Nice work you did-

[ecto_biologist]

Who: John Egbert and Jack Noir
When: Friday
Where: Suite 31, Room A.
Summary: John and Jack get the same order - one neither is willing to go through with, so they take a stand in the way only they can.
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17
Warnings: Swearing, Tragically Hilarious Dialogue, Heartwarming Bromances, Alcohol, Collar-Inflicted Fatal Injuries,

Comments

[hesalreadyhere]

Surprisingly, at that very moment Jack was having the exact same thought. He could handle humiliation-- it fucking pissed him off beyond belief, but he could take it, because if he didn't know how to pick his battles he never would've lasted as an archagent. He could deal with being stripped of his powers on a fucking AI bitch's whims, or giving back everyone's pens, or being treating like a fucking dog. He hated every second of it, but if it meant survival, he'd do it anyway.

But there were lines he refused to cross, because doing that would mean going against everything he believed in. It would mean destroying his code and falling onto the monstrous side of that line of morality he straddled. After everything he'd been through here? He couldn't do that. And Dave had been through more than enough shit already.

He peeked in on Dave's room anyway-- not in, but John was, and it looked like something was up. Since he'd been allowed his ring back for the purposes of beating the shit out of Dave, the Ace decided to take a chance instead. In a flash he was behind John, sword idle at his side.

Judging from the kid's reaction, he could guess what this was about. Jack narrowed his eyes.

"Who'd you get?"

[ecto_biologist]

The flash at his side was surprising for only a moment. John was almost used to Jack's teleport checkups. And e was quick on the uptake... and John had a sneaking suspicion why. Even if it was only a guess in the dark, his question provided some info to John, as well.

"...I got Dave, Ace." There's a low, sour note. He hates this, it's obvious. Flashbacks to a Dave on a rooftop barely conscious, legs like jelly - he couldn't take having to pull that kind of shit. He plopped down on the floor, trying to hold back all the things he wanted to say about how much it sucked. Jack could probably tell anyway. He didn't exactly have the best poker face in the facility.

[hesalreadyhere]

His ears perked at the kid's reply. Dave. Of course it was fucking Dave, the Consortium obviously had some weird leg-breaking fetish to satisfy or something. Jack is thinking of that night, too, except he knows for a fact that he could do it. It would be all too easy to give in. But he quickly pushes that thought back, growling.

"You know what I think about that?" the Slayer snarls, and in the next second he's down on the floor across from the kid, legs crossed. "Val can go fuck herself. Not like the bullshit's gonna end if we listen anywa--"

Oh, right, collarspikes. Almost forgot about those.

Jack gags, hand immediately dropping his sword and going for the collar because ow fuck ow reopening wounds x1000000. His ears go flat and part of him regrets this, but goddamnit he will stick to his guns if it kills him.

It will. He knows. He doesn't really care at this point.

"...H-hey, just another f-fuckin' experiment, r-right?" Shakier than he would've liked, but. Not the time to be worrying about that. "Fuck it. I'm not m-moving."

Jack just grits his teeth and digs his fingers into the tile while the blood starts flowing down his chest again.

[ecto_biologist]

It's been a while since he's seen Jack act like this - and watching him go for his collar, he's about to tell him not to resist Val - but then something kicks in his gut.

Jack was here for a reason, and he wasn't going to do a damn thing. That's when it occurred to John.

She asked them both. Of course she would ask them both. The three of them were pretty close - asking both to betray the other in the worst way would be an experiment she'd give.

John stared at Jack for a moment, his hand in a fist at his side. For the first time in a long while, a spark lit in his heart. A small fire, which quickly bloomed into something... he didn't know what it was. His limbs were moving all his own. He moved up, standing up only a moment, he moves over beside jack, putting his back up against his as he sat back down on the floor.

"Yeah, you know what. You've got a point, Ace. Just another test. And I'm pretty sure this is one class I don't want to pass." He grit his teeth and back stiffened as he went for his neck - he could feel spikes pressing in on his neck and drawing blood at his refusal, and he can feel a nnumbing surge that had to be an electrical current hitting him. After a minute he was able to regain use of his voice, gasping and gritting.

"We're.... not gonna take this. Not a... f-fucking chance."

[hesalreadyhere]

His hair stood up when he saw the shit John is getting now-- electrocution, not as big a deal to a dersite, but he knew too well how frail humans can be-- and part of him felt guilty. He was forcing this choice on the kid. Then he remembered what option B was and shrugged that thought right the fuck off. If John decided to fuck over his best friend, Jack wouldn't stand for that, either. No one was fucking anyone up. Not under his watch.

It hurt like hell, and he was sure John was hurting too, but this wouldn't be permanent. They would be brought back, they would recover. Dave had already suffered enough damage to last him a lifetime, and he didn't get a free recovery courtesy of the Consortium's resurrection crew.

Jack pulled his jaw into a grin, teeth clenched from the pain he was gradually tuning out. Dave would be useless if he got any more fucked up. And a useless Knight would only drag the rest of them down.

Yeah, this was the better option.

"This isn't fuck-all," he growled, his voice steadier. "Hey, kid. Remember-- 103? This isn't-- f-fucking anything compared to that."

Unfolding a quivering wing, he stretched it behind John's back, pulling him in a little. Now is as good a time as any to grant him wingblankie privileges.