no idea where he went. It didn't matter to him how ever far it was he would get there in no time by roof jumping. "Weeee!" He exclaimed as he lept like an elegant gazelle across the gaps of the rooftops. There was an annoying thought in the back of his head the whole time however, he kept thinking about Lexa and how she had confided in him about her nightmares. Ugh, he couldn't let it bother him now, there was a bitch to interrogate and kill.

Once he arrived at where he needed to be he was all but subtle. Black Jack kicked the door to the cliche warehouse down and laughed. "Darling Kenji, I have come for you, my love!!" All of the gangsters in the place looked toward him, grabbed there assault rifles and began shooting blindly at him. Black Jack used the same wall trick from before to block the bullets. In an instant he was only top of the wall and leaping down to tackle one of the men with scimitar in hand. Easily he slit the man's throat, lept up and lunged toward another man. This man got his head chopped off and another the same fate. All the while they were shooting at him, a few bullets actually hit him but he hardly noticed them. "WHERE'S KENJI, OR SHIRLEY. I'LL TAKE EITHER ONE." None had time to reply he was too busy slicing there heads off, gracefully spinning and flipping in the air to do so.

At last they were all dead and a man came down from above with his katana over his head. Black Jack stood, looking up unamused and blocked with one scimitar. "Excuse me, Kenji, but it's not polite to try to kill some one on only the third date." He pushed the blade away and spin attacked the man. Kenji was caught off guard and was pushed back. Black Jack tackled the man just like before, but this time he pinned him with a knife through his shoulder. "NOW. You're going to tell me where Shirley is. Or I'm going to hack your head off like all the others."

"I do not fear death. You will never find Mister Shirley."

"Sorry Kenji, but it seems the boy, has found me." Another man walked into the warehouse wearing a suit, he adjusted one of his cuff links as he spoke, like a James Bond wannabe. "No matter, I have already called the authorities and they should be here shortly to escort our friend here back to the Institution.

"M-Mister Shirley, you were supposed to escape!!" Kenji stuttered.

Black Jack's eyes widened beneath his mask. It had been a year since he had seen Shirley and at last he had found him again. "You bastard. I will never go back there." He got up off of Kenji and stood to face Shirley. "YOU MOTHER FUCKING BASTARD."

"Oh, Jack. Did you miss me so much that you had to kill all my men to find me?" Shirley patronized the youngster with a tone so condescending it cut like a knife through Jack's soul and filled him with rage.

Before Black Jack could reply there were sirens sounding outside and a voice over through a loud speaker. "This is the police. Give yourself up now and we won't harm you."

"Harm me..." Black Jack was filled with rage. "Okay Mister enter female name here. I'm going to give you one chance to give yourself up. One chance. If you don't comply, oooh I'll fucking show you what will ensue."

Shirley opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by the shout of pain that came from Jack as his combat knife was stabbed deep into his back, all the way to the handle. "SONOFABITCH AGAIN???" Black Jack shouted. This hurt far worse than when Kenji had stabbed him before. "Oooo" Black Jack gritted his teeth. "This is nothing. You think this little bit of pain even compares to what Shirley did to me?" His eye twitched beneath his mask and he turned rapidly to slit Kenji's throat with his scimitar. "GOOD NIGHT BASTARD."

"THIS IS THE POLICE, WE WILL GIVE YOU ONE MORE CHANCE TO COME OUT PEACEFULLY."

"What are you going to do, Jack?"

"Oh." Jack turned to face Shirley once more. "It's on."

[c3p-0h]

Lexa was crash landing in her tiny apartment in moments, agitated energy and frustration making her careless and clumsy. She tumbled to the ground with a grunt, legs tangling in the rumpled bedsheets she didn't account for. Frank the doberman just looked up, accustomed to her sudden appearances and disappearances. Lexa tore at the sheet wrapping around her feet, ripping it away at hurling it against the wall. It landed with an unsatisfying thump. Gritting her teeth, Lexa fisted her hands on the ground and got ready to push herself up –

Only for Frank to lumber over and plop himself down across her lap.

Lexa fell back at the weight across her body, barely catching herself on her elbows. Frank laid his head down on the floor, closing his eyes. The fire burning in Lexa's throat was doused suddenly, her old dog's influence bringing her back. With a tired sigh, she let herself fall back, laying flat on the floor of her apartment.

Stupid stupid she was so stupid. How could she not see it was him? He even used the same damn name. And she'd gotten drinks with him, she'd confided in her, like an idiot and then she'd let him get away. Well. She'd actually been the one to run from him. With a disgusted snort she threw her arms over her face, squeezing her eyes shut.

What a shit day. She'd murdered a guy. She'd failed to murder a different guy.

With a sigh she moved her arms and opened her eyes again. Lexa pushed herself back up onto her elbows and looked down at her dog. Good lord she was tired. She began the process of trying to scoot out from under Frank, scratching his head when he made sounds of displeasure. Eventually she was free. Lexa forced herself to her feet.

One shower later, she was no less tired, but at least she was clean. The cuts on her knuckles were already starting to heal. Lexa spent a long moment standing outside the shower, lost in thought. Then, coming to a decision, she pulled her black outfit from where she'd left it in the dryer. Soon enough Trick stood in her apartment, dyed black hair and all.

This was likely the opposite of what she needed. The city was halfway between hating her and being terrified of her. She was an unstable wreck. She was dangerous.

Trick grabbed her katana from where it leaned against the wall and tied the sheath to her belt. Then she disappeared.

It didn't take long for the sound of sirens to draw her attention as she moved through the city. She came upon a wide semi-circle of officers hiding behind the open doors of their cruisers, guns ready and aimed at some old warehouse. Apprehension built in Trick's chest. He was in there. She knew it. Fighting to keep her pulse low, she silently teleported inside through a foggy window and perched on one of the old rafters. She made her way through the building, following a trail of bodies until she found him. Her hand rested at her sword, her thumb pushing the hilt up at the rest of her fingers curled around the sheath.

Down below, Black Jack killed the man he'd been fighting last night. Another man, suited and poised, watched impassively. The officers outside shouted through a loudspeaker for Black Jack to give himself up. Trick's heart was in her throat, her muscles itching for some sort of release.

In the next moment Trick was behind the man, the edge of her sword pressed tightly against his throat.

Her eyes were sharp as she glared at Black Jack, amber flashing gold with anger. Her threat hung like a solid thing in the air between them: she'd steal his vengeance from him.

Trick honestly didn't know if she was bluffing or not.

While she watched Black Jack, her attention didn't waver from the man she held at sword-point. Her muscles were coiled and still, taught like a bowstring and ready to react. She wouldn't be caught unawares again.

[StarBoi]

He stared with eyes wide beneath his mask. How had Trick found him so fast? It had to be the cops outside, they led her here. And now, she was going to take Shirley's life. She was going to take Jack’s revenge from him, knowing full well that it was his purpose to kill this man. Trick said not a word, simply looked at Black Jack with a threatening expression. "Don't do this Trick. Don't make me hurt you." Black Jack's tone was dark. "I'll end you before you can scratch him."

"Trick, hm? You mean the vigilante? I heard she killed one of your own. Am I correct, Jack?" Shirley seemed unaffected by the fact that there was as word at his throat. "I don't appreciate you killing one of my experiments young woman." The man's eyes narrowed and his hands balled into fists. "Go ahead and try to kill me, child."

"I'd get out of there if I were you, Trick." Jack grinned but she couldn’t see it beneath his mask.

A calm Shirley pushed the sword away from his throat and looked down. Now things would get good. Shirley’s muscles began to bulge through his clothes, his hands and feet began to grow, his feet tearing through the leather of his shoes. He began to grow taller and a lot larger in size. A lot like the Incredible Hulk, only without the green. By the time the transformation was over a bulky beast stood in Shirley’s place, his clothes mostly torn off but covering his vitals at least. The beast turned on his heels and struck Trick with great force, if she did not dodge she would be thrown back and slam into a wall.

Black Jack stood his ground, spinning his bloodied scimitars in hand, readying himself for the fight. “Ugh, you’re ugly either way Shirley, I don’t know why you insist on using that form, old man.” He snickered, “Well I guess I know why.” The young man raised his hand in front of him and gestured with his sword. “Bring it on you ugly ass piece of shit!!”

Shirley bolted toward Jack and swung a mighty, bulging arm at his head. Black Jack ducked with ease. Although more damage was done in Shirley’s monstrous form, he wasn’t the brightest in this state. Jack thrust his arm forward stabbing Shirley in the stomach. It was but a toothpick to him, doing little damage but still making him bleed. Jack rolled out of the way as the beast attempted to crush his head between his hands. “Ooo so close!” Black Jack joked as he popped up behind Shirley and stabbed him in the back. Shirley roared and turned quickly his hand shot out and grabbed Black Jack by his neck, lifting him off the ground.

“O-Oh you’ve been practicing I see.” Black Jack stuttered, wheezing a little as Shirley joked him. “I DARE you to try and snap my neck. See what happens ass hat.”

[c3p-0h]

Trick was getting really goddamn sick of Black Jack's arrogance. But before she could do more than narrow her eyes, the man she held at sword-point spoke. A freezing chill ran down her back, her hair standing up on her skin. This man… something was wrong with him. She felt tainted, somehow, even being this close to him. She felt like prey.

The man – Shirley – raised a hand and pushed the sword away from his throat, as calmly as you'd please. Trick's eyes widened. Her muscles were tense, straining against him, and he moved her like she was a doll. She could only watch in captivated horror as his body started to contort, muscles bulging and deforming, until he was a terrifying, hulking mask. He turned to her, a smile on his face, and raised his hands.

Trick was gone before the blow came.

She reappeared in the rafters, looking down at the battle. She didn't even know who she wanted to win. Black jack was dangerous and unstable, and she hated his guts, no question. But Shirley… there was something wrong with him. Something dark, and twisted, and sadistic. If Black Jack was a hurricane, Shirley was a meteor. Trick straightened up and sheathed her blade. No matter who won, there would only be destruction here. She needed to get the people outside to safety. In an instant she was gone, out a window and then flashing officers to safety on rooftops a block away, much to their shock and protests once they realized what was going on.

Without losing her momentum, she came back inside to find Shirley holding Black Jack up by the neck. She had to fight to not roll her eyes when she heard Black Jack – of course he'd be giving some bullshit boast.

Trick appeared midair right behind Black Jack, a hand outstretched to grab onto Shirley's. And then all three of them were gone. She teleported them thirty feet up, among the high wooden rafters. Trick was still airborne, releasing Shirley's enormous paw. And then she flashed away, stumbling into a landing on the ground. Sweat was beading on her forehead, her breath starting to come in pants. She'd been using her power more than usual – first with the large amount of police officers, and now with Black Jack and Shirley. Multiple passengers at once was taxing enough, but with how enormous Shirley was… And there was something just… off about him when she tried to teleport him. Like an extra weight, or a magnet holding him in reality, resisting her.

She looked up at him, now, gravity not yet caught up with his unsupported mass. His hand was still curled around Black Jack's throat. But a wooden rafter was piercing clean through the width of his wrist. For a second he hung there, suspended in the air, arm outstretched with a struggling Black Jack captured.

Then gravity finally started to pull him down. His body fell, his arm bending oddly to account for the angle of his wrist. The square shape of the hole made by it refused to let his arm turn with the movement without the wooden corners catching and tearing at the meat and bones in his wrist, and blood shot out from the wound. His arm caught his weight, refusing to let him fall any more, and the rafter began to splinter and buckle from the strain. Trick began to step back, weight on her toes.

[StarBoi]

Black Jack fell to the ground and landed with a loud thud sound. Lying there for a moment, he did not move almost as if he were dead. A moment passed and all that could be heard was the cracking of the rafters breaking beneath Shirley's newly amassed weight. Just as it seemed like he wouldn't get up, Jack popped up onto his feet and laughed. "Can't take me down that easily-AHH!!" He barrel rolled out of the way just in time. Shirley's heavy body dropped from above and rocked the entire warehouse. Just then, Black Jack had a brilliant idea. He shot a glare toward Trick who had nearly taken his revenge away from him. Luckily, Shirley was not dead only incapacitated for the moment.

"Time to pay, PRINCESS." He lept toward her, attempting to grab her by the waist and tossing her up to grab her by the ankles. If he managed to succeed he would beat crap out of Shirley with Trick and it would be glorious. If not. He would snatch up his scimitars and start hacking off Shirley's other hand. "Die meathead, die!! His eyes widened beneath his mask as a sharp pain moved throughout his back. The stab wound, where blood was practically spewing from his back, was aching like crazy. Jack stopped what he was doing and tried to place his hand on the wound that was just between his shoulder blades. "Bloody hell." He mimicked a shitty British accent for no reason. "I haven't been stabbed in the back this much since high school. Oh wait..." The young man had never attended high school but he had heard plenty of stories from girls he had dated in the past. Dropping the British accent he grinned beneath his mask. "This is rather enjoyable isn't it, Trick?" He looked toward her, feeling nothing but spite toward the young woman now.

Shirley roared and clamored to his feet, swinging a hefty arm toward Jack and covering the place in more blood. "Whoa, whoa Shirley baby, it's okay. I'm just tryna kill ya is all." Jack said as he lept back out of the way. "For the record this is all HER fault. So kill her okay? Not me." He pointed toward Trick and snickered.

[c3p-0h]

Black Jack leapt at Trick – only for her to teleport away. Like hell she was letting these people touch her. Time to be annoying and teleport spam. In a flash, her katana was drawn and she was in the fray with the other two, flitting around them like a razor-edged spark. Keeping track of the two opponents – each decidedly deadly on their own – was a fast-paced challenge, to say the least. Duck a fist, teleport to a better angle, block a sword, teleport away, on and on, the three of them in an intricate, dangerous dance. Trick had to fight to keep from losing herself between Shirley's raging brutality and Black Jack's lightning quick aggression. She was tiring. She was built to hit hard and hit fast, but she didn't have much in the way of staying power. This needed to end. Soon. Or she wasn't going to walk away from it.

That was when her sword found its way into the middle of Black Jack's back. She'd learned not to stay in contact with these people for long, even after landing a blow, so as soon as the strike hit, she'd teleported away, four yards to the side. The three combatants were standing in a triangle as blood gushed from Black Jack's back. He treated it like a particularly nasty splinter. Trick cursed in her head at his goddamn healing factor. Her eyes narrowed as he taunted her and she spun her blade in her hand, flicking his blood off it.

Then Shirley swatted her away like a fly.

It was a testament to her exhaustion that she hadn't reacted fast enough to teleport away. Her sword flew out of her hand and landed on the ground with a clatter. Trick was shot like a bullet through the air, breath catching in her lungs. She barely had enough presence of mind to teleport herself forward in space, giving her more room to lose her momentum before she hit the wall. She tumbled to the ground, rolling and colliding with the wall with a dull thud instead of a bone-smashing shatter. Trick coughed as she got her bearings, pushing herself up on unsteady arms. Forcing herself to her feet, she spat blood that had begun pooling in her mouth. She heard Black Jack trying to direct Shirley at her because apparently it was her fault Black Jack had started a murderous manhunt resulting in countless lives of collateral damage. Because she'd lead his merry band of freakshow murderers to the city. Right.

God, she hated him.

But then the sound of cracking and splintering above her caught her attention. Trick looked up to see that apparently the rafter she'd used on Shirley had been an important one. It was now completely severed, hanging in bloody splinters. The ones around it were starting to bend and buckle, too. The ceiling was shuddering, dust beginning to fall. Trick's amber eyes widened as realization came to her.

The roof was going to come down on them.

Another sound drew her then to look at the far edge of the room, towards the entrance. Police officers, with body armor and glinting metal guns were starting to approach, sights aimed on the three of them. They had no idea what they were walking into.

"Shit," she breathed out. How had they gotten back here so fast? They couldn't handle Shirley and Black Jack no matter how well equipped they were, and now they were walking into a goddamn collapsing building.

Trick didn't think. She just teleported to the first one – who apparently already had his finger on the trigger. A shot echoed through the building as a bullet tore through the flesh of Trick's left shoulder. She cried out, fire igniting all down her arm, but she didn't stop – couldn't. Adrenalin forced her on, as she grabbed him and teleported forward to the next, and the next, down the line and away from the danger. She had one, two, three… twelve of them by the time they appeared outside of the warehouse, a jumbled tangle of limbs and guns.

Trick stumbled and fell out of the mass, barely catching herself against the wall of a building. Her hand tried to catch her, but she'd forgotten about the bullet wound and instead she cried out as her hand fell uselessly, her arm unable to support her, and she fell against the wall with her shoulder. She turned so her back pressed the wall instead, and slid down to a heap on the floor. She slumped, barely managing to stay sitting against the wall instead of just collapsing wholly to the ground. Her breath was coming out in shallow puffs, her energy completely sapped by the effort it'd taken to carry so many people. Her world was spinning. Her vision was going in and out, her whole body aching as she looked up to see the roof of the building falling in on itself. In the haze of her mind she wondered if Shirley and Black Jack had gotten out in time.

She hoped they hadn't.

[StarBoi]

Black Jack was too busy fighting Shirley to notice the roof coming down on the both of them. He heard Trick cry out and was distracted for a moment. This gave Shirley the opportunity to swing his arm and hit Jack. The young man went flying and slammed into a wall. "Nngh..." Black Jack groaned as he slid down the wall leaving a blood trail in his wake. While Trick was busy teleporting the innocent ones out of the way of danger, Jack was fighting for his life. His two stab wounds hurt like hell and his vision was blurring from loss of blood however his wounds were already beginning to heal, very slowly, but enough to make sure he wouldn't die just yet. Shirley's uninjured arm shot out and reached for Jack's neck once more. The young man rolled out of the way in the last second. Black Jack looked up when he heard an awful cracking sound and before he knew it the entire roof was coming down on him and Shirley. "Shiiiiit" And then, the entire roof came down on them both.

An eerie silence fell upon the area. Both the young man in the strange disguise and the older inhumanly giant man were gone, crushed under the rubble. There were no signs of movement.

"OH GOD, I THINK I BROKE SOMETHING." A familiar voice could be heard shouting from under the rubble. Black Jack had managed to create a curved wall made of the same cement he was lying on. He protected himself from the falling rooftop. He slid out from beneath the wall and pushed rubble off of himself. "Heh, heh. Didn't think I'd make it, did ya?" Jack grinned beneath his mask as he stood up, dusting himself off. Gracefully, he lept into the air, flipping over all the rubble and landing in front of the building. "Trick???" He spotted the girl collapsed and ran to her. "Er.. heh. What the balls am I supposed to do in this situation??" With a heavy sigh, Jack knelt down in front of the girl and looked into her amber eyes. "Hey, hey you, can ya hear me?"

[c3p-0h]

Trick was beginning to lose feeling in her body. Even the bullet wound's fire was dulling to a low warmth. Blood oozed out of it, slow weak like her heartbeat. Sound was a muffled thing, like someone was holding seashells to her ears and all she could hear was the ocean echoing in her head – screams, crashing, sirens, all blurred together. She couldn't focus her vision, black quickly closing in around the edges, and her eyes were barely open. Her breath was too shallow.

She was so tired.

Then a shadow blacked out the blurred lights in front of her.

"Hey… hear me?"

She couldn't quite place who it was that was speaking to her, but the voice was familiar. Somehow she knew the sound of it should irritate her, but she didn't have the energy for emotion. Her eyes drooped closed and she didn't know if she had the strength to open them.

"T…" She tried to speak, but what came out was just a forced sigh. She closed her mouth and tried to breathe more, mustering what little energy she had left. "Too many," she finally got out.

And then Trick, drained and hurting, finally fell unconscious.

[StarBoi]

"Shit, shit, shit, Trick!!" He felt a strange feeling like that of caring and worry. But that was blocked out by an even more overwhelming feeling of anger he felt toward Trick for all she had done. She hated him, that much was obvious, she wanted him dead. Not only that but she wanted to steal his kill from him, HIS KILL. To think, if she had killed Shirley back there.... Shirley... Oh god he had forgotten about Shirley. Was he dead? No he couldn't be. Where was his hulking body now?? Perhaps he returned to his normal form and died. Or something of that nature. Did it matter? There were cops and others everywhere, he wasn't sure if Shirley was dead or alive, and Trick was unconscious before him in need of medical assistance. What was a simple Jack card to do?

Black Jack the first thing his impulsive brain thought of. That was to scoop Trick up and carry her over his shoulder, rather roughly. "SHE'S MINE!!" He shouted out to the cops. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HER. ROAAARRR" He felt somewhat like King Kong grabbing the girl and running away with her. Which is exactly what he did. Jack ran, ran as fast as he legs would carry him in his weakened state. "Don't worry, girly, I got you."

His only escape was through that of the rooftops or the sewers. He decided NOT to drag Trick through the wretched smelling sewer waters and to make a break for the rooftops and leap from them like a gazelle running from a freaking cheetah. Once they arrived at his place he practically kicked down the door and ran to the bedroom. "Oh god, oh god. What do??" Jack pushed all the crap off of his bed except for the sheet and the pillow. He laid Trick down and did what he needed to do.

In the back of his mind it felt wrong removing her disguise and her shirt to get to her wound. But it wasn't like he hadn't seen a naked woman before. To his surprise the wound had already began to heal, with the bullet inside. "Oh you are not going to like me for this, kid." Jack removed his mask and tossed it away to go in search of medical supplies. He pulled out a box from underneath the bed and began tearing through the box. Inside he found random things like: Socks. "No." Rubber chicken. "Uh. No." Dildo. "HELL NO." His cheeks went slightly pink as he tossed the thing away. At the bottom of the box was another smaller box with med supplies in it. PERFECT.

With ease and precision, Jack used his tools to cut into the wound and remove the bullet, quickly covering the wound and then moving to stitch it up so it wouldn't allow her to bleed out. After which he wrapped up her shoulder and any other nicks or cuts she had on her body. Then he replaced her shirt and covered her with the cleanest blanket he could find.

"Alright. rest now, ya psycho bitch." He collapsed onto the floor and laid there staring up at the ceiling. "I'll be here. Waiting for my wounds to heal... wish I healed as fast as you...."

[c3p-0h]

Lexa dreamed of quiet warmth, her family sitting together in the living room. Her parents were reading together on the couch, Papa sitting upright as he flipped through a romance novel, Maman draped sideways, her legs hanging over Papa's as she read a crime thriller. Elio was sprawled out on the floor as he played some video game. And Lexa was curled up like a cat, napping on the couch in the corner. It could've been any day of their lives, before their murders.

---

She woke up in a fog, consciousness trickling back to her. She was warm. She was on something soft. Everything hurt. She ached all over, she was still exhausted and there was a sharp throbbing pane centered on her shoulder and spreading through her arm and back.

What the hell had she done to herself?

Lexa cracked an eye open, blinking in the harsh sunlight. After her eyes finally adjusted, she opened them fully. She had no idea where she was.

Shock rang through her and for a moment she was fully awake. Lexa shot up to a sitting position – only to immediately regret it. Exhaustion rammed back into her like a freight train, turning her limbs leaden and sending her head spinning. Pain ricocheted along her bones and muscles in her shoulder, blinding with its intensity. Lexa curled in on herself, eyes squeezed shut against the pain and her right hand clamped down around her hurting shoulder.

A bullet wound. She'd been shot, she recalled distantly.

"Damnit," she hissed out. It'd be healed in a day or two, but it would still hurt like a bitch until then. And she'd have one more scar she couldn't explain.

Lexa forced her eyes open, and released her white-knuckled grip on her shoulder to run a hand through her hair. Her head was still pounding. She froze when her palm came back stained black with hair dye. Looking down, she saw she was still in her dirty, bloody Trick outfit. But her mask was gone. Her heart pounded in her chest. What the hell had happened last night? Was she finally caught?

Her eyes shot up to look around for answers.

[StarBoi]

Jack had dozed off, pain and exhaustion over taking him. His head ached, his body ached, he had lost a lot of blood. He felt like shit, but it all went away when he passed out.

---

"Ahhhh!!!" A boy screamed in pain. His body was strapped to a vertical table by leather straps. Electricity shot through his body and caused him great pain. "Nnghh" He hung his head, blood and saliva ran from his mouth.

"Have you had enough?" A voice from outside the room asked.

"Me...?" The kid raised his head to look toward the door. A small grin formed on his face. "Of course not..."

Another surge of electricity went through his body. He threw his head back and gritted his teeth. "NNNGHHHH"

---

"Shit!" Jack shot up from his spot on the floor with wide eyes. "Wh-what the hell?" He could almost feel his fingertips tingling from what had happened in his nightmare. "NO. NO NO NO!" His hands went to his head and he closed his eyes. "Owww" He fell back in pain. "What. The. Fuck?" The young man raised his head slightly to look over to where a young woman was lying in his bed looking around. "Oh hey. You're awake? What's up, doll? You feeling okay?"

[c3p-0h]

Lexa found Jack just as he cried out. She was momentarily frozen at the sight. He'd been the last person she expected. Was he having a... nightmare? Well, wasn't that a surprise.

Then he finally seemed to wake up and see her. Lexa just stared at him. Then she gave a heavy sigh and leaned back against the headboard with her eyes shut. She was too damn tired to be angry or stunned or worried. Instead she was just exhausted and annoyed.

"You. Of course." she cracked open an eye to give him a half-hearted glare as she tried to piece together last night. She remembered the fight. The bullet. Carrying too many people at once, and then...

She must've blacked out after that. And then what, he took her home and patched her up? The idea was laughable at best.

"The hell am I doing here," she asked in a flat voice.

[StarBoi]

Jack leaned his head back so he could stare at the ceiling. "I'm sorry you hate me, doll face. All I did was try to help." He closed his eyes. "I left Shirley behind, not knowing if he was dead or alive. Not being able to get my official revenge." A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "You have your chance... you can kill me now. I'm lying her weak and wounded." He smirked with his eyes still closed. "So what's it gonna be, sweetheart?"

Deep down he felt horrible for bringing her there. Even worse for feeling that way. And round and round it went in his head. "I didn't mean for any of this bull crap." His voice was almost serious. His eyes opened once more. Jack felt defeated and he wasn't sure why. The one person he felt a strange connection too, hated him. And he wasn't even sure if the man he had been hunting for years was dead or not. If he was still alive there was no telling if he would be able to find him again.

[c3p-0h]

Lexa paused at the… defeat she heard in his voice. What was with this guy? Whenever she thought she had him figured out, he threw a curveball at her. She closed her mouth, looking down at the rumpled blanket covering her legs and pooling around her waist.

"I can barely move," she finally said. "Not like I can do much either." Lexa was quiet for a long moment after that, pulses of pain throughout her body keeping her grounded. He'd been trying to kill her last night. He'd had her chance. And instead he'd brought her back to his home and tried to clean her up. Her eyes flicked back up to see him.

"You keep helping me." Her voice was soft, almost a question. She looked back down. Yesterday when she killed a man for the first time… he'd spoken to her with care. Sympathy, even. There'd been concern in his voice, even though they'd been enemies. He'd taken her out for drinks and consoling after, when she'd been a riled mess, tearstained and bloodstained. And now this. It didn't excuse all the death he was responsible for – not by a long shot. But…

Lexa didn't like this feeling – a murderer sympathizing for her, caring for her like human life had any meaning to him. She didn't like feeling indebted to him. Frustrated confusion stirred under all the exhaustion, though it was a dull, distant thing. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, giving a quiet sigh.

"So," she said after another long silence. "Why do you wanna kill this guy so bad?" Her eyes were still closed, and she asked it as casually as though it was idle chatter.

[StarBoi]

He was rather glad that Trick wasn't going to kill him, even more glad that she was UNABLE to kill him. When she spoke to him again her voice was something gentle. He pondered this for a moment. Was he finally starting to melt her icy heart. No, it wasn't possible. She still hated him and he knew it would never change. To her he was just a cold-blooded criminal who murdered innocents with little to no regard for their lives. Jack sat up, rolling his shoulders a bit and wincing as he did so. The wounds on his back were nearly gone but they still hurt like hell and he was weak from all the blood he had lost but he was tenacious and was able to get himself to sit up.

"Why do I wanna kill this guy so bad?" Jack repeated then pondered the question. This was followed by a snicker, as if she didn't know. "Oh boy, I thought I told you." He joked. "Shirley, the man you nearly killed in my stead. He tortured me and a handful of others for years. More than just years and more than just torture. He tortured me since I was a tiny little kid. Nearly 2 decades he tortured and experimented on me. Till I became the monster I am today. Broken-minded and scarred all over." Jack grinned, something dark and sadistic showed in his face. "But hey! What do you care? All you care about is protecting the innocents while I am busy taking down those that he TORTURED. I murder them. Yes. I murder my own kind because they want to murder everyone else. And YES I have no regard for the safety of others. I'm just fucked up that way. I don't know what to tell you, doll. This is the world we live in."

Jack stood up, now feeling a little energized from his rant. "It doesn't matter. None of it matters. WOOOO" He bowed at the waist then stood up straight to throw his head back and laugh almost maniacally. "You don't know girly, you don't the nightmares I've lived the horrors I've seen!! And you. YOU DON'T EVEN CARE!!" Jack removed a knife from his belt and flipped it up from his hand, catching it by the blade and holding the handle out to her. "So what is it going to be, do you have the strength to take down the one you hate, the one who maliciously and carelessly murders so many innocents in one day." He took the knife and flipped it once more, to hold it to his throat. "Or shall I do it myself, m'lady?"

[c3p-0h]

Lexa looked up at him flatly from her spot in bed, tired and unimpressed with his theatrics. Really? Did he have to do this now? She didn't have the energy for this. It was almost a full minute before she finally opened her mouth.

"You're wrong about the world," she murmured in her rasping voice. "It's not what you say it is." The hidden seed of optimism, of hope that had first pushed her to become Trick, couldn't help but leak into her voice. She studied him up and down, as though he was a puzzle she was piecing together. She looked up and amber eyes met crimson. "It's not your fault." The words were spoken plainly. He wasn't forgiven for all her had done. But she could grant him this concession, at least. "You've only ever seen the worst of it." She thought back to 9 and the images he'd forced her to see. The pain that had felt too real, the terror and confusion and anger. She had no idea what she'd be like today if that was all she'd ever known. Even just a glimpse of it had caused her to kill without a thought. Her eyes fell from Jack's and she seemed to be looking at the far wall, more preoccupied with her own thoughts than with the unhinged, knife-wielding criminal.

"But we all have scars. Just because you're dark doesn't mean the whole world is." She could've been saying this to herself rather than to Jack. Thoughts floated through her mind, painful memories and wistful dreams. Quiet thoughts she was unwilling to speak aloud.

With a sigh, she looked back down at herself, eyes refocusing. Getting out of bed was going to end up being a humiliating idea. But Lexa would risk it if it meant leaving the odd reality she'd found herself in where speaking so calmly to Jack, sitting in his bed after he'd taken care of her. This was too surreal. Her left hand sat in her lap, largely useless, as she removed the blanket with her right. Her entire body felt like lead, and she wasn't certain if her legs would even be able to hold her up.

This was going to be such a pain in the ass. Twelve people. What the hell. Why the hell would she think that was a good idea. The most she'd ever tried before was five, and she'd thrown up after. Lexa was surprised she wasn't dead. But at least she'd gotten the people out of the building before it'd gone down.

She forced her knees up, painfully slow, planting the soles of her feet on the mattress. Lexa used her feet and right hand to push herself to the edge of the bed, grimacing in pain at the movement. Placing one foot on the ground, and then the other, she took a breath as she readied herself to stand.

Like ripping off a bandaid, she forced herself up to her feet too quickly shitshitshit and stumbled back onto the bed. The impact of the landing sent pain splitting her shoulder and she grit her teeth together and slammed her eyes shut. Her head was pounding, and it was a fight to keep her balance even just sitting down.

[StarBoi]

She spoke to him. Not about what he was doing, but about the world. Did it really matter what he was doing? Jack was dramatic, that was all there was too it. But with good reason. He was scarred and it sucked that's all he knew. He dropped his arm with the knife in it as she stared at him. "What do you know? I've seen plenty of the world and all of the darkness in it. The agony, the terror, the rage. You don't even know." He was suddenly mad at her. A side-effect of the torture was his uncontrollable emotions. However, when he noticed she was trying to get up and failing he felt a mixture of concern and amusement. It was funny to see her struggle.

"You need to be more careful." He walked over to her and pulled her onto her feet, holding her up. "Are you trying to leave, cuz I can help you if you want..." Jack had already forgotten that he was mad at her.

"I know I'm a pain in the ass sometimes, but I don't mind helping you if you need help."

[c3p-0h]

Lexa held her eyes shut. Jack was so blinded by his own issues, he didn't even realize that he was missing her point entirely – proving her right, even. But Lexa was done debating. If he wanted to be consumed by his own demons, that was his choice. She wasn't anyone's moral savior.

Jack surprised her by helping her to her feet. Lexa's eyes shot open, though her unsteady swaying soon caught her attention. Her head was still spinning, and her whole body felt like it was about to give out. Her left arm was still tucked in close to her body, lest she aggravate her bullet wound any more, but her right hand – the traitorous thing – reached up and clamped on Jack's shoulder for support.

Her gaze was hard, focused on the ground as she fought to steady herself – even if it meant accepting his help. What a curious thing that was… to have him offering his help freely. He kept doing that. One moment they were trying to kill each other, the next he… was almost compassionate. Hesitantly, she pulled her eyes from the floor to look up at him, her eyebrows drawn together.

"I don't mind helping you if you need help."

She couldn't help the question that slipped out of her lips.

"Why?"