𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 || 𝘐𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦

   WHEN JASON TRAINED, FELIX HELD NOTHING BACK. If that be insults, punches or kicks, he'd experienced it all at full force. Some would even say that he'd gotten pretty numb to it. Using the pain to deflect it back at the person he was fighting. Taking the assault was easy. Using it was a tricky step. But unbridled rage clouded your mind, and it made you more of a punching bag. And that's why Jason was currently tied to a chair, taking the punches given to him by some random Russians.

"You're gonna have to hit harder than that, guys." Jason's response was a bat to the side of the head. Head rolling back as he blinked a few times to clear his blurry vision. "That's it."

"What the hell is this guy's helmet made out of?" One guy questioned aloud.

"Maybe vibranium?" The other speculated. "Doesn't matter. Boss wants us to rough him up and then kill him."

"Which boss?"

"What do you mean, which boss?" The man questioned incredulously. "Hammerhead. Echo has nothing to do with him."

Jason sighed as he lifted his head to look at the pair in front of him. "Hey, guys," he spoke up. "How about we stop the commentary and shit. I'd rather smash my head off a wall than listen to you two."

The door to the small closet opened with an unfamiliar face stepping in. The woman had her hair tied into a braid. She wore a leather vest and some skinny jeans that hid the prosthetic leg. If she didn't look so damn intimidating, then Jason could say she would be beautiful as a model. But let's be honest, anyone with a look of disgust and pure hatred like her wouldn't make it far in that business.

By surprise, she began to sign. "What do you want with Joseph's weapons?" She asked. "Give me that, then I might be able to convince you a safe departure."

"Hey, boys," he said. "I can't talk to her if I got my hands tied behind my back."

"We know sign language," one of them told him. "Just say your response, and we'll translate it."

"Interesting," he muttered. "You know how to sign but still act like a bunch of dumbasses? Perhaps you deserve a grammy." Jason earned a punch in the gut, having him fold over with a groan.

Panting, Jason licked his split bottom lip. Hissing at the sting in response as he rolled his head back. Looking between the three with the tiniest smile pressed against his lips.

Whatever hope Jason had slowly dwindled to dust and dreams. He'd heard Kate get caught by falling through the skylight. She'd been his and Clint's last hope, but now that was all over. Jason shouldn't have been even the tiniest bit of surprised. He had been holding out for some luck that maybe Carlton or his mother would've grown suspicious of something.

But there had been nothing, and it was safe to say that Jason's resting place would be here. In this dingy room where the lights fought to stay on. And the worst of it all, he would die by these two talkative assholes who wouldn't shut their mouths for a single moment. It was sad when Jason would prefer dying by Joseph's hands besides these two idiots.

Looking at the woman, Jason shook his head with a wince. "I don't want his weapons," he said. "What I want isn't something materialistic."

The woman watched one of the men translate it as she glanced back at Jason. "Listen, I do not have any quarrel with you guys," he said. "I just want Joseph, and I'll be out of your guy's hair."

"What do you want with him?" She asked with a deep frown.

He leaned back in the chair with a sigh. "He killed my father and my friend," he told her. "I just want to watch his world burn down around him."

In a fraction of a second, her walls of stone-cold killer collapsed. She stared at Jason with empathy and understanding, which Jason found surprising. It proved to Jason that this woman did have a heart and could understand and empathize with the mission he was on.

"Well, I'm sorry for your loss, but I can't just let you kill him," she signed. "I can only let you leave here with your trust that you won't continue coming after us."

Under the mask, Jason's upper lip twitch as he let out a low gravelly sigh. "You know I can't do that," he muttered. "If you were in my shoes, you would understand that. But you aren't."

The woman pursed her lips, dismissing his words as she signed. "As you said, you do not quarrel with us, and we don't have one with you," she told him. "If you don't accept, you won't leave here."

Jason thought over her words for a moment. Everything he'd done in the past two years has led up to this moment. He's hunted and killed a handful of people in an attempt to get to Joseph. Finally, the man was in the same building as him. One slips up from one of these guys torturing and beating him, and he had his chance.

But whatever side of him that said otherwise was the little man. It barely had the voice to interject and stop him from throwing his life away.

"There isn't a light at the end of the tunnel for me," Jason finally spoke up. His lens met the woman's gaze with a twitch of his nose. "So, you can either kill me now, or I'll kill you later."

She didn't reply at first as he watched one of the men sign Jason's response. Pursing her lips as one of the other men sighed. "What do you want us to do, Maya?"

That was her name, Maya. Jason watched as she shook her head. "Do as you wish," she signed. "Kill him, beat him, I don't care. Just make sure he doesn't leave this room."

And with nothing more to give, Maya exited and shut the door behind her. For a moment, Jason could hear the commotion of people talking and laughing.

A moment later, he was bending over with a groan. One of the men had struck him in the chest with a bat. He gasped for breath and felt tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. Hearing the laughter of the two men in front of him, that enjoyed inflicting pain on him.

Another hit from the bat on the side of his head sent him toppling over. His head bounced off the ground and elicited a skull-splitting headache to pound. Trying to adjust to the ringing in his ears, he took slow and tiresome blinks.

"Up you go, bro." They lifted Jason as his head lulled forward. A metallic taste invaded his tongue as he clenched his fist tightly. A half-broken fin on his right gauntlet popped out as he coughed hoarsely. Subtly jostling one of his hands as one of the fins on his wrist nicked the rope. Lucky to have just one that was sharp enough.

One of the men scoffed as he looked Jason over. "Precursor," the man laughed. "What the hell are you even?"

Jason looked up at him with a tired yet fiery glare. "I am what people like you are afraid of," he said. "I am what makes you stop and think twice."

"And the bat symbol?" The other asked, tone full of amusement. "What does that mean?"

"Did you know Bat's aren't blind?" Jason asked. "It's a common myth, but we use it as an expression. Blind as a bat. I think you two are the ones about to be blind in a second."

Their expressions held confusion and disbelief from Jason's words. But they couldn't react face enough as he shot out of his chair and grabbed both of their throats. Tossing them both into a wall, he quickly pulled away at the rope still trapping his wrists.

"You son of a... MOTHERFUCKER!" One of the men held his eyes as he crumbled to the floor. Blood seeps through the cracks of the man's fingers, crying in agony.

When the other guy tried to do the same, Jason disarmed him. Jason took the bat into his hands and hit the man upside the head. Jabbing the blunt end of the bat into the man's chest and quickly slicing both of his eyes with the broken fin.

Jason panted as the two men were crying with their eyes bleeding. He placed a hand on his stomach, hissing at the pins and needles that pricked his body. Allowing his mask to retract so he could let out a cough. Only being greeted by the copious amounts of blood that left his mouth nearly caused him to throw up.

Yells behind the door alerted him. Mask formed around his face as he limped forward, letting out a sharp exhale. Pushing open the door and stepping out, he was quickly met with a worse sending him flying into a wall.

The impact made him let out a groan as his body slid down to the ground. Rolling out of the way just as the person who tackled him attempted to kick him in the face.

He managed to use his legs and kick out the person's balance. They fell onto their back with a groan, and Jason straddled them. Using the fin on his gauntlet, he slices open their throat.

Scrambling to his feet, Jason sprinted to the centre of the warehouse. Finding Clint and Maya engaged in a fierce fight on the second floor. He then saw Kate, her wrists tied to a playground rocker, with a man standing over her with a pistol aimed at her face. The man was hoping that he didn't have to kill her but was willing to do it as a precaution. Kate desperately tried to tug free, hoping that she could aid Clint in escaping the warehouse and get somewhere safe.

"Hey!" The yell got Kate's attention, and she swears she could cry at the sight of Jason. She'd been wondering where he had gone after the whole incident back at her mom's place. After Kate arrived and Clint explained what had happened, she had never felt more terrified in her life. And that fear had only built with each clashing of a bat to Jason's body. His grunts and yells of pain were all that she could hear for hours on end.

Two tracksuits stopped, turning to Jason when previously been planning to help Maya. "C'mon." Jason got into a fighting stance, his fingers twitching eagerly. Breath's laboured as his mind focused on the two men. Their grips around their weapons were a vice grip, with one holding a knife and the other a bat.

And when they charged at him, Jason moved and struck methodically. Shooting his grappling hook at one man, the claw grasping his chest as Jason yanked the man forward. Close-lining the man, Jason raised his other arm to block the bat from coming down on his head.

Kate watched each punch Jason threw and felt herself wince. She could almost smell his anger, and it undoubtedly threw her off.

Jason had twisted the man's arm and punched him repeatedly. All until Jason was crouched over the man's body, let out a yell with one final attack. He stared down at the bloodied man under him, his hands trembling.

When his gaze met Kate's, he could see the fear in her eyes. That unmistakable trembling of her bones as she stared at him wide-eyed. It didn't distract him from taking out the other man who attempted to thrust a knife into his side. Twisting his wrist and slamming his knee down on his elbow and broke it.

Man after man came charging at Kate, Jason and Clint. An onslaught that Jason was fighting to stay alive as he was superiorly out of his game with his wounds. Taking a punch to the face that left him in a slight daze before he countered with an elbow. Another set of guys tackled him to the ground and began to beat on him. Grunts slipped past his lips with groans as his entire body went up in flames of agony.

Taking his gun from its holster, he flipped the switch to enable lethal ammunition. Forcefully spinning onto his back and shooting the pair in the head. Giving himself a chance to rest by lulling his head back to the ground.

"Precursor!" Kate crouched down beside him as he closed his eyes. "Are you okay?" She asked.

A groan slipped past his gritted teeth as Jason gave a thumbs up. Standing up and helping him to his feet, the girl breathed a sigh of relief. One of her hands rested on his hip and the other on the right cheek of his mask. Jason let out a hoarse cough with a groan following right after.

"You good?" Clint asked.

"Could be better," the boy winced in response. "Can we get outta here, please?"

"Yeah, let's go." Clint led the pair as he scooped up his hearing aid from the ground. "My hearing aid's smashed."

But as they turned around to leave, the clicking of a gun could be heard. The hammer being pulled back that was so recognizable to Jason that it was engraved in skull. And without so much as a look, he took his knife from his thigh and tossed to the side.

Ricocheting off the wall, the knife flung through the air. Expertly stabbing the Tracksuits hand, right through the palm and the back of his hand. Clint stared at him with wide-eyes, seeing the almost shocked look on Jason's face. It'd been instinct and not even thought through.

"Good shot," Clint said. "Perhaps you could be good with a bow." Was all he added before they continued down the steps.

"But that girl still has my boy." Kate flinched when Jason fired a few shots behind them. "He can't hear you, Kate."

As they got outside, Jason followed in a limp and groaned each time the stab of pain erupted across his body. "We need a car."

"Oh, can we take this one?" Kate asked, looking at an old Dodge Challenger. "Man, this thing's beautiful."

"Who do you think we are?" Jason muttered as he limped past her. "Heathens?"

Clint smashed the window of a Buick and popped the door open. "I'm not smashin' a '72 Challenger," he told her. "Come on. Jason, get in the back."

Doing as told, Jason cried out when he fell harshly in the back seat. His mask retracted and revealed his dishevelled features. Blood smeared across his lips, staining his teeth with a few cuts and bruises everywhere else. The contrast from the crimson and his pale white skin raised alarm bells in both Clint's and Kate's minds.

Kate leaned into the back and cupped his cheek. "Jason, I need you to stay awake for me, all right?"

He shrugged her hand away. "I'm fine," he reassured tiredly. "We just have to get out of here."

"Kate, get over here," Clint said, "I need you to drive,"

The girl frowned. "What?" She asked. "I don't know how to drive."

"You're twenty-two, and you don't know how to drive?"

"Hey," she pointed at the boy, who smiled weakly. "Zip it."

"Come over here," Clint ordered.

"No, you, you drive." Kate used hand motions as Clint continued to try and hotwire the vehicle. "I shoot."

"I'm not hearing you," Clint replied loudly. "Your drive, okay?"

A gunshot echoed out with the passenger window smashing. Kate scrambled inside with Jason tapping shakily on the touchpad of his wrist. He blinks tiredly as he successfully activates the Labrinth drones.

"Come on." Clint slapped the dashboard. "Come on!"

On command, the vehicle rumbled to life. Two Tracksuits attacked, and Jason quickly shot one while Clint pressed his foot on the gas and sent the other over the roof. When another gunshot rang out, the rear window shattered and covered Jason in shattered glass.

"Guys," Jason said, "I got some help on the way."

"What type of help?" Kate asked. "Like, some superhero help? Daredevil? Spider-Man?"

Jason paused for a moment. "You know, getting either of them would've probably helped, honestly." He smiled slightly at the glare Kate sent him. "But, no. Drones."

"How many do we got?" Clint asked over the honking of a truck filled the air.

"Four!" Kate replied, holding up her hand to show him as he nodded.

Behind them, a grey Ford slammed into the back of their vehicle. Jason's head hit the back of Clint's seat, causing him to groan. A green cargo truck began to pull up in front of them, its back opening up to reveal three Tracksuits with weapons inside.

A buzzing filled the air as Jason's lips curled into a grin. A cloud of tiny drones rounded the end of the street and dove for the wheels of the cargo truck. Sparks sprouted out before each wheel exploded and sent the vehicle flying in the air. It landed on its roof and skidded across the ground, and smashed into a car sitting at the curb.

"When the hell did you make those?" Kate exclaimed, swivelling around in her seat to look at the boy. What she did come to find was Jason passed out. Paler than a ghost with his lips turning a dark shade of blue.

"Can you track him?" Carlton was speeding down the steps in the subway. When he'd heard that Jason had not only gone silent but had sent out prototype state of the ark drones, he had to figure out what the hell his nephew was doing. No matter how much he would want to smack the kid senselessly for it.

At the computer, Lilian was hovering over the device. Her entire posture screamed stress, and that should've been a given when it came to Jason. The kid just had that type of effect on people.

"I'm tracking him right now," she breathed, typing feverishly across the keys in front of her. "There's police reports of gunfire and vehicles in a high-speed chase."

"Oh, great," the man grumbled. "He dipped his toes into more bullshit than he could handle."

Carlton often hated how much he hated that he cared for the boy. Being so stressed out over the well-being of Jason, he would just have a heart attack one night. But it was that feeling that may have been the motivating factor to get the boy back on the right track. Whether that was good or bad was still up for discussion.

It hadn't mattered how many times he tried to get it through Jason's head. He was constantly ignored or brushed to the side. And some part of him resented that simple fact about Jason. The people closest to him wanted nothing but the best, but the kid just seemed to be looking for trouble. That's what Carlton could gather, at least.

"Carlton, I'm serious," Lilian exclaimed. "What if he's hurt? I mean, why the hell did he not contact us? Or even ask to release those drones? I can feel it. Something's wrong."

"He's fine," Carlton dismissed. "He's doing what he usually does. Startup problems and then cause havoc. It's a normal weekday for Jason."

The look he received in return had him confused. She was genuinely offended that he would say such a thing. But Lilian didn't understand Jason like Carlton did. For years since he took up the title of Precursor, Carlton had been in Lilian's shoes. Constantly worried about the kid who continued to thrust himself into danger daily. He'd just quickly learned that he couldn't handle helping or working for Jason anymore.

Lilian inhaled deeply, her hands moving to exercise her point when she said, "He has always loved and cared for you." Her bottom lip wobbled slightly. Trying to keep her anger down to a minimal state as her anxiety didn't mix well.

"If you knew Jason well enough, you know he is terrible at showing that," she said. "He needs our help, and I hate to admit that you know him better than I even do."

Carlton pursed his lips as he stared at his sister. He could see himself in her shoes. He once had been just as scared as her. Afraid that Jason had found himself in a horrible situation that he wasn't sure the boy would make it out of. But he knew that people could only learn from their mistakes unless they failed. "Help me, Carlton," she said with tears streaming from her eyes. "Please."

And as much as it pained him, he had to shake his head. "Lilian, you can't help someone who doesn't want help," he muttered. "And that applies especially to someone you don't know."

A gasp filled the air as Jason shot up from his spot. Body twitching as he groaned and looked down at the arrow stuck against his chest. Gasping as he pressed a hand to his stomach and winced as he leaned back down.

He had to blink a few times, adjusting to his surroundings. He was still in the shitty Buick, and the side windows were smashed. But they were stopped somewhere, and Jason could hear the sound of yells. One thing was for sure: he still felt like shit and could barely move.

Swallowing down on nothing, his throat parched, he looked around. "What the hell happened?"

His question was answered by Kate, who stood by the side door. Her bow was in hand and pointed towards behind them with her eyes frequently flickering towards him. "You died for three minutes," she replied. "I'm contemplating killing you again because of how you scared me."

Jason wanted to smile. Let out a quip to hide this vulnerability he was feeling. But his mind was drawn to the fact that if he died, there had been nothing. He didn't see anything like the golden gates or the fiery pits of hell. Just nothing.

It scared him beyond anything else. How does everything just seem to end? There are no after credits? No wise words for the things he's done? Just nothing? What the fuck type of punishment would the afterlife be for Joseph when there was endless nothingness?

But that thought only lasted a moment before Kate nudged his leg. "We have to go." Offering a hand out for him, Jason took it and cried when pain shot through his body. He collapsed to the ground as Kate went back to holding her aim at who Jason guessed was the Tracksuits.

Upon lifting his head and scanning the situation further, he quickly was taken aback. They were on a bridge, and down the road was a truck with its whole back end gone. Fire billowing from it with Maya and a few Tracksuits lowering their guns at the sight of Kate aiming at them. It made him frown, but when Clint started running back to them, Kate fired the arrow at one of the Tracksuits.

When it hit the man Jason remembers interrogating a few nights ago, Ivan, it did nothing special like the arrow Kate had shot minutes prior.

"Follow me!" Kate lifted Jason to his feet and followed Clint to the edge of the bridge. With the sound of the train below, Jason grabbed his rappel and stabbed it into the railing. Leaping off, Jason hooked it to his belt and swung down and landed on the train.

Slamming his half-broken fin into the roof of the train cart, it stopped him. His hand grabbed ahold of Kates as Clint used a suction arrow to stop them from falling off. Although he had a lot on his mind, Jason managed to lift Kate onto the top of the train, along with Clint.

Kate leaned on the top of him, cupping his cheeks as he swallowed the lump in his throat. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she inhaled deeply. He could tell there was something she wanted to say. Or do. It was made painfully obvious by the slight reddening of her eyes as she stared down at him.

So, to try and ease the damage or distress he may have caused her, he forced a smile. "Thank you for saving me," he paused, "again." It'd been the first time he thanked someone for something like this. To be honest, Jason can't remember the last time he had thanked someone in the past two years. And as bad as it was, doing so had been a bit foreign and a struggle. But despite that, he was deeply thankful.

As the train approached a halt, she was unable to reply. The doors to the train opened with people flooding out of the carts, with Clint waving the pairs to follow. Jason's mask appeared, and he slipped off the roof and tumbled to the ground.

"We've got to get you to a doctor or something." Clint came over, lifted the boy to his feet and lugged him into the train. Seating him beside Kate and practically opened both her arms to hold Jason.

But being stubborn like always, Jason sat up and shifted away from her touch. Lulling his head back against the window and wincing. "I'll be all right," he reassured. "We should just get back to the safe house. I can patch myself up there."

Hearing that, the two archers went silent. But they still have a cautious eye on Jason despite his past reassurance. Clint wouldn't admit it outright, but he sees a lot of Tony in Jason. Minus the "killing the deserving" stuff, he could be the next Tony Stark of the Avengers. But nobody could fill Tony's shoes after the sacrifice he made, along with Natasha.

He just knew that if he could put Jason down the right path, he might be able to make a hero out of Jason. Not make him the next Ronin that had haunted the world during the Blip.

There was a quiet gasp as Kate lifted her head. "Oh, we gotta walk the dog."

The mention had Jason chuckling weakly. Glancing at her with a slight shake of his head. "That's what you have to say after everything that just happened?"

"You're not wrong..." Clint said.

"He's been cooped up all day," Kate stated. "Not sure how long a dog can--"

"...calling yourself one of the world's greatest archers." Clint's words had Jason turning his head to the man in surprise. Kate did the same and could hardly hide it if she wanted.

"Oh, my God, do you really think so?" She asked. "I wasn't sure how I'd do under all that pressure..."

"Probably should walk the dog," Clint cut her off, turning his head to the pair. "Don't you think? Been cooped up all day."

Right, he can't hear, Jason thought with a tiny chuckle as he placed his head against the window again. But his stone gaze ahead only lasted a few moments before he glanced at Kate, who silently observed her surroundings.

A small smile pressed to his lips under his mask as he took in her beauty. Like, really, took her all in. Her sharp jawline, slightly knitted brows, plump lips, the natural brightness in her eyes. Even for Jason to see with his own eyes, she was a work of art. The testament of what beauty should live up to.

It felt like the doors to Jason's mind finally opened up after he woke up. Like, some sort of epiphany sparked in his brain and set flames to every other thought to reside there.

So, with very little warning, he reached a trembling hand down to hers. Interlocking their fingers and allowing his mask to retract, revealing his lips where he placed a delicate kiss to the top of her hand.

It was a short moment that most didn't see. Well, besides Kate and Clint. But Kate's cheeks warmed up as she watched Jason lean his head against her shoulder and shuffle a bit closer. Content with the comfort she gave off and wanting it all for himself.

She glanced at Clint, finding him smiling fondly at the pair. But that just made Kate more flushed as turned away and leaned her cheeks against the crown of his head. Giving one final squeeze of his hand for the rest of the ride back to her aunt's apartment.