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Chapter Text

         After spending three days straight doing nothing but tinkering on his Jack-bots and binging on junk food, Jack realized he is bored.Not just bore in general but with the way his life is going,with a side of malcontent,Ennui that the word.Three weeks ago he graduated 2 years early from college only to go back to chasing after a Wu, a ultimately useless paper weight because he can just make a machine that do the exact same thing.

        '6 years of doing exactly same thing'  6 years of chasing Shen Gon Wu after Shen Gon Wu,trying to impress Chase Young,trying to prove his "evil". Looking back,before he had open that stupid puzzle box, he had been just as bored and was just playing around with the idea of world domination and villainy due to said boredom.The revelation of magic and spirits fascinated him and as embarrassing as it is to admit he was also an edgy brat or Chuunibyou as the Japanese called it.

       And thus started 6 years of "villainy" that honestly wouldn't look out of place in a cartoon.He was home schooled after pushing someone off the third floor in second grade so he didn't need to go to school every day. He was a budding genius in everything science so the only subject he needed to worry about was literature, which you could just bullshit your way through and still get a decent enough grade as long it reach word requirement and show that you at least skim through the material.Or Google.The only reason he went to college in the first place was because he wanted to see how it was like.

      He was sullen, disgruntle, miserable, bored .

      Why was he still here? Here he get no respect.Due his immaturity and pigheadedness of being a good "villain" more times then not he lost and got humiliated,badly at that.After he wisen up and got his act together, he had already got a reputation of being nothing but a joke,a wimpy brat with delusion of grandeur. An insecure loser for everyone to insult,ridicule and push around to feel better about themselves.

    So why is he still here?

    Shen Gon Wu? Most of them he doesn't really have a use for.He only needed one to figure out the magic in it to make other, better things.

    World domination? He could list haft a dozen reasons to not do so.When he was young and ignorant, he thought that ruling the world would just mean sitting on a fancy chair, looking menacing. But now he knows that it involve paperwork, listening to various people either kissing his ass or planning my death, be on the aware for spies, traitors, assassination attempts,heroes,etc,etc... What would he even do with the world after conquering it.

    Evil? Evil is basically immorality.He's not immoral just amoral.He has lines he wouldn't cross (unless necessary) but couldn't care less if people around him does. Morals are societal construct, what is consider normal to one culture is consider down right evil in another.Or even just different time period, racism was consider completely normal just a few decades ago.

    Respect? Why? Maybe when he was still a child that was important but now why would he want respect from a bunch of nobodies.He was a genius in ALL things science, or at least the important ones. Engineering was just a fast rewarding past time and even then the things he had made would have got him a Nobel prize, revolutionizing the machine industry and gain him the respect of scientists and world leaders, immortalizing his name in history.

    He went to the fridge and got himself a soda,taking seat and look back at his lab.

    '6 years of work'

     So why did he do it?

     'Because I was bored. Because it sounded cool. Because it was new  and fascinating. Because I wanted to.'

      Ah, that's it.

      So, what does he want to do? 

      For starter, he still want to be a villain and take over the world as a side project and something to do if noting else.

      He want to be a scientist, which is honestly not that hard.He had already got a PhD in Robotic,Computer Science and Programming. He has been self teaching himself since he got home schooled so that is a pretty impressive feat. Already he has received various offers that he still hasn't look through.

      'I should really get start on that' He mused.Taking a sip of soda, he turn back to his thoughts. 

      He'd began dabbling several not-so-legal activities to fund his other very illegal activities which, monetary wise, is not that necessary as he had already inherited nearly half a billion in countless account oversea from his grandmother but it will help him get his name out there or at least a pseudo name and build some connections.

      Pulling open a laptop, he orders a plane ticket to France, a room at a high end hotel. He already has a business transaction there in 2 weeks, migh as well take a vacation while he's at it. 

     Looking around,finishing his soda slowly as if to stall.

     "Activate Program: HERMIT CRAP"He murmured.

     "PASSWORD" a robotic voice echo as the room come alive. 

      He went to get another soda as he countdown to the correct time.

      '3...2...1' "I have a pure heart " He absently said as he cracks open the soda can.

      "CONFIRMATION?" Echoed back.

      "Soda pop" He continued before chugging down the whole can.

      "ACCEPTED" At that Jack take one last look at room before heading upstairs

      "Thank you and goodnight"He thrown back one last time.

      As soon words register, the room spring to life, Jack-bots began to pack up everything important, quick and efficient.

       'Welp, everyone have to grow up eventually' 

Chapter Text

           'This isn't so bad' He mused. At a cafe with a view of the Eiffel Tower, he couldn't remember the last time he went on vacation. The weather was nice, cloudy and slightly cold, just how he likes it. It was still rather early so the street was nearly empty aside from a few early birds getting to work. Sitting alone at a table with a plate of creme puffs, fresh from a local bakery and a steaming cup of espresso. Almost silent aside from the occasional vehicle. It was almost as if he was in a ghost town, nearly empty of human life. This is strangely tranquil.

          'I should travel more often' 

          In between every Showdown, he usually just stay home tinkering, preparing for Showdown, thinking of ways to impress Chase, making products, managing the site hosting his products, making sure the authorities or some up-and-coming hacker mess with said site. Sure, he could just use dark web but this is more accessible. He doesn't actually need to be here, his robots take care of everything and if the clientele try to swindle him or demand more than agreed then he could just hack their accounts and take everything. He actually did once to send a message :

                                                                            'Don't test me'

         With him quitting the Showdown, he now has a lot more free time. Even if his parents basically disown him, he got a big inheritance from grandmother and even without that he had patented a few of his inventions so he doesn't need to get a job anytime soon. The illegal activities had been a way to fund his projects when his parents cut him off. After he made it nearly automatic, all he ever did to maintain it was negotiate with the clientele. With just only the legal money from his patents and his inheritance, he could live comfortably his whole life without lifting a finger. But that not the life he wants and villainy is surprising expensive, especially his research. 

        'And I'm not giving up luxury'

 Ah, luxury. Who ever said "Money can't buy happiness" obviously never stay at a fancy hotel or indulge in pricey food. The only things he's cheap about is his clothes, along as it was comfortable and look good to him. It's one thing to pay 120$ for a steak it's another thing entirely to pay millions of dollar for a suit, most of the time you're paying for the brand name anyway. 

       Haft way through his breakfast, someone suddenly pull out a chair and sat across him. A man somewhere in his middle or late thirties, suit and tie with a sort of plain handsomeness that wouldn't get him more than a second look. Thick wavy hair neatly groomed, a rather nice face, thin black gloves that bring a attention to his hands. He wouldn't look out of place in a Noir film, had he was younger he would be a blushing, stuttering mess.

       Something is deeply wrong.

       Outward he kept his face blank while inward he tries to work out what is wrong. Taking a moment to settle himself.

       "Bonjour, puis-je vous aider?" He greeted. 

       "Bonjour, ravi de vous rencontrer. Je t'ai vu assis seul et étais curieux.Tu n'as pas l'air d'être d'ici." The man smile slightly, eyes lightly crinkle. He couldn't tell if it was real or not.

       "Ah, oui. je suis en vacances. Excusez mon Français, Je suis autodidacte." He replied. A telltale accent reinforce that this is not his mother-tongue

       "Les gens ne visitent généralement pas cette période de l'année. Trop froid" His face soften in to a pleasant smile. Jack didn't dare let his guard down. 

       "Je préfère la saison froide. Inhabituel, mais vrai." He shrugged, not seeing a reason to lie. It's not that weird.

       "Je suis d'accord. Tout simplement enchanteur.". 

       Huh. Maybe he's being paranoid. After all, a handsome stranger coming up to you to make small talk usually mean one thing. Maybe he could enjoy this.

       "Et vos affaires, bien sûr." The man absently add.

       Or not.

       For a brief moment, he stiffen before schooling his features. 

       "Oh, tu sais de moi. Je m'excuse car je ne vous connais pas." He beamed, hoping his unease isn't shown.

       'He knows. How does he know ? Was it my web site ?  No,I hide my tracks. No one should be able to hack it. Even if they do, nothing should've lead to me. It should  have at least warn him. I was careful'.

        ...Was he?...

       Trying futilely to hide his fear but something telling him the stranger knew. And enjoying every second of it. He tried to smile and mask his nervousness but he was pretty sure it just came out as a grimace. Willing his frozen body to move and grab a pastry, eating it in one bite, not caring about politeness. He needed a distraction.

         " J'ai en fait appris sur vous d'un associé. IIs apprécient votre travail." The amusement from his tone was obvious. Asshole.

       Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. Fuuuuuuuuuck. More than one person know. Are they going to blackmail him? Capture him? Make him pay for stealing the clientele? What do they want ? 

          As if he read his mind. He said.

         "Ne t'inquiète pas. J'ai dit que j'étais juste curieux et Ils s'en moquent,Ils préfèrent travailler sur leurs propres projets.Il est aussi un inventeur" He said before going quiet and closing his eyes.

          They sat in silent. Jack polish off the rest of the pastry to calm his nerve. Then suddenly, the stranger eyes open, staring directly in to his. Frozen like a deer in headlight, one thought went through his head.

         'He has beautiful eyes.'. He really does. Blue-gray eyes like a winter morning, a downturned shape to them that make his feature soft yet hint at something wrong . Yeah, he has a thing for dangerous and disturbed, still better than some people.

         Caught in a trance, he flinched when a gloved thumb wipe a bit of cream off his lips. Turning to look at his hand, he lick it, turn back to Jack and smile.

         It was not a nice smile. Anyone else would describe it as a happy, delighted smile. But if you look long enough ,you'll notice that it was a little too wide, a little too much teeth, a little too well practice. And by the look he had after, he knows Jack noticed.

         "Trop sucré pour moi" Then he gave Jack a genuine smile. It was ugly.

          Blank, half-lidded eyes with a hint of manic. A grin so wide it was more of a upturned grimace, showing off teeth that look a bit too sharp.

         "Je dois y aller maintenant. Au revoir,nous nous reverrons" He stands and took his leave.

        After a moment, the adrenaline wore off and he let out a deep sigh, thinking:

      'Well fuck, look like I have a new crush'. Eh, he's handsome, so what if he might be fucked up. He definitely can't judge, considering he used to chase after a lizard with a humansona. Looking at the lukewarm coffee, he sigh again ' Better not waste good  coffee.' 

      Suddenly a voice call out nearly made him choke. 

         "Oh, and by the way. I speak English, Chinese too". Soft, nearly inaudible laughter followed.

       Coughing and trying to make sure the coffee doesn't stain his clothes, another thought ran through his head.

         'Asshole'  

       And he was really enjoying this vacation too.

Chapter Text

           Today is a beautiful day or at least he thinks it is, he hasn't left the hotel room in five days. People say that we can't just live isolating oneself. Well, he calls bullshit, he hasn't spoken or seen another person online or real life in days and he's completely fine. He had, for the past five days did nothing but watch TV and doodle blueprints. When you're a brat with money who doesn't have to worry about school, getting a job or anything really life get a bit dull and, well, there's another reason why he'd been holding himself in a room like a hermit. 

          The room was decorated in a modern, minimalist style with a great view of the Eiffel Tower. A nice room with a tranquil atmosphere, something straight out of a luxury travel magazine. Or it would be if it weren't for the destroyed laptop on the floor. Thrown on the floor, stepped on, kicked against the wall and one more stomped for good measure. The laptop probably didn't deserve it but he was pissed. So, yeah.

          The reason for his misery wasn't the laptop itself but the content within it. Gingerly, he got up from the couch, pull out another laptop and check his account again and there it is.

                                   It is great pleasure that we invite you to the Spicer's Annual Charity event...

           Blah, blah, blah, suit and tie, blah, blah, blah, time and date, blah, blah, blah, platitudes. The invite was short, filled with big, fancy words he's pretty sure someone look up in a dictionary specifically just to write the invite and ultimately pointless. After they cut him off, stop making him go to parties or just call him in general, he'd started to just kind of forgot about them. If you say their relationship was strain then you would be wrong because that would imply there was a relationship.

           If you think it's just the lonely rich kid who didn't get enough attention from mommy and daddy thing. Well, on the outside it would look like that, everything is always complicated. Isn't always ?

           Mr and Mrs Spicer were young, dumb, pretty drunk. In the prime of their life and high off their ass, they accidentally got a Vegas wedding after another night of hard partying, to make it even better Mrs Spicer got morning sickness three months later. To prevent a scandal, they made up a story about secret meetings and trysts, even had an official wedding in a church to please their parents. They kept child, obviously, and try to make the best of the situation.

           Now this is where things got complicated. After all, Mr and Mrs Spicer, frankly, didn't even want a child. They tried, for a while then eventually they gave up. A baby need a lot of care 24/7 and they were young, irresponsible and wanted to have fun. They tried again when the baby became school age. And, Oh boy was that a doozy. To say he was a little shit as a child is a understatement. They were completely absent for the first 5 years of his life but they made sure he want for nothing. Expensive toys, high end clothes, nursery maids and, last of all, fucking tutors. After it was obvious he was a gifted child, one of the tutor contact his parents but they just told them to continue and forgot about it. No one pay attention aside from the tutors but they left after it was clear there was nothing he would be learning from them anymore. The nurse maid made sure he was clean and fed and no more.

             Everything he learnt afterward was a result of long hours pouring over books in the library to stave off boredom and loneliness, eventually he got used to it and it became the norm. To say he was surprise when two strangers suddenly force themselves in to his life was an understatement. At first he was shocked and didn't know how to react, just kind of awkwardly tolerate their present but soon enough things were getting...rocky. To him they just came and disrupt his perfectly fine life, made him go to school, to ,ugh, socialize with people his age, forcing him in to inane conversations about his day and constantly tried to make him go outside and play .           

              At some point, he had gotten fed up. Frustrated, anxious, angry and unused to feeling such things, he decided the only way for him to fix this is that he make them go away. At first it was just minor things like ignoring them, not listening, when voice start to raise it just made him even more determined. And then, there comes the punishments.

            By now there are multiple studies that show that punishment does not work. A child brain isn't develop enough to actually understand punishment, all they learn is that the people taking care of them are hurting them because of something they did, not because they learn that it's wrong. And something it just make things worse. It sow resentment and make the child is more likely to act out. They don't see punishment, they see someone bigger than them making them suffer and they can't do anything about it. Whoever said children can't lie is stupid, if it get them out of trouble they will do so and they will do so convincingly

           Needless to say, he did not react well to punishment. The first punishment he got was ear-pulling. He refused to behave for Mother  when she wanted to get him to take a bath. After haft an hour of useless nagging, she dragged him to the bathroom by force and locked the door. After another haft an hour, she came back only to see he still hadn't take a bath and was, in fact, trying to make a sculpture out of bubble. She snapped. She came in and dragged him out by his ear. It wasn't that painful but then she started to pulled. Hard. With the sudden pain and the stress, he bites. 

         You'd be surprised at how hard a five-year old can bite. Eventually they learn corporal punishment was out of the window. Every time they tried to, he thrashed like a feral animal and retaliated. A memorable occasion was when he was holding a pen, he couldn't remember what it was about but he does remember the vindictive satisfaction when the screaming started.

         That was apparently the last straw. The very next day, he was on a plane to a private boarding school. The boarding school did not helped. Those memories of his are actually one of the few he still hold dear. He got in to all sort of trouble, if there is something against the rule, he would do it. He actually got a reputation but not one too bad though, he wasn't stupid. He made sure to act out just enough to give a show that he was the run of the mill spoiled brat to stay unnoticed. The things he did could wouldn't just get him expelled but also probably sent him to juvie.

           Eventually, he ran in to other brats who was sent there because their parents who also couldn't stand them. He wouldn't stay they were friends but they bond over shitty parents and doing things against the rule, so that something. But one day he'd made the mistake of telling them one his more questionable "prank" and, well, he got snitched. The others quickly consider him persona non grata and cut ties to avoid association. He never did figure out who told on him but he was too busy dealing with everything else at the time. Life after he was ratted out was unbearable, with the confession of one of his deeds, the faculty were quick to connect the the unsolved "pranks" to him even if they don't have any proof. He was under constant scrutiny, most of his privileges revoke and due to said scrutiny, he was further alienated.

           He was, frankly, a pariah. The other kids quickly caught on to the animosity the adult had for him which predictably lead to bullying. The restrictions, the constant animosity, the complete alienation, the bullying. All of that combine left him a tight wound ball of anger,stress and frustration which did not end well, for other people anyway. His breaking point was when he got corner by a thicket of idiotic upperclassmen. The leader, who is going to be called Chowderhead, look like a stereotypical plump spoiled brat who acted nice and cutesy in front of the adult for special treatment but, like said, is a complete spoiled brat. A common and cliché strategy but common things are common because it usually worked.

         How they cornered him was because he was careless. Due to the bullying, he made sure to never be alone during break even when the faculty left him alone. It didn't stop the bullying but it kept it from going beyond just name calling. But, eventually, being around people almost 24/7 took a huge toll on him and at some point he decided to risk it and sneak off to a closed-for-construction section of the school.

         It was honestly the best decision he'd ever made. He didn't notice Chowderhead gathering his henchmen to follow him. To focused on finding a secluded place, he didn't notice the thundering footsteps of his followers. Climbing up to the third floor, he'd thought he could finally relax. And then the name calling start.

         " Stick and stone may break my bone                                                                                                                                                                                                         But words will never hurt me."

          Whoever said those words and meant it must have had idyllic childhoods. Words have started blood feuds, wars that lasted generations, people killing others, killing themselves because of words. Words hurt. And after months of having words thrown at him, he just shut down. His whole body just dissociated, everything was hazy and muffled as if everything was separated by a thick layer of glass. It was actually kind of relaxing.

         When you ask how to deal with bullies, the common response is to tell a teacher or just ignore them. The former, well, he doesn't even have to say why it doesn't  work but the latter... People say that because if you don't give reaction they will just leave you alone, right? Wrong, in some case if the bully just doing it to be an ass then it might be, notice the might. Most of the time? They will just continue and continue and continue. After all it's guaranty that the victim is not going to squeal to the teacher about them. And it might escalate. Actually, scratch that, it will escalate. Bullying feels good. It give a sense of control, of dominance, seeing the fear in someone and knowing it because of you just enhance it. Don't even get started on the social hierarchy. Bullying someone meant you are higher on the food chain and stepping on someone to get ahead is something that always going to happen, no matter what people like to preach. 

           After not reacting to their taunts for a few minutes, Chowderhead decided to, quote "show the freak his place" by getting physical. 

          Now the reasons he choose the third floor was simple, there wasn't any reason for anybody to be up there, it was quiet, it had a great view, plus the railing was destroyed so he could sit down and still enjoy the view. He was already near the edge when he froze and when Chowderhead loomed over him, he snapped out of it and proceed to seethe. Chowderhead was BIG, mostly wide but he was still a head taller. It remind him of the way his parents would loom down on him. Furious and not thinking, what he did next was completely out of impluse. 

          He sidestepped to the left behind him then slam back at him. Even if he put all his strength in it, he was still a scrawny eight-year old. All he did was make him stumble, but it was just enough. Tripping on rubble, Chowderhead fell face-first down the third story building. 

          When the parents and the faculty gather to question each person what had happened, the dam that been holding up months of frustration and stress, couple with fear,burst open in when it came to him. Incoherent, blubbering in between hysterical crying had tugged enough heartstrings to let him rest and get his story together. It wasn't hard to make himself look like a poor victim.No matter how you look at it, a bunch of bigger kids with a hooligan, wannabe gangster reputation cornering a small, scrawny scared child only paint one picture.

          Surprisingly for him at the time, his parents gone all out fight for his "innocent". Screaming, arguing, threatening anyone who even dare tried to imply he should held accountable. They even strong-armed the school in to taking their side after he let slip the reason why he didn't went to the teacher for his bullyig problem. At the end, he'd gotten off scott free. Thankfully, Chowderhead didn't die else he might actually get sent to juvie.

         It had made him see his parents in a new light. When he said he doesn't want to go to school anymore, they just reply that he'll be homeschool from now on. His relationship with his parents got better. For a while.

         Then puberty hits and everything gone to shit. Despite that, he still tried to kept their relationship from being too strained and they met him haft way. Going to social gathering, parties, tried to socialize in their immediate range, actually obeying them once in a while. He tried to be a decent child for them to show off their rich friends from time to time and they gave him relative freedom to do whatever the hell he what. He had thought their relationship was fine. 

         And then they adopted a little brat.