~Uh oh.~
Jack was a cocky and self-assured man long before he got superpowers. While in that moment he was completely derailed, he was not one to panic under pressure and only froze up for a moment. Jack looked at his finger briefly, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm Sorry. I was about to do something rude. My apologies." On the outside, jack looked calm, cool, and collected.
Internally, Jack's mind was racing a thousand miles a minute, ~What the fuck just happened? Why the fuck couldn't I teleport?~ Jack cleared his throat, "We haven't been properly introduced." He leaned forward and offered his hand with a winning smile, "The name is Jack Cooper. Everyone calls me Trades."
She snorted, "A Jack of all Trades instead of a Jill. Heh. That's funny." She looked him up and down with a critical eye, "Call me Big Marie. Everyone does." She clicked her tongue, "We don't need you in the whorehouse, yer too old and while you look like a scrapper, I don't think you could handle yourself in a fight, much less handle collections."
Jack spread his hands wide, "Looks can be deceiving. Can I get an audition?" mentally he was reviewing his options, ~I'm not going to get a second chance, so I hope that Marie here has the same mindset as Tony. I won't have to put on too much of a show, just hold my own.~
Marie let out a bark of laughter and smacked the table with the flat of her hand, "HAH! I like your style, Jack Trades." She looked at Bendetta, who looked back and just nodded in response. Marie gestured to the other room, "Sure. Clear out the tables and show me your stuff."
Everyone filtered out into the main room. Two of them pulled the chairs and tabled out from the center of the room, "Keep it civil." Marie remarked as Jack and Bendetta faced off.
Jack cracked his neck, "I'll try and go easy on you." And shuffled his feet in an almost playful manner while mentally reminding himself where the best places to land a cheap shot were, ~Kidney blow?~
Bennett smirked back, "Thanks." Then became a hazy, indistinct blur.
Jack's cocky attitude vanished, "Oh cr-" as she came in quick and popped him once in the face. Jack staggered back as she followed up with a series of body blows then tried to go in for a knockout blow. He defensively held up his arms to cover his face as she machine gunned a series of rabbit punches. Each blow flared with a red light.
Bendetta backed off, solidifying as she did, "Fucker!" She was shaking her hands as if they hurt for some reason.
Jack was still trying to recover from the first shot when he noticed the red glow didn't come from her hands, but from his leather jacket. It was glowing with he same force field he could normally could generate, except this was red and it only seemed to cover his clothing.
Bendetta looked at Marie questioningly who just nodded once in response. Bendetta became a blur again. Jack was on the defensive, trying hard to keep from getting hit from this living smudge of a brawler. It was impossible to predict her moves, especially since Jack was also trying to figure out what was going on with his powers at the same time. Something was happening, but radically different at the same time. Je needed to figure this out, and fast, ~What the fuck happened? Why can I only affect my clohtes? At the very least I should be able to speed myself up!~
Jack couldn't get in a hit. Every shot seemed to go wide as he couldn't pin down her location. At this rate he was going to lose. He could keep dancing but eventually she'd get past his defenses and land a serious blow, ~I need some sort of wide area blanket attack.~ That was when an idea popped into his head, ~Oh this is the dumbest idea I ever had.~ Abruptly the red glow all moved down to his pants. There was the sound of ripping denim as they tore themselves off his body, ripping apart at the seams into one long strip of cloth. Everyone in the room stopped dead.
This was an unexpected combat maneuver.
Mentally directing his pants, he had them fly at Bendetta, spread out to wrap around her. Not expecting this sort of maneuver and blatantly staring at Jack's boxers, it easily wrapped around her. Bendetta's blur disappeared as she struggled to get free. Jack wasted no time jumping on her back and got her in a choke hold. A moment later he wrestled her to the ground, "This would be the point I usually start asking where my fuckin' money is!" He squeezed extra tight, causing her to finally croak out, "Auntie! Auntie!"
Jack froze up, "Uh... What?"
She struggled to speak, "I said Auntie. I yield!"
Jack let go, "Oh. You mean uncle." He rolled his hand in the air, "Everything is backwards here."
He held out his hand and gestured. His pants flew to his hand, ~Okay...~
Bendetta fell to the floor on all fours, clutching at her throat. She spent several seconds trying to catch her breath before she looked up at Jack, "You know... normally I have to pay extra for that sort of thing."
Jack couldn't help but burst out laughing at that. He shoot his head slightly then offered her a hand up. She eyed it for a second, then grasped it firmly and allowed Jack to help her to her feet.
Marie looked impressed and gave him a slow clap, "Well done. Well done, indeed." She nodded slowly, "I gotta ask... there aren't a whole lot of meta active men. I'm sure you could score a much better paying job somewhere else. You sure you wanna settle for working for me?" She scratched her chin, "I don't want you changing your mind on a whim."
Jack eyed his shredded jeans, ~I can heal people as Angel. I wonder if I can...~ He touched his jeans and thought about 'healing' them. His jeans suddenly repaired themselves. This got a 'Whoa' from Shirley. Jack kicked off his shoes and started putting on his pants as he replied, "Yeah. I'm not the hero type. I'm more of a working Joe."
Marie slowly stroked her chin, "Working... Joe? Uncle?" She narrowed her eyes, "I guess you are from another universe, but..."
Jack cut her off, "Reverse the gender roles, take away all this cape... monad... power nonsense and you have my world. In case you were wondering."
Bendetta quirked her head to the side, "Wait. You didn't have powers in your world?" Jack nodded back in confirmation.
Marie took a deep breath, "Ah-right. You want to be part of my crew? I have-"
Jack cut her off, "Whoa. I'm talking as a freelancer. I don't want to sign on to your crew entirely. I worked for Tony through Redline. I take it you don't have a collection law firm working for you?"
Marie looked thoughtful, "No. Why did he have one?"
Jack looked surprised, "Do you have any idea how cheap debt is? You can buy debt that is five years old for pennies on the dollar. A virtually bottomless well of money laundering. You can actually try to collect the debt, and any debt you can't, you can claim someone paid and poof. Money cleaned and you might lose only two percent in the process. You combine that with..." He flexed his shoulders, "Some local collection efforts with ah... personal touch and you'd be surprised how much money Redline made."
Shirley turned to Marie, "You know... I don't know much about how collection agencies work, but if he's right, he might have just handed us a-" Marie held up her hand flat to Shirley to indicate she should be quiet. Shirley looked annoyed, but closed her mouth as she looked away.
Marie stroked her chin in thought then said, "You have experience working at this... Redline?" Jack nodded, "How'd you like to open up a collection agency for me?" She gestured to him, "Having a cute man in charge will also serve well to deflect suspicion."
Jack raised an eyebrow, "Ah... recreate Redline, eh? Huh... well... credit is a scam no matter what universe you are in... sure. BUT!" He held up a hand, "I got my own agenda. Things I want to get going so... I get the place going, but I might want to put someone else on the floor as the day to day manager."
Marie stood up and spread her arms wide in a gesture that caused Jack's spine to shiver because of how much it reminded him of Tony, "Of course! As long as my investment makes money, make your own hours. She walked up to clasp Jack on both shoulders, "I like you Jack Trades. You don't have a head full of fluff like most men. You hold yourself like a woman. I can respect that."
Jack closed his eyes and bowed his head forward slightly in a sign of respect, "I'll take that as a complement."
Marie chuckled and squeezed his shoulders before letting go, "As it was intended." She gave a sweeping gesture to Shirley, "This is my lawyer. Talk with her, discuss the details. I'll leave the specifics up to the both of you. Just... one thing." She abruptly swung her hand around to stab a finger in Jack's face. As if Jack knew exactly what she was going to say, Marie and Jack both spoke in unison.
"Don't ever think of fucking me. If you lie, you die."
Marie blinked, then let out a laugh. She gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Keep your word and if you fuck up, tell me you fucked up. Maybe I gotta teach you a lesson. Maybe I got to break your fingers. but I promise, if you confess your fuck up, I'll give you a second chance." She pointed at his face, "Telling me you are going to follow my orders is a promise. If you try and you fail, you contact me and tell me right away. I can tolerate failure. If you just give up and try to hide your failure..."
She 'pulled' the trigger on her hand, pantomiming shooting Jack in the face.
Jack smirked, "Tony said the same thing."
Marie's smile slowly grew, "I think this Tony and I would have gotten along well." She gave him another pat on the shoulder then turned to Shirley, "Forward him ten grand and those weapons he wanted." She glanced back at Jack and gave him a wink, "A consulting fee." Jack winked back.
"A consulting fee."
~Uh oh.~
Jack was a cocky and self-assured man long before he got superpowers. While in that moment he was completely derailed, he was not one to panic under pressure and only froze up for a moment. Jack looked at his finger briefly, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm Sorry. I was about to do something rude. My apologies." On the outside, jack looked calm, cool, and collected.
Internally, Jack's mind was racing a thousand miles a minute, ~What the fuck just happened? Why the fuck couldn't I teleport?~ Jack cleared his throat, "We haven't been properly introduced." He leaned forward and offered his hand with a winning smile, "The name is Jack Cooper. Everyone calls me Trades."
She snorted, "A Jack of all Trades instead of a Jill. Heh. That's funny." She looked him up and down with a critical eye, "Call me Big Marie. Everyone does." She clicked her tongue, "We don't need you in the whorehouse, yer too old and while you look like a scrapper, I don't think you could handle yourself in a fight, much less handle collections."
Jack spread his hands wide, "Looks can be deceiving. Can I get an audition?" mentally he was reviewing his options, ~I'm not going to get a second chance, so I hope that Marie here has the same mindset as Tony. I won't have to put on too much of a show, just hold my own.~
Marie let out a bark of laughter and smacked the table with the flat of her hand, "HAH! I like your style, Jack Trades." She looked at Bendetta, who looked back and just nodded in response. Marie gestured to the other room, "Sure. Clear out the tables and show me your stuff."
Everyone filtered out into the main room. Two of them pulled the chairs and tabled out from the center of the room, "Keep it civil." Marie remarked as Jack and Bendetta faced off.
Jack cracked his neck, "I'll try and go easy on you." And shuffled his feet in an almost playful manner while mentally reminding himself where the best places to land a cheap shot were, ~Kidney blow?~
Bennett smirked back, "Thanks." Then became a hazy, indistinct blur.
Jack's cocky attitude vanished, "Oh cr-" as she came in quick and popped him once in the face. Jack staggered back as she followed up with a series of body blows then tried to go in for a knockout blow. He defensively held up his arms to cover his face as she machine gunned a series of rabbit punches. Each blow flared with a red light.
Bendetta backed off, solidifying as she did, "Fucker!" She was shaking her hands as if they hurt for some reason.
Jack was still trying to recover from the first shot when he noticed the red glow didn't come from her hands, but from his leather jacket. It was glowing with he same force field he could normally could generate, except this was red and it only seemed to cover his clothing.
Bendetta looked at Marie questioningly who just nodded once in response. Bendetta became a blur again. Jack was on the defensive, trying hard to keep from getting hit from this living smudge of a brawler. It was impossible to predict her moves, especially since Jack was also trying to figure out what was going on with his powers at the same time. Something was happening, but radically different at the same time. Je needed to figure this out, and fast, ~What the fuck happened? Why can I only affect my clohtes? At the very least I should be able to speed myself up!~
Jack couldn't get in a hit. Every shot seemed to go wide as he couldn't pin down her location. At this rate he was going to lose. He could keep dancing but eventually she'd get past his defenses and land a serious blow, ~I need some sort of wide area blanket attack.~ That was when an idea popped into his head, ~Oh this is the dumbest idea I ever had.~ Abruptly the red glow all moved down to his pants. There was the sound of ripping denim as they tore themselves off his body, ripping apart at the seams into one long strip of cloth. Everyone in the room stopped dead.
This was an unexpected combat maneuver.
Mentally directing his pants, he had them fly at Bendetta, spread out to wrap around her. Not expecting this sort of maneuver and blatantly staring at Jack's boxers, it easily wrapped around her. Bendetta's blur disappeared as she struggled to get free. Jack wasted no time jumping on her back and got her in a choke hold. A moment later he wrestled her to the ground, "This would be the point I usually start asking where my fuckin' money is!" He squeezed extra tight, causing her to finally croak out, "Auntie! Auntie!"
Jack froze up, "Uh... What?"
She struggled to speak, "I said Auntie. I yield!"
Jack let go, "Oh. You mean uncle." He rolled his hand in the air, "Everything is backwards here."
He held out his hand and gestured. His pants flew to his hand, ~Okay...~
Bendetta fell to the floor on all fours, clutching at her throat. She spent several seconds trying to catch her breath before she looked up at Jack, "You know... normally I have to pay extra for that sort of thing."
Jack couldn't help but burst out laughing at that. He shoot his head slightly then offered her a hand up. She eyed it for a second, then grasped it firmly and allowed Jack to help her to her feet.
Marie looked impressed and gave him a slow clap, "Well done. Well done, indeed." She nodded slowly, "I gotta ask... there aren't a whole lot of meta active men. I'm sure you could score a much better paying job somewhere else. You sure you wanna settle for working for me?" She scratched her chin, "I don't want you changing your mind on a whim."
Jack eyed his shredded jeans, ~I can heal people as Angel. I wonder if I can...~ He touched his jeans and thought about 'healing' them. His jeans suddenly repaired themselves. This got a 'Whoa' from Shirley. Jack kicked off his shoes and started putting on his pants as he replied, "Yeah. I'm not the hero type. I'm more of a working Joe."
Marie slowly stroked her chin, "Working... Joe? Uncle?" She narrowed her eyes, "I guess you are from another universe, but..."
Jack cut her off, "Reverse the gender roles, take away all this cape... monad... power nonsense and you have my world. In case you were wondering."
Bendetta quirked her head to the side, "Wait. You didn't have powers in your world?" Jack nodded back in confirmation.
Marie took a deep breath, "Ah-right. You want to be part of my crew? I have-"
Jack cut her off, "Whoa. I'm talking as a freelancer. I don't want to sign on to your crew entirely. I worked for Tony through Redline. I take it you don't have a collection law firm working for you?"
Marie looked thoughtful, "No. Why did he have one?"
Jack looked surprised, "Do you have any idea how cheap debt is? You can buy debt that is five years old for pennies on the dollar. A virtually bottomless well of money laundering. You can actually try to collect the debt, and any debt you can't, you can claim someone paid and poof. Money cleaned and you might lose only two percent in the process. You combine that with..." He flexed his shoulders, "Some local collection efforts with ah... personal touch and you'd be surprised how much money Redline made."
Shirley turned to Marie, "You know... I don't know much about how collection agencies work, but if he's right, he might have just handed us a-" Marie held up her hand flat to Shirley to indicate she should be quiet. Shirley looked annoyed, but closed her mouth as she looked away.
Marie stroked her chin in thought then said, "You have experience working at this... Redline?" Jack nodded, "How'd you like to open up a collection agency for me?" She gestured to him, "Having a cute man in charge will also serve well to deflect suspicion."
Jack raised an eyebrow, "Ah... recreate Redline, eh? Huh... well... credit is a scam no matter what universe you are in... sure. BUT!" He held up a hand, "I got my own agenda. Things I want to get going so... I get the place going, but I might want to put someone else on the floor as the day to day manager."
Marie stood up and spread her arms wide in a gesture that caused Jack's spine to shiver because of how much it reminded him of Tony, "Of course! As long as my investment makes money, make your own hours. She walked up to clasp Jack on both shoulders, "I like you Jack Trades. You don't have a head full of fluff like most men. You hold yourself like a woman. I can respect that."
Jack closed his eyes and bowed his head forward slightly in a sign of respect, "I'll take that as a complement."
Marie chuckled and squeezed his shoulders before letting go, "As it was intended." She gave a sweeping gesture to Shirley, "This is my lawyer. Talk with her, discuss the details. I'll leave the specifics up to the both of you. Just... one thing." She abruptly swung her hand around to stab a finger in Jack's face. As if Jack knew exactly what she was going to say, Marie and Jack both spoke in unison.
"Don't ever think of fucking me. If you lie, you die."
Marie blinked, then let out a laugh. She gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Keep your word and if you fuck up, tell me you fucked up. Maybe I gotta teach you a lesson. Maybe I got to break your fingers. but I promise, if you confess your fuck up, I'll give you a second chance." She pointed at his face, "Telling me you are going to follow my orders is a promise. If you try and you fail, you contact me and tell me right away. I can tolerate failure. If you just give up and try to hide your failure..."
She 'pulled' the trigger on her hand, pantomiming shooting Jack in the face.
Jack smirked, "Tony said the same thing."
Marie's smile slowly grew, "I think this Tony and I would have gotten along well." She gave him another pat on the shoulder then turned to Shirley, "Forward him ten grand and those weapons he wanted." She glanced back at Jack and gave him a wink, "A consulting fee." Jack winked back.
"A consulting fee."
