𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐍 || 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴

   JASON SAT BESIDE THE DOG, TINKERING WITH HIS COMMUNICATION PAD. Hoping to have it up and going so he could contact his mother and let her know he was still alive. It broke after that escape on the bridge, and he'd been holding off on doing anything for the time being. Wanting to just relax and ease his body for a little while.

But now, the trio sat outside a technician's shop, waiting for Clint's hearing aid to be fixed. Still cautious of any possible Tracksuits that they may run into. Especially Jason, who wanted to get some payback for the beating they had given him. Killing some of them hadn't been enough for Jason. He wanted them all to feel his wrath. Jason promised that he would destroy everything around Joseph, and he fully intended to keep that promise.

And even after they finished fixing Clint's hearing aid, Jason found himself dwelling in the closed space beside Kate. Arms frequently brush against one another and always send shivers down the girl's body. Daringly let her thumb hook around his thumb in a small act of affection. Smiling when Jason's hold tightened on her.

When they settled in the small dinner, Kate had escaped to the bathroom. Leaving Jason to sit across from Clint, who awkwardly tapped his fingers on the table. Jason stared out the window, watching people and cars go by.

With a sigh, Clint looked at the young man. "Where'd you learn all your fighting?"

Jason glanced at the man for a few moments until his gaze fell back to the outside. "My butler was a former Marine," he stated briefly. "Whenever I trained - which was always - he would teach me everything about guns to hand-to-hand combat. It was after my Dad's death that I started training more to start up my whole side gig of being a hero." He scoffed to himself at the thought. "But it seems I'm creating more problems than solving."

Clint had been following, but he had been hung up on a previous statement. "Wait. I thought both your parents died," he pointed out. "What about your mom?"

About to speak, Jason was cut off by rapid tapping n the window and saw his mother. His eyes widened at the sight of the woman out in public, shamelessly. Not even caring that if someone with good memory saw her, the entire safety of her life would be out to the world. And most importantly, Joseph.

But Jason wasn't the only one surprised as the moment Lillian looked at Clint, her eyes widened and lips parted in shock. "Clint?" She inquired aloud, voice muffled by the glass.

"Lillian?" Clint asked, beginning to slide out from the booth as Lillian jogged to the door.

When they met face to face, the pair embraced one another without question. Leaving Jason even more puzzled than before. And when Kate came from the bathroom, her eyes were wide in shock at the sight as well. "Am I hallucinating or am I seeing Clint hugging your-"

"-My mom?" You finished. "Yeah, I see it too."

The both of them just stared until the older pair pulled away. Clint's hands came up to cup the woman's face and Jason was more surprised to see his mother lean into the touch. That made Jason's lips part, upper lip twitching in shock.

Shaking away the curious thought, he stood to his feet and shrugged off his jacket. "As I think this is a reunion, you shouldn't be out in public." Jason slipped the sleeves past his mom's arms and forced the hood over her head. "You need to head back to the house and stay there. I don't want Carlton after me because you're deciding to pull a stunt like this."

"Well, you didn't contact me when you used the drone, Jace," she hissed back. "You could've been dead for all I knew."

"But I am fine - see!" He motioned to himself, even though the clothing hid many of the bruises underneath. "Now, go home, please."

But before the woman could defend herself, Clint spoke up. "No. She'll be a great help for us."

"Wait, no. We are not bringing my mom into this." Jason said sternly, placing a firm hand on the archer's arm. The older man looked at the kid, who pursed his lips and felt his nose twitch in anger. "The guy I am after, Joseph Martello, he killed my dad. He tried to kill her as well. I don't care if she can hack anything in the world or if can read people's minds like Wanda - We are not bringing her into this. If you push for it, I am sorry Clint, but I will beat you."

"I think you forget you are still a rookie to this whole superhero thing."

"Doesn't mean putting a bullet in you would be a problem for me."

"Do I get a say in this?" The pair turned to Lillian who seemed more aggravated that the two were fighting like children than discussing like adults.

She quickly ushered them outside, motioning Kate to quickly follow as the group walked down the sidewalk. "Listen, Jace. I know you aren't happy I didn't listen to your commands. But I did it for a good reason and you need to either deal with that or stop talking," she defended. "But Clint, fighting with my son is no way to go about it. At the moment, it is against Tracksuits and I need the two of you to get along."

"What about me?" Kate inquired, gaining the trio's attention.

"You're a stowaway at the moment," Lillian stated. "The adults are talking." Kate pouted like a child, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked with the trio.

"So, you are seriously going to do this? You are going to risk your life because of this shit?" Jason's question had his mom stopping and turning to him.

"You aren't the only person who lost something that night," she hissed. "My job as a mother is to make sure you are safe and protected. We lost Felix because of Joseph. He was as much family as your brother has been. Either way, there is a lot you don't know about before I ever met your father."

That stunned Jason who followed his mother and Clint back to the tech store. After Clint had his hearing aid restored, they made their way on foot, developing small talk. But Jason kept a close eye on his mother and everything around him. Feeling even more of a burden resting on his shoulder knowing that he had to deal with keeping his mother and Kate safe. Because truthfully, he didn't know what his mother had done in her past and he didn't much care. Not when Joseph was still at large and gunning for his family.

"All right, peeps, let's get into it," Kate spoke up. "Did you two pick up on any tension between Maya and the hot guy, or was it just me?"

Jason's jaw ticked as he shook his head. "His name's Kazi," Clint answered.

"All right, so I take it these Tracksuit guys are into some pretty bad stuff?" Kate asked, looking between Clint and Jason.

"They've moving guns with Joseph Martello for months now," Jason started. "They were small, but now with the backing of Hammerhead, they grew. Now, I've been tracking them for the past several months and cutting off their supply chains and trying to minimize their control in certain neighbourhoods."

"They'll do anything to grow the operation. But it doesn't seem like Joseph is the main head," Clint spoke up. "There has to be someone above Maya and Joseph."

"There's obviously bad blood with Ronin, right?" Kate inquired.

"Yeah," Clint replied. "Ronin hit the supplier on the other side and then hit Tracksuit upper management. But that was still during the Blip. So, things have just gotten out of hand since."

"Sounds like a lot of drama." Kate looked down at the dog. "Which is why you should never get involved in organized crime."

The group soon split up with Jason calling one of his drivers whilst Kate and Clint hailed a cab. Once the two Samsons were in the vehicle, Jaxon shut the window dividing him from the driver and looked at his mother.

"What the fuck was that back at the dinner?"

The woman couldn't have looked any more confused as she did a double take of her son and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Don't bullshit a bullshiter, mom. I saw the whole damn thing," he commented. "Clint holding your face like high school lovers. What am I not picking up on?"

Lillian sighed. "I already told you, there's a lot you don't know about my past, Jason."

"Wow, would you look at that," Jason said sarcastically, looking down at his watch. "I have all this time until we figure out what to do next."

But before she could say anything, Lillian's phone buzzed and she grabbed it. "Oh, Clint told me we're heading to Elenor's penthouse to check the criminal database for any leads."

"You even have his phone on your phone. Jesus." Jason pulled the glass down to the driver. "Take us to the Bishop's penthouse-"

His eyes made contact with the end of a pistol directed right at his head. Jason pulled up the glass just as the gun went off. Pulling out his gun from the back of his pants, he shot three times in the back of the driver's seat and heard a grunt before the loud blaring of the horn. And it was only a few seconds later that the vehicle came to an abrupt stop it crashing.

"What the hell?" Lillian breathed as she watched her son walk around the vehicle and to the driverside. He moved the body into the passenger seat before getting into the car.

The glass dividing them was pulled down with Lillian's head poking through. "Jason, what the hell is happening?"

"As I said, Joseph is coming for us," he commented gruffly. "You walking around New York isn't exactly the idea I would call "hiding", mom. Now, Joseph knows you are alive and we can't trust anyone. So, we're heading back to the estate and that's where you are going to stay."

"You don't get to parent me, Jason," Lillian laughed.

"Well, you have given me many reasons to do so," Jason replied, looking in the rearview mirror. "Not only have you risked your secret, but you have risked your life for something so meaningless like checking on me when you know I can handle myself."

"That's funny because that's what your brother said before he shipped off."

The deathly silence was instant. The topic that is never brought up, was Raph Samson. Some say he was the guy who was the true outcast of the family. Couldn't get along with his parents and couldn't get along with his brother. Many articles twisted how the guy was, but Jason saw him as he was a coward. Haven't seen his face since their father's funeral and went ghost since.

Truthfully, Jason didn't care much what his brother did. As long as he stayed away from the estate, the company, and from the family, Jason was happy. No need to have dead weight in a family that didn't need him anymore. Especially someone who turned his back on the ones who needed him to fight a war that he didn't need to be a part of.

Jason grounded his teeth, hands tightening around the steering wheel. "Sit back, kick your feet up," Jason spat. "It's going to be a long ride back."

Before Lillian could say a word, Jason pushed up the glass and locked it. Silencing her response and anything that could be considered an apology. Clamping her eyes shut and clenching her jaw with a quiet, "Fuck."