𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 || 𝘚𝘰, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵?

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE IT ALONE, MICHAEL!" Jason sat at the top of the flight of stairs. Within the shadows of the large Samson mansion. Listening closely to an argument ensuing between his two parents, who were in the front foyer.

They didn't know he was awake. His mother had put him to bed hours ago, but being the rebellious teen he was, he stayed up listening to music and reading comics. All until he heard the slamming of the front door and the faint yells over the booming music that blasted through his headphones.

"And I told you to not worry about it," Jason's father, Micahel replied. "It's dealt with now. We can now move forward with the Orion project."

Lilian stared at him in bewilderment. "Are you fucking serious?" She exclaimed. "Is that what this has been all about? The fucking project?"

Before she could continue her yells, Michael hissed, "Keep your voice down," he told her. "You're going to wake Jason up at this rate."

There was a brief silence that filled the front of the mansion. Jason kept to the shadows as he watched the argument build and build at an alarming rate. He'd never seen his parents fight. They always smiled and acted disgustingly cute towards one another. Frequently earning a gag in disgust by Jason.

But this didn't seem right at all. His mother had barely acknowledged him one single bit since he got home. Not even questioning the fight that he had with a boy at school that left him purple. He had been expecting his mother to talk to him, but she ignored him. Did her work in her office in uncomfortable silence.

"If we kept our act up, this would've fallen right back on us," Michael muttered. "Are you going to get angry at me for doing what I thought was right? I was protecting the family! I am doing this for Jason! For Raph-"

"You weren't protecting shit!" Lilian snapped, silencing her husband. "I can't even fucking look at you, Mike. I don't even know who you are. You don't care about anything else besides the damn company."

"Do you think this is a game, Lilian?" Michael questioned. "Do you think I wanted to do this? I'm keeping you and Jason safe. Don't be telling me what I feel if you don't know jackshit."

Lilian pursed her lips as she nodded slightly. "You're right," she agreed. "I don't know how you feel. But I do know you did this to only save your ass and not anyone else's."

Before Jason could hear any more of the conversation, a hand grasped around his mouth. "Shh," the hushed voice of Felix filled his ears. The panic in his body dissipated as Felix stared down at the couple below as well. "Don't say a word. Just follow."

The boy gave a muffled nod before the gloved hand moved from his mouth. He let out a deep exhale as he watched the older man stroll quietly into the main library of the house. Glancing back at his parents and following Felix.

He followed the older man in the darkroom where he nearly tripped over some of the books he was studying from. Some old science books that had been contributing to his new hobby of breaking devices down and rebuilding them to be better.

When Felix stopped at a certain shelf, he reached for Don Quixote and pulled it. If there had been any whispering, the tiny click of something unlocking would've been hidden. But Jason heard it loud and clear, and he watched in awe as Felix pulled the shelf, which was disguised as a door, open. What was revealed was a long and dark stairway that led into the black.

Wordlessly, Felix continued, already expecting Jason to follow. And he wasn't surprised when the boy did and shut the shelf behind him closed. A light switch flicked on and a trail of LED string lights trailed the corner of the wall that lit the way.

Their shoes scuffing against the concrete stairs were all that could be heard. The narrow hall bounced the sound off the walls left and right.

"Do you want to explain how you got that busted lip?" Felix inquired, scaring the boy, who felt fear tingle at the back of his neck.

"I got into a fight at school," Jason muttered. "Felix, what are we doing right now? Where are we going?"

"Who won?"

Jason stared at the back of the man's head, perplexed by the question. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean, who won the fight?" Felix asked. "Did you or did he?"

The boy sighed as clenched his jaw. "He did."

All Felix did was hum. Continuing to lead the clueless boy down this long and dingy stairway. It could carry on for miles and Jason wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

But that was when they reached the end of the tunnel. An open cavern with the lights of an old subway system flickering on. Revealing a hidden workshop that Jason guessed had been created by Felix.

They walked down the steps to the large desk of gadgets in the centre of the cave. Equipment from weapons, gadgets, workout gear, all displayed for the intrigued eyes of the 13-year-old. Stopping for a moment to reach out for a pistol, but hesitating.

"That's probably why you lost the fight." The boy looked over his shoulder at the man who watched him. "You hesitate now when you know your inner thoughts claw away at you to grab the gun."

His words were grunted as he grabbed the pistol and pulled the slide back. Locking it in place as he grabbed a magazine from off the table and unlocked the slide. The loud click caused the boy to flinch as Felix spun the pistol around and handed it to the boy. "Take it."

With careful hands, Jason shakily grabbed it and inhaled sharply at the surprising weight it had. "That's an m1911," Felix informed. "That'll be the first weapon I train you with. Then we'll move on to the other guns here."

Jason looked at him in utter confusion. "Train?" The boy chuckled. "Felix, I don't think this is a good idea. My parents would kill me if I found out I was-"

The boy couldn't finish as the sound of bats filled the air. He looked up at the large swarm flying around the cavernous space before shooting down at him. Jason couldn't help the cry of fear as one bit his forearm.

Thankfully, Felix was quick to grab the bat and toss it into the air. Smacking the rest away as they quickly scattered into the shadows. Jason stood there holding his bleeding arms with tears streaming down his cheeks. "I want to go back upstairs, Felix," he cried. "I don't want to be down here!"

He repeated his words as Felix grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him. "Jason!"

The loud clap of his voice was something close to thunder on a stormy night. Leaving Jason trembling as he stared at the man with fearful eyes. "Running from your fears isn't going to help you."

"But it will hold them off."

"Don't be a smartass," Felix warned. "You need to realize Jason that your money will never be your protection. This is what reality is and you have to accept that. And no matter what happens, you cannot change that."

Felix sighed as cupped the boy's cheek. Using his calloused thumb to wipe away the tears that streamed down Jason's face. "But I will help you not go down the path your father has gone," he reassured. "I will help you be better."

ICE PRICKLED AGAINST JASON'S SKIN AS HE SAT IN THE FREEZING BATH. Eyes shut as he let his body adjust to the change in temperature to the best of his ability. Thankfully, it'd been able to numb the bruises that scattered his body. But the pounding headache had been held off by some painkillers for the time being. There was no doubt in his mind that he had a concussion. How bad was it? That was still up for debate and he wasn't planning on letting that stop him.

Because as he sat in the bath, his hands submerged into the water pounded against one of his many bruises. He got away. That was all Jason could think about. He let Joseph get away. For all he knew, the mobster could go underground for a while. Bide his time until the heat was off him and reemerge stronger than before. And just that thought had Jaxon chastising himself constantly. Kate and Clint had tried to reassure him, but he simply brushed them off with a well-placed through of a lamp at a wall to silence them.

It'd been impulse and a crack in the infrastructure of Jason's mind. Clawing its way free to do whatever necessary to either punish himself or the ones around him. And you know what? Jason wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to hold it back. The rage was mounting level to level, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to stop it.

Felix had trained him to keep himself in check. Provide himself with a place in his mind where, despite all the bullshit that came his way, he could be relaxed and focused. One of the many teachings Jason remembered vividly from his past. Along with the many sparring matches he had with Felix in the cavern subway station below the Samson Estate.

Jason still remembers the first night vividly. When he first witnessed his parents argue. That night was bookmarked in his mind, an interesting and enlightening chapter in his life. The Orion Project. That had to be the most interesting and unsolvable thing in Jason's opinion. No records of the project could be found in the Samson Enterprise database, and Lilian never spoke a word of it. The one mystery of Jason's father that may never be uncovered.

Carefully, and with a hiss of pain, Jason lifted himself out of the bath. Water cascaded down him as he stepped on the towel outside of the bathroom. Grabbing another to dry off his body as he walked over to the mirror and stared at his reflection.

His bottom lip was busted open with a cut along his left eyebrow. A purple bruise was prominent on his cheek that ached from time to time. And then his entire torso was black and blue from the constant beating he had received from the Tracksuits.

After he was done in the bathroom, he walked out in a pair of sweatpants Clint had let him borrow. Clint gave him a stiff nod in return as he walked into the bathroom to use it. Jason strolled into the living room to find Kate on her phone sat on the couch.

When she heard his footsteps, she looked up with a smile. But slowly stopped when she found him shirtless, where she let her eyes take him in momentarily. Despite the bruises, she could see the sculpted muscles of his abs. His arms were seemingly larger than she'd last suspected or seen. She hadn't expected him to be so... different from the last time she saw him all those years ago. He was a fucking greek god.

"How're you feeling?" She asked, swallowing the lump in her throat. Eyes flickering down to his sweatpants for a split second before looking back up into his eyes.

He shrugged as he grabbed the shirt in his hand and slipped it over his head. "I'm going to need to take some more painkillers," he said, moving around the couch and into the kitchen. "But besides that, I'm good."

"Do you think it's a good idea to take as many painkillers as you are?" Kate asked, spinning around on the couch to watch the boy. "I mean, you're going to be doped up when they kick in."

"If they numb the pain," he popped three pills into his mouth and swallowed with a sip of water, "then that's fine by me."

Kate pursed her lips as she watched Jason. He leant against the counter and ran a hand down his face. There was doubt that he was exhausted. But she'd picked up on the fact that he was particularly quiet. Despite him scaring her by throwing her aunt's lamp at a wall, he'd been acting distant. Right after getting off the train he was silent and hadn't spoken a word.

He glanced over at her for a moment, catching her gaze. Being found watching him left her flustered, embarrassed. Looking away as he stared out the kitchen window.

"Have you ever thought what is waiting after you die?" He muttered, catching Kate's attention. "Like, the golden gates or pits of hell? Because that's not what I found." Jason sighed shakily with a forced smile as he looked back at her. "Not a damn single thing."

"People always talk about how their life flashes before their eyes, you know?" Jason said. "And, like, I thought that for the longest time. In a flash, every moment that you hold close to you appears, and then you die. But there was nothing. Just black."

Jason pursed his lips, and he shrugged slightly. "It just gets me wondering if any of this matters."

"It does," Kate spoke up, finally. "When we die, you have to leave the world a little better than how you found it."

He didn't respond, not even when Kate hopped off the couch and came into his line of vision. His gaze was forced to focus on her as she cupped his cheeks. Her eyes flickering to the bruises scattered across his face and then to his eyes.

Their warm breaths twisted and lingered in between one another. Fanning their faces as Jason let a hesitant hand fall to Kate's hip. The touch had her swallowing harshly, but not pulling away from his hand. She instead let her hands rest on the sides of his neck, thumbs brushing against his jaw. Kate felt the prickles of facial hair beginning to grow as they brushed against the soft pads of her thumbs.

Then there was a brief moment where everything in the background faded. Jason's eyes flickering down to her lips. They taunted him. Dared him to fill the gap and relieve all the feelings and emotions that he's bottled up for years. Willing to tip the glass over-No, smash the glass and let them all flow out naturally.

It may have been too much, the precautions he took to watch over Kate. The tracker in her apartment, the constant watching of her matches at school on TV. He knew that, but his heart had been devoted to her since they met. He said to himself, "She's what I want. She's the girl that I need." It just felt like now that his chance was closing quickly, and he needed to make the most of it.

And for a moment, he began to lean in. His free hand reached up to cup her jaw gently. The growing desire becoming too much.

But he stopped himself.

He clenched his jaw as he took notice of Kate's shallow breaths. Nail's slightly digging into the nape of his neck and tugging gently at the baby hairs.

"You don't deserve someone who is broken," he whispered. "And I don't want to bring your life down around you because of it."

"You never asked for my opinion." She was breathless, leaning into his chest more. It was then Jason could feel her heart thudding against her chest at a rapid rate. But Kate could feel his and felt a little proud that she made him nervous, maybe even a little eager.

Neither of them could say a word as someone cleared their throat. Kate practically jumped across the room, away from Jason as Clint stood awkwardly by the doorway. He looked like he had just walked in on one of his kids about to have sex or kiss their boyfriend/girlfriend.

Clint licked his lips as he jutted his thumb over his shoulder. "We should..." he trailed off. "Uh, we should walk the dog. Get my hearing aid fixed as well."

"Yup, yeah, let's go," Kate said a bit too quickly as Jason watched. Her eyes found his and she couldn't decipher what he was feeling. What felt like a tsunami of emotions coming straight at her moments ago, was suddenly halted. His jaw clenched and his eyes left hers as he grabbed his jacket and a hat before following Clint out of the apartment.