Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Prone to Tyrannical and Megalomaniacal Impulses.” She read the file outloud. ”Believes Supers to be a superior race.”

She glances over his familiar picture yet again. She had never met Gamma Jack in person, but his face was often in the paper. He was attractive, so she understood his popularity, but nonetheless, she had a job to do.

“Yes.” The NSA agent responded. “That is why we need you to partner with him. He needs someone to pick up his slack."

“He doesn’t seem like one who would be happy with being monitored.” She responded coldly, tossing the file down onto the desk. 

Before this, she was living in New York City, being a prominent hero that focused on rescue more than anything else. That is why she was requested for this mission. 

It was known amongst the Superheros that Gamma Jack prioritized who he found prettiest, allowing some unnecessary casualties to occur. He also may have let a villain or two escape just because he found them too attractive. 

That is exactly why the NSA decided to hire her. In his latest escapade, the villainess was able to seduce Gamma Jack, injuring him and escaping. This villainess was still out there, causing more trouble, hurting more people.

The NSA tried their hardest to gently tell him that he needs to change his priorities, but this was their final straw. He needed to be checked, and the only way they could think to do it without pissing him off too much was forcing another superhero to tag along with him.

She only took this job because she needed the extra money. Becoming a hero wasn’t always something she wanted, but with her ability, she knew she could save people, and that is what she cared for.

 When the NSA approached her for this six month position, they gave an offer she couldn’t refuse, a grand increase in salary. Her plan was to do hero work until she's thirty, at most, thirty-five. After that she’d return to civilian life, maybe get a small job, but mostly live off the money she saved up. This amount of money would allow her to move her plans up a few years, maybe even allow her to get married before thirty, if she finds the right person. 

“You’re not monitoring him.” The NSA agent brought her out of her thoughts. “You’re partnering with him.”

“Is that what you guys told him to get him on board?” She asked.

Just as the NSA agent went to respond with another practiced response, a loud voice of a man could be heard.

“I don’t need a babysitter!” The voice angrily told.

She couldn’t blame him, she too would be pissed if she was told she wasn’t doing her job properly and then was forced to work with someone she’d never met. She wasn’t going into this job with the hopes of having a good relationship with Gamma Jack. She saw this as nothing but a job where she basically had to pick up after an egotistical narcissist. Or at least that's what she thought of him from the report she read.

“Mr. Gamma Jack, you’re not being babysat, we’re simply assigning you a partner.” The other NSA worker told him. 

She knew it was bullshit. He knew it was bullshit. Everyone in that room knew it, but they kept to their story. 

She walked towards him, thinking they might as well get over the introductions now so they can start anew tomorrow, without the NSA trying to pretend it's anything else than it is.

“Partner my ass.” Gamma Jack rolled his eyes. “Who even is she? I never heard of her.”

“Phaze.” She introduced herself.

Gamma Jack turned around quickly, thinking she was just another NSA agent. When he saw the superhero costume, he realized he was face to face with his new ‘partner’. She extended her hand out to him. 

“Gamma Jack.” Gamma Jack gripped her hand, shaking it. While he did, he sized her up. “Not too bad. I guess you’ll make a good sidekick.”

 “Partner, remember?” She didn’t appreciate him belittling her capability of being a hero. She spent too many years to get to where she was to just be thought of as an apprentice. Especially since he was the one that needed the help.

“Yes, whatever.” He brushed her off, “So what can you do Phaze?”

She couldn’t tell if he didn’t read her profile or just wanted to hear how she described her own power. But she obliged his question. “I can phase through anything. Walls, water, dirt, all of it. Whatever I touch goes with me. I also have the capability to fly.”

“It is the perfect ability for search and rescue.” The NSA agent that was previously talking to her interjected.

“I can do search and rescue just fine.” He told them, still not liking their implications.

The NSA agent that was talking to him started flipping through the files that laid on their desk. “Well according to your last few reports, you were only able to save 65% of victims.”

He cringed at the number. She almost felt bad for him. Hearing that 35% of people you were supposed to protect died because of you is not anything anyone wants to hear, especially a superhero. But, if he focused on saving the incapable, like the elderly or younger children, instead of a very capable woman, the number of casualties would go down.

“I’m just here to make sure that number rises.” She stepped in, trying to diffuse his anger as much as possible. “I shouldn’t be getting in your way too much.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he groaned again in frustration. He knew he was stuck with this for at least six months. He didn’t want the NSA to put any more restrictions on his work. It’d be a waste of such a good power, and such a good face.

“Alright, fine.” He agreed like he had a choice. He turned to her, “Meet me at the Santa Monica Pier. 8am. Sharp.” 

With that he walked away towards the stairs. All the NSA agents in the area let out a sigh, like they were all holding their breath the whole time. She turned back to her agent to get the okay to leave. 

When she was released, instead of taking the stairs, she just phased through the floor until she reached the bottom. It was quicker that way, and she wanted to catch Gamma Jack before he left the building. 

With just with her luck  , he was about to exit the building when she hit the floor. “Gamma Jack!” She called out to get his attention as she jogged up to him.

He turned to her, sour faced. “Yes?”

“Listen.” She begins to explain. “I don’t want to do this any more than you do. Can we just agree to try and stay out of each other's way and do our jobs together.”

He let out another huff. “Yeah I agree.” It wasn’t her fault that the NSA was forcing her to join up with him, but he didn’t think it was his fault either. “Just as long as you’re not monitoring me at home or anything.”

“No nothing like that! When you go home, I go home.” She shook her head frantically, not wanting to seem like a stalker, even though she knew that someone at the NSA had eyes on him most of the time. “I know nothing about your personal life and I would like to keep it that way.”

“Good.” He ended the conversation, walking out the door. “See you tomorrow. And don’t be late or I’ll start without you.”

“See you tomorrow.” She responded, following him out and going in the opposite direction.

Before heading home, she took a small tour of the city. Only arriving last night, she didn’t have the time to get to know the grand city of Los Angeles. With how big it was, she probably wouldn’t have it memorized for quite a few more weeks, but at least she’s not doing it alone. 

It was getting dark by the time she arrived in her apartment. It was littered with boxes and other random items strewn all over. She barely had enough time to sleep last night, let alone unpack. 

She walked to the box labeled ‘Kitchenware’, trying to find her sheet pan. There was a tradition she did, every time she moved into a new place: Making cookies for all of her neighbors. 

Being a hero isn't easy, always leaving and arriving home at strange hours of the day and night. Which in turn, creates suspicion for her neighbors. Especially when she's in the kitchen at three in the morning banging her cabinets, looking to make herself dinner after a long day. 

But she realized that making cookies for them when she first moved in made them like her more, and question her less. Plus it always ends up with her getting sweets in return, which she could never deny. 

Once she finished making the batches of cookies, she made it out into the hall, going to the neighbor to her right first. When knocking on the door, a small old woman answered. She lived alone with barely any relatives. The old woman was greatly appreciative of the offering, promising to share her own cookie recipe.

She was making great time. She thought she might actually get to unpacking at least everything in her bedroom by the end of the night. That was until she went to the neighbor to her left. 

When she knocked on the door, there was no answer for a few minutes. She knocked again, a bit louder this time, seeing if they just didn’t hear her. The door was swung open by an attractive, blonde man with green eyes.

He seemed almost familiar, but she couldn’t tell from where. At first, he looked irritated that someone was disturbing him, but when he looked at her, he was put to ease. Leaning against the doorway, he smirked at her in a cunning way.

“Well hello there.” He said smoothly, trying to lay it on thick. He found her beautiful, he couldn’t deny that fact. How could he not resist flirting with her when she delivered herself to his door so nicely. 

“Good evening.” She said, introducing herself. “I am your new neighbor. I made some cookies for you and the woman on the other side of me. I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know that I sometimes work the night shift at my job and you might see me coming in and out at odd hours. I also tend to be a bit loud at times and not realize it, so please just let me know if I need to be more quiet.”

She gave her very rehearsed spiel that she has done time and time again. He didn’t listen to a single word she said, just watched the way her mouth moved and the way her gaze averted away from him shyly.

“My name’s Jackson.” He responded with his own introduction. “I am glad to have such a lovely neighbor.”

She could tell that he was flirting with her, and it was working. She didn’t know how to respond other than to hand him the plate of cookies. “Here, these are for you.”

Grabbing the plate from her, he took a bite out of one of the cookies, moaning in delight. “These are delicious.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at him, “I have had a lot of time to practice.” 

“I can tell.” He said while covering his full mouth. Once he finished the cookie, he stepped to the side of the doorway. “Would you want to come in?”

She knew she shouldn’t, she has so much still left to unpack. But how could she say no when his green eyes were practically begging to allow them to look at her longer. 

“I can’t stay too long.” She said while walking in. “I still have to unpack and I have to wake up early for work.”

“What do you do for work?” He asked, putting the plate of cookies down on the kitchen counter. 

“I am a nurse.” She lied. It was a lie she often stuck to. It was one of the only answers people would accept with her random, long work shifts. 

“How honorable." He hummed. 

“What do you do for work?” She asked, as it felt like the right follow up question. 

He was quiet for a moment, like he was thinking what to say. “I do some government work. I can’t really talk about it too much.”

“Like the CIA or FBI?” She questioned. 

In the back of her mind, she thought that maybe he worked for the NSA. She might’ve seen him in passing during the day and that is where she recognized him from. But she wasn’t about to bring it up and expose herself.

“Yeah something like that.” Was all he responded with. He was quick to change the subject. “Have you been to LA before?”

“A few times, but it was just for a conference.” She remembered the Superhero meetings and conferences that would be held here. “So I don’t really know much of the city.”

“I can help you with that.” He was quick to jump on the opportunity to see her again.

“Well I’m pretty busy and I am going to be walking around a lot so I think I could get the feel of everything quickly.” She responded, not wanting to waste any of his time. 

“I didn’t mean just knowing your way around.” Jackson responded, stepping a bit closer. “I meant really knowing the city. There is a diner just down the street and it is to die for.”

“That sounds yummy.” She responded, thinking about food as she had nothing to eat for dinner yet.

“You free next Thursday?” He asked her.

“I should be.” She responded.

“It’s a date then.” He smiled widely at her. 

She was a bit shocked at his bluntness, but she was far from opposed to going on the date with this good-looking neighbor. He was charming, and very clearly into her. She felt the same about him.

“Yeah.” She agreed with a smile. “A date.”

Chapter Text

She made it to the pier at 7:30am to make sure that there was no possible way she would be late. She also wanted to survey the area, knowing that it was popular. What she didn’t expect was for Gamma Jack to be late.

It was already 8:10 and he was nowhere in sight. She wondered if he lied to her, just to shake her off. It was a stupid thought that was pushed away with the reality that he was still a superhero, governed by the NSA. He wouldn’t defy them.

Just as she was about to leave, Gamma Jack landed behind her. Turning to him angrily, she scolded, “If you’re going to hold me to such a strict schedule, you need to hold yourself accountable as well.” 

His expression tightened. “For your information, I was saving someone's cat who was stuck in the tree.”

Huffing at him, she looked away. She couldn’t blame him for doing his duty as a hero. “How about we just try our best to get here at eight. But if we’re a bit late, it's not a big deal.”

“That works for me.” He got another look at her hero costume, noticing a detail that wasn’t there before. “A gun?”

She was confused at first, not understanding what he meant, until she looked down at the holster that was attached to her belt. “Oh yeah. I am not really made for fighting. This is just so I can protect myself if need be.”

He nodded, looking out into the distance of the pier, watching the small waves hit the shore. With such an explosive power, it never really occurred to him that someone’s power wouldn’t be able to help them much in a fight.

“Should we head out?” He asked, feeling as though it was pointless to stand and talk when there were crimes to be solved.

She nodded in agreement and Gamma Jack took off. She quickly followed behind. His flying was caused by him releasing gamma radiation to make him soar throughout the air. Phaze’s ability to fly was more like exercise to her, like running or swimming. So she tends to go slower to be able to last longer. 

When Gamma Jack realized that she was falling behind him, he was irritated at her. “Can’t you go any faster?”

“No, unlike you, I am extruding a massive amount of energy doing this. If I go fast, I need to recover more often.” She explained to him.

He scoffed, falling back to meet her. It irritated him that he had to fall to her level. He found it impractical to slow down, he could cover more ground going faster. Before he could complain any more, she spotted something. Something he missed by going too fast.

“There.” She said to Gamma Jack. 

She pointed to people fleeing from a building frantically. Once the people left the building, they found the closest person, grabbing onto them and pointing at the building. When taking a closer look, she noticed that the building they were fleeing from was a bank. She could only assume that there was a robbery in action.

Even though she noticed the action first, Gamma Jack was quicker to land on the ground. Assessing the situation, through the glass window, he saw a man holding a gun to people, clearly commanding them to sit in the corner away from the vault.

People began to notice him as Phaze joined. The bystanders began to awe at Gamma Jack, thankful that a hero showed up so quickly. Some looked in confusion, not knowing who Phaze was. 

“We have to surprise him.” Gamma Jack commented. “So we can try and get his gun before he’s able to aim it at anyone.”

She nodded her head in agreement. “You take it from the front. I’ll go to the back and go through the walls. If you keep him distracted, I may be able to sneak a few of the hostages out.”

Not even allowing him to respond, she ran to the alleyway beside the building. It was blocked by a metal gate. Phasing through it was child’s play. She got to the back of the building and began to quietly walk through the wall. 

Just because she could go through anything, doesn’t mean she didn’t feel it. It was a strange fuzzy feeling she got when phasing through objects, and every material had a different energy to it. 

She felt the thick layer of brick turn into metal. When she emerged on the other side of the wall, she felt a paper-like material below her waist. The room she was in was completely dark making it impossible to see anything. 

The smell of semi damp, old paper led her to believe that she had found the vault and was standing in it. She had to choose her next steps carefully, this is what the robber was wanting, so phasing straight out into the main room would make her easily noticeable.

Walking to the left side of the room, she began to go through wall after wall until she reached the bathrooms. From the mental note she took of inside the building, this room should be sharing a wall with the corner the hostages should be. 

Using her powers, she only peaked her head through the wall, trying to assess the situation. The robber was standing in the center of the room, aiming his gun at Gamma Jack. They were arguing, or rather, the robber screamed at Gamma Jack, while he spoke calmly in turn. 

The only reason why Gamma Jack hadn’t incinerated the robber yet was because he held onto one of the young receptionists, using her as a human shield. 

She looked at the hostages, trying to think of what to do. Taking them through the walls one by one would be extremely hard, and she would most definitely be caught. Most of them were middle aged women. There was an old man and a little girl that couldn’t be over the age of ten. 

With Gamma Jack’s style, this villain would be killed at the first opportunity. She didn’t necessarily disagree with the sentiment. Sometimes, it's just easier to try and kill the person terrorizing the public’s safety. But it wasn’t something such a young girl should see. 

She completely floated through the wall, making sure the villain wouldn’t hear her steps. Some of the hostages gasped in surprise, but she was quick to put her hand up to shush them. Thankfully the robber didn’t hear it, as he was very preoccupied with Gamma Jack.

Floating over to the young girl, she reached her hand out. The only way something could phase through the wall with her is if her hands were touching that person or object.

The girl looked at her fearfully, not trusting anyone at that moment. She looked at the mother of the girl, trying to express that she was safe just with eye contact. The mother looked down at the girl that clung to her tightly.

Shaking the girl off, the mother pushed the girl towards her. She was quick to pick up the young girl, flying through the ceiling to get her to safety. Once on the roof, she placed the girl down, softly petting her head in comfort.

“It is okay, you’re safe up here.” She could hear the blaring of the police sirens coming in this direction. “Just stay up here until I or another officer comes to get you, okay?”

The girl nodded her head, still scared out of her mind. 

She walked away from the girl, trying to remember exactly where the robber was standing. Her plan was to phase through the floor and hopefully land directly on top of him, tackling him to the ground and getting the gun out of her hands.

When she phased through, she fell with a thump. She miscalculated where the robber was, landing a few feet away from him. 

“Shit.” She whispered to herself. 

The robber was late to respond, not understanding how a person just appeared right beside him. He moved the end of his gun away from the hostage aiming it at her. But she already had her gun pointing right between his eyes. 

“Lower your gun or I’ll shoot!” The robber shouted. “I swear I will!”

“I dare you to try. It’ll only go through me.” She gave him a cocky smirk.

The robber was flustered, trying his hardest to find a way out of this. “No you won't! You’re a hero.” 

“You see my partner over there,” She motioned to Gamma Jack with her head. “I’m sure you know most of his opponents tend to not make it out of situations alive. What makes you think I’m any different.”

The robber's confidence wavered. His eyes quickly glanced at the other hostages.

“Don’t you even dare think of it.” She commanded. “I’ll pull my trigger before you can even move a muscle. Now drop your weapon.”

The robber finally gave up, knowing there was no way of getting out of this. He hung his head low as he dropped his gun. The second it hit the floor, she kicked it to Gamma Jack, making sure it was in safe hands. 

“Let go of the woman.” She commanded, as he had completely shut down. 

The robber listened to Phaze, letting her go. She immediately ran to Gamma Jack, knowing she’d be safe with the other hero. 

“Get the other hostages out of here.” She told Gamma Jack while walking behind the robber, keeping her gun on his head. “Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head.”

Both of the men did exactly what she said. Gamma Jack went to the hostages, grabbing onto one of the other pretty receptionists, to assist her out of the building. She took note of the old man that was struggling to walk out of the building. The robber kneeled quietly on the ground, completely defeated.

The second the hostages were out of the building, about fifteen police officers flooded the building, all pointing their guns at the robber. She backed up, returning her gun to her holster. 

She stepped back, allowing the officers to make the arrest. Flying through the ceiling, she found the girl huddled up against the HVAC. She walked up to the girl with a small smile.

“Everything’s okay, your mother is out front waiting for you.” She told the girl with an extended hand.

The girl’s fearful expression softened a bit as she grabbed her hand. Picking the girl back up, she flew her down to the front of the building.

There was so much commotion going on. The Police were now escorting the robber out in handcuffs. News reporters stood around, explaining what was happening. The EMTs were checking the hostages for any injury or trauma, and Gamma Jack was surrounded by a group of women. All tried to get his autograph or just get close to him

“Wow Gamma Jack! You’re so strong.” One of the women ogled. 

Another woman chimed in, “You’ve saved the day yet again!”

“Ladies, ladies.” He basked in the glory. “I can’t sign all of these at once.”

She rolled her eyes. While he was helpful with keeping the robber distracted, he did little to nothing. Once she placed the girl on the ground, the mother yelled out “Anna!” while running towards the two.

The mother hugged Anna tightly, falling to her knees while sobbing. Once she checked over her daughter, the mother looked up. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course, it’s my job.” She smiled at the mother and Anna. 

She was planning on sticking back and making sure all of the hostages were able to get home alright, but a police officer interrupted her plans. Quickly running over to her, the police officer told her, “I was told over the radio that Syren was spotted in the Griffith Observatory.”

Syren was the villain that had gotten away from Gamma Jack. The one that caused the NSA to hire her. “Do you have everything handled here?” She asked as she was already stepping back away from him.

The officer nodded, giving her the permission to take off. She walked towards the hoard of girls that seemed to only have grown. Trying to get to Gamma Jack, she pushed through the crowd, but it was an impenetrable field. 

“Wait your turn! I was here first.” One of the girls spat, seemingly not even seeing the superhero costume. 

Getting fed up with the crowd, she began flying over them, getting to Gamma Jack. “We need to leave now.”

Gamma Jack only glanced up at her before returning to signing the papers that were being shoved in his face. “Just a few more, then we can take off.”

“Syren has been spotted.” She coldly responded.

He was quick to stop his actions, “Alright ladies, I need some space so I don’t hurt any of you.”

The women groaned in frustration, upset that they didn’t get to have any time with him. Once there was a safe enough distance between him and the crowd, he took off, joining her in the air.

“Where?” He asked seriously.

“Griffith Observatory.” She told him. “Do you know where that is?”

“Yes, follow me.” He said taking off quickly.

This could’ve been a dire situation, so she didn’t mind keeping up the pace with him this time. The observatory seemed to be on the edge of town. As they still had a bit of ways to fly, Gamma Jack opened up room for conversation.

“I really thought you were going to do it at first.” He said.

“Do what?” She asked, confused about what he was talking about.

“Shoot the robber.” He clarified.

“I would’ve if I thought there was a need to.” She told him.

“Holding a handful of people hostage seems like a pretty good reason to do so.” He noted.

“I was thinking about how it would affect the hostages. PTSD isn’t something to take lightly.” She was getting more and more irritated with him by the minute. First he does little to nothing in the situation, then takes all of the praise. Now he dares to question how she handled things? “And I was able to get everyone out without a single injury or casualty.”

“Not you, we.” He said. “Partners, remember?”

He repeated the words she said to him the previous day. He was only saying it because he was the one lacking. If it was the other way around, he would’ve fought to the end of the Earth saying he did it all.

“Listen, you did help, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you distracting him.” She gave him the credit he did deserve. “But don’t pretend our contributions were the same.”

He grimaced, not appreciating her words. Gamma Jack was too egotistical to notice that he basically did nothing in the situation. In his eyes, he was the reason the robber got caught, he was the one who saved the hostages. 

“You wouldn’t have been able to do without me.” He reiterated her point. “Meaning, if I wasn’t there, you would have failed. To me, that sounds like I made a great contribution.”

They were nearing the observatory. There were already many cop cars surrounding the building. Before she could even reply to him, gunshots could be heard echoing throughout the air.

Gamma Jack was quick to respond, flying even fast towards the building. She couldn’t fly as fast as him though, getting left behind. The second he landed on the ground, he bolted into the building. 

After letting her get away last time, he wasn’t going to allow it to happen again. Especially since he had been given a babysitter for doing so. He knew he didn’t need to be monitored and blamed Syren for his current predicament. He was more than determined to defeat her. To kill her.

She finally landed in front of the building. Unlike Gamma Jack, she walked up to one of the officers that was stationed outside, making sure Syren didn’t escape. “What’s the situation? Who’s inside?”

“Syren walked in with a gun. Someone reported her and everyone evacuated.” The officer informed. “We sent some guys in to locate her, that is when we heard the gunshots.”

She nodded, knowing that she could focus on making sure Syren was apprehended. It would’ve been helpful if she had ever been in the building before. She began to run down the hall, trying to find Gamma Jack or Syren. 

She was met with neither, but an injured officer that laid in his own blood. Running to him, she hoped he was still alive. To her pleasure, he was, but just barely. He held his abdomen with bloody hands. 

Kneeling down to him, she put her hand over his. “You’re going to be okay.” She assured him, not knowing if he would be.

“The telescope.” The officer said in a pained voice.

She assumed he was trying to tell her Syren ran to, but her priority was the helpless. Or so she thought. Deciding who to save was always hard. She could run after the villain and stop anyone else getting killed, or she could help the man bleeding out in front of her.

Gamma Jack’s goal was to kill Syren. But she also knew that she was able to escape last time. She didn’t know him well enough to know if he would be able to defeat her or if she’d just escape again. 

“I will come back to you.” She said to him, backing away. “Keep applying pressure.”

She remembered seeing some signs that pointed in the direction of the telescope, but she didn’t have the time to run down the halls, trying to find the room. She began to fly through the walls, going to the location she assumed the telescope was. 

The moment she entered the room, she was shocked by the scene. Seven officers laid on the ground, presumably dead. The woman she assumed was Syren stood in the middle of the room, and Gamma Jack stood still as a statue, expressionless. It was like he was in a trance. He just looked forward, arms tightly sanctioned to his side. Syren was monologuing him.

“It’s a real shame things had to play out this way.” She said with fake sadness. “You do really have a handsome face.”

The gun she held in her hand began to raise, aiming at Gamma Jack. Syren didn’t even realize there was another person in the room.

She grabbed the gun out of her holster with immense speed, aiming it at Syren’s head and pulling her trigger. Gamma Jack watched as Syren’s body fell to the floor. 

He whipped his head to her, in almost anger. “I had that. She was my kill.”

She could only look at him in confusion.

 

“Let’s run through it again.” She said to Gamma Jack.

He groaned in frustration, annoyed with it all. They were standing outside the observatory as the injured and killed officers were being pulled out of the building and loaded into the ambulance.

“As I said,” He told her aggressively. “I ran into the building. I heard some commotion and followed the noise. When I entered the room, I saw Syren standing over the officers. I went to go attack her, and that is when you came in and shot her.”

“Strange.” She mumbled to herself. 

“I don’t understand what you’re not getting.” He said angrily to her. “She was mine to kill.”

“She must have been a super.” She thought outloud, ignoring Gamma Jack’s complaints. 

“There was nothing super about her.” Gamma Jack argued.

“When I entered the room, you were standing completely still.” She told him “She was aiming her gun at you.”

Gamma Jack was quiet for a second thinking everything over. There were a few seconds that didn’t make sense to him. When he entered the room, getting ready to shoot her with his Gamma Rays, she was standing over an officer. When the bullet went through Syren’s head, she was a few steps closer to him, arm up, holding a gun at him. 

When being a superhero, everything moves quickly. It was hard to remember every little detail. He chalked up this gap in memory to just that, a small gap. “You’re just trying to put a picture in my head so you can take all the credit this time.”

She was still ignoring him, trying to understand what was happening. “Ah ha, I got it!”

“Finally.” He sighed out, thinking she understood that she was in the wrong.

“She was a siren.” She enthusiastically told Gamma Jack.

He looked at her weird, “Yeah, we all knew her name was Syren. Did you forget that?”

“No, no.” She clarified. “Not, she was Syren. But she was a Siren. It explains why no one was able to capture her. How did no one know this before? She was practically screaming it with that name.”

“What?” He said, still confused. To him, his thinking was completely logical. 

“I’m saying the NSA was wrong.” She fully faced him, happy that she was able to put the picture together. “When you fought her before, you didn’t let her escape because you thought she was pretty. She hypnotized you and stabbed you so she could make her escape.”

“So the NSA will release you from being my sidekick?” He asked. Still, he wasn’t believing her. He trusted his own memory over anything else, even if it was the tiniest bit choppy.

“Parnter.” She corrected. With this information, the NSA still wouldn’t release her. She signed a contract that wasn’t easily terminated. “And let’s not go that far.”

He sighed yet again. “I mean do you really believe all of that? It sounds pretty ludicrous to me.”

“I know what I saw.” She said, “You were the one that was caught under her spell.”

“I know what I saw too.” He fought back. “And what does it matter? She’s dead now.”

It was now her turn to sigh, no matter what she said, it was not going to get through his thick head. And he was right, what did it matter? She was dead. 

“You’re right.” She looked down at her watch, realizing how late it was. Time had flown by so quickly that she thought it was still mid day, but it was reaching three. “You should go home and rest.”

She didn’t know if him being controlled would’ve had any side effects and it was just easier to call it a day.

“No. We still have two hours left of our shift.” He didn’t like being told what to do.

“Well we’re supposed to be working together.” She told him. “You’re more than welcome to join me at the NSA to file paperwork.”

He grimaced at her. Having her around was like having a ball chained to his ankle, and the key was at the bottom of the ocean. But when it came to those two options, why would anyone choose paperwork?

“See you tomorrow.” She said, flying off to the NSA headquarters. 

It was only the first official day of them working together, and it was already off to such a horrible start. Physically, they work together perfectly but their personalities crashed too much for it to be a perfect pair. After only spending a few hours with one another they hated each other greatly and neither of them saw that changing any time soon.

 

Filling out paperwork lasted much longer than she expected and sadly, they didn’t pay her overtime. Not even bothering to undress from her hero costume, she flew home. The reason why she chose to live on the top floor of her apartment building was so she could just phase through the ceiling and end up directly in her bedroom. 

She didn’t even get the chance to breathe before someone was knocking at her door. She walked to the door, looking through the peephole to see who it was. If it was a random person, she’d just pretend she wasn’t home. 

When looking through the door, she saw Jackson standing so handsomely in the hall. He was the exact person she needed right now to cool off after such a busy day.

“Hold on a minute!” she frantically yelled as she ran back to her room. 

She had never shed her hero costume faster, grabbing whatever clothes were closest to her. By the time she reached the door again, she was a bit out of breath from the aggressive movements. 

“Hey.” She smiled at him warmly.

“I apologize if I was interrupting anything.” He replied to her, worried that he did.

“No no!” She quickly said. She tried to lean against the doorway, just like he did the day before, attempting to seem cool and attractive. “What can I do for you?”

“Have you eaten yet?” He asked her.

“Nope, I just got home from work.” She informed him. Their date was still six days away, but she was mentally begging for him to move it up to tonight.

“Perfect.” He hummed to himself. “I was cooking dinner for myself and I made way too much for just me. I was wondering if you would want to join?”

She smiled from ear to ear. In her mind she was jumping up and down, screaming ‘Yes’ over and over again. But she had to stay calm, she couldn’t scare him away. “That sounds lovely, let me just grab my keys.”

He was attractive and a sweet talker, how could she not accept the invitation. She could feel this tension between the two of them that was unspoken. Even though they only had one conversation, something was there that made them want to keep coming back to one another, to get to know each other.

Grabbing her keys, she met him out in the hallway. When they walked into his apartment, she was met with the delicious smell of pasta. On the dining table were two plates laid out. It seemed like maybe making too much wasn’t an ‘accident’. 

“This looks so good.” She said while smelling the pot.

“Thank you.” He responded with a soft smile. “I got home earlier than expected, so I had the time to make it all from scratch”

She began to fill her plate with the food. “How was work today?” 

He responded with a long sigh. The reason why he invited her over was because he wanted to forget everything that happened with Phaze. 

She just assumed that he was groaning because he had to do something tough. “Did you do anything with that robbery? I heard about it on the radio.”

She knew he worked for the government, she was assuming FBI, which some of the agents were on the scene. Her and Gamma Jack took off pretty quickly, she might’ve just missed him. 

He sat across from her, watching her. He couldn’t tell her anything, nor did he want to lie, so he just took a plea of silence.

“Ah that’s right.” She said before taking her first bite. “Confidential work.”

“Sorry.” He softly replied to her.

“I get it. I shouldn’t have asked.” If he knew she was a hero, the hero that solved that crime, they would be able to talk about it, but she didn’t want to reveal her identity to a complete stranger. “What can you tell me about this awful day of yours?”

Jackson took another deep breath, leaning away from his food slightly, remembering the frustration of it all. “Well we have a new co-worker. She’s my junior and she was assigned to work with me. She is completely insufferable.”

“Oh no.” She replied, completely empathizing with him. “What was she doing?”

“She just acts like she knows everything.” He was getting fired up just thinking about it. “I mean she’s trying to dictate everything when she's just my backup.”

“I’m really sorry you’re having to deal with that.” She gave him a sad smile.

He took a deep breath, calming himself down. “No, I'm sorry for dimming the mood here. How was your day with your nurse-ly duties?”

She sighed just like he did before. “Not much better I fear.”

“What happened?” He asked. “As much as you can tell me without defying HIPPA of course.” 

“Pretty much the same situation.” She chuckled. She lied, but the deeper meaning of what happened still was the same, “A nurse at the place I work thinks that just because I’m new means that I don’t know how to do my job. I was actually doing much more than him and he kept complaining about how I needed to follow his orders instead of sticking to protocol. It’s not even like he’s the head nurse or doctor.“

“He sounds like an asshole.” He angrily huffed. “No one should be treating such a beautiful woman like that”

“Thank you.” She was a bit taken aback by his compliment, but then continued on with her ramble. ”And then he had the nerve to say that he was the one that did what I did.”

It was truly hilarious how neither of them recognized how perfectly their stories fit with one another. It was because they both felt that they were so in the right that the other one couldn’t have a valid complaint about them. 

“We really did both have shitty days.” Jackson chuckled, getting out of his seat, heading to his cabinets. “Wine?”

“Yes please.” She practically moaned. 

He pulled out one of his red wines, filling two glasses with the dark liquid. Walking back over to her, he handed the glass over.

“To forgetting our crappy day caused by our crappy coworkers.” He said, holding out his glass to her. 

She tapped her glass against his, causing it to make a loud clinking noise. In unison, they took a sip of the wine. Jackson sat back down across from her, continuing his dinner. 

“I never asked you what hospital you worked at,” he commented.

“Oh yeah.” she said less than enthusiastically. “I work at the hospital downtown.” 

She was trying to be as vague as possible, so she wasn’t wrong and he could just fill in the dots.

“Oh I know that one.” He said, assuming which one she meant. “I’ve been to the ER there many times. Maybe next time you will be the one to patch me up.”

“I work in one of the inpatient units.” She lied, hoping the chances of him getting suspicious would be lowered. “Why are you at the ER so much? Most people go to the ER less than once a year.”

Jackson didn’t mean to slip up. It would be strange for a normal person to be visiting the ER so often, but it wasn’t strange for a hero to do so. “I’m just really clumsy is all.”

“Maybe you need to pad your house then.” She joked.

“Or maybe I just need to come to your place whenever something happens and you can kiss it all better for me.” He gave her his iconic cunning smirk.

“I could definitely do that.” She smiled back at him. Although she prayed that he wouldn’t show up to her door with serious injuries, as she couldn’t really help past first aid.

Dinner ended soon after and Jackson insisted on walking her home, even though it was just one door down the hall. 

“Dinner was delicious.” She said, walking into her apartment. “Thank you for inviting me over.”

“Of course,” He said smoothly, “Anything for the beautiful lady.”

“Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.” She told him, trying to repay the favor. 

“No need.” He shook his head. “And if that asshole nurse tries messing with you again, let me know and I can handle him for you.”

Jackson imagined himself walking into the hospital, dressed as Gamma Jack, and telling the co-worker off. The co-worker would be fired on the spot, earning him a big kiss from her in the end. They then would run off into the sunset together, get married, and have a kid or two.

“I appreciate it, but I can handle myself.” She smiled at him, crushing the little image he created in his head. “And we’re still on for Thursday?”

“Certainly.” He responded smoothly.

She was happy to know that they had a plan to see each other again. She hesitated closing the door. She wanted to stay up all night talking to him, but she knew she needed to unpack as well.

Reluctantly, she said, “Sleep well Jackson.”

“You as well.” He told her before she closed the door.

Chapter Text

It had finally reached Thursday. They stood on the top of a building together in hero form, waiting for it to finally reach 5:00pm. It was about 4:45 and neither of them wanted to go looking for crime, as it could make them late to their date.

Gamma Jack wished he could just leave now, but she insisted on waiting until the end of their shift. He was sick of just standing on the roof in complete silence, so he decided to prod at her personal life.

“Are you doing anything tonight?” He didn’t ask because he cared, but because he wanted to rub it in her face that he was going on a date.

“I am. I have a date” She proudly proclaimed. He frowned at her response. “What? Were you hoping that I was as lonely as you?”

“Lonely? No, I am far from that as I have a date with a beautiful woman.” He informed her. 

“Oh and what number is she this week? Ten? Twenty? I can’t imagine you have any real connection with anyone, seeing as how many women are constantly fawning over you” She crossed her arms, giving him a raised eyebrow.

“For your information, I don’t normally go on serious dates.” He was being ernest. “Juggling being a superhero and a dating life is hard, but I really like this woman so I am going to try and make it work.” 

Yes, he has gone on many dates with women just to get something out of it by the end of the night, but that is not what he was wanting with his neighbor. He was genuinely interested in her and was hoping that their relationship could turn into something more than just someone to warm the bed at night.

“Poor woman.” She sighed. She couldn’t imagine the horror of being desired by Gamma Jack.

“I better not see your face anywhere near my date.” He threatened, just knowing she would ruin it.

“I promise I do not want you anywhere near my date or I.” She thought about how Jackson said he would ‘handle’ the co-worker that was bothering her. Even though Jackson and Gamma Jack had similar builds, there's no way Jackson would be able to win in a fight against a Super like Gamma Jack, and she wanted Jackson to keep his pretty face. “Plus, you wouldn’t even be able to recognise me out of costume.”

“Oh I know I would.” He huffed at her. ”I could recognize that ugly face from a mile away.” 

He was trying to knock her down a peg. Make her feel bad before going on her date. But she wasn’t falling for his trap, she refused to let Gamma Jack ruin the date she had waited all week for.

"Lucky for me, I don’t seek validation from men.” She responded coldly, “Especially from ones like you.”

She looked down at her watch, finished with this conversation. “It’s 4:55. I’m calling it a day.” She flew away before he could say another word. 

She flew home, phasing into her apartment. There was about an hour and a half until the date and she was rushing to make sure everything was perfect. She started with a shower, washing off all the dirt and grime from the workday. After the shower she prettied herself up before finally putting on the outfit she may or may not have bought for this specific occasion.

Just as she was finishing up, a knock emerged from the front door, the sound filling her almost quiet apartment.  She had never been so happy to hear the noise. She practically ran to the door but stopped before opening it, collecting herself. 

Once she was calm she slowly opened the door, not wanting to seem desperate. She was met with a smiling Jackson. He was dressed nicely, but not overdoing it.

He had a light-blue and white striped polo with tan khakis. It was much nicer than the lounge clothes she had seen him in previously. His hair was properly styled, instead of it being down. 

“You are an absolute vision,” Jackson said breathlessly.

“Oh thank you. I had this laying around.” She looked down at the dress she meticulously picked from the five different stores she went to. “You look very handsome.”

“I am glad you think so.” He basked in the complement, running his hand through his hair. “After you.”

She walked out of her apartment heading towards the staircase. Jackson followed close behind. Once they reached the street, they walked side by side. It was a beautiful night, perfect temperature, low humidity, and the sun was just beginning to set.

“How did you find out about this place?” She wondered. 

Jackson couldn’t remember the first time he entered the diner, as it was so long ago. “My friends and I eat there often for lunch.”

“Are these friends co-workers?” She wondered. 

“Yes they are.” He said.

She was curious to know more about his personal life, feeling like it could make them closer. “What’s your friend’s name?.”

“Well there’s Bob, Lucious, and Simon.” Jackson explained. “Simon is the newest member of the group.”

“I hope I will get to meet them one day.” The way Jackson talked about them, she could tell he cared deeply for them.

“I hope so as well.” He responded, opening the door to the diner for her. “I know they will like you.”

They sat down in one of the booth seats. Waiting to get served, she looked over the menu. It was clear Jackson came here often as he didn’t even give it a glance. It didn’t take too long for the waitress to come up to them. The diner was decently empty, as many people don’t go out to eat on a Thursday night.

They were making good conversation, getting to know each other better. Every time he opened his mouth, she felt mesmerized by his voice and the way he spoke. He too was enjoying their conversation, she was someone he could talk to all night without the need to sleep. 

There was a lull in conversation and Jackson took a bit of a leap. “So, are you into Super Heros?”

“Do you mean if I like them or not?” She asked, feeling like the question came out of nowhere.

“Yeah. What are your opinions of them.” In truth, Jackson wanted a reason to talk about himself in a way that wasn’t screaming ‘I am Gamma Jack’.

She paused for a moment, really thinking about how to answer. She didn’t want to allude to the fact that she was a hero in any way. “I like them. I think it is nice to have people who have these special powers and they want to share the powers and want to share them.”

“Do you have any specific hero you like?” He asked, running a hand through his hair, expecting her to say ‘Gamma Jack of course’.

“I don’t really know.” She was completely biased. Most have a parasocial relationship with heroes, thinking they’re this untouchable entity. She knew better than most that they were just human and shouldn’t be put on a pedestal. “If I had to pick, I would say that one that’s newer to the West Coast. Phaze was it?”

“Really?” He rolled his eyes at the mention of her. Somehow the date had turned to talking about the partner that he wanted nowhere near the date. It was his own doing.

“Yeah.” She continued, thinking about her favorite moments of being a hero. “I read about how she saved hundreds of people from flooding during hurricane season down in Florida.”

“She’s not all that great.” He waved his hand around, getting irritated by hearing someone praise her.

“You think saving people isn’t great?” She began to fear who she was on a date with. If he was someone who had wrong morals, she didn’t think she could continue seeing him.

“No. Saving people is super important.” He corrected, not wanting to be misunderstood. “Almost every hero saves people. I just think there's more outstanding heroes.”

“Like who?” Her pride was wounded, but he didn’t know that he was insulting her. Plus, most people in LA didn’t know her, as she was more popular on the East Coast. 

“Like Gamma Jack.” He proudly said. “He’s strong and flashy.”

“Oh.” She said unenthusiastically. 

“Oh?” He asked, offended. 

“He’s just a bit too flashy.” She corrected herself. She couldn’t explain what was wrong with Gamma Jack, as it wasn’t public knowledge, and for the most part, it was a personal gripe. She tried to think of what to say. “And aren’t most of his fans girls?”

He went to open his mouth to defend himself more but a beeping noise interrupted him. The noise emitted from the watch that sat on his wrist. He looked down at it, cussing to himself. “Shit,”

“What’s that noise?” She wondered. “Is everything okay?”

He frantically covered his watch with his hand, making the noises stop. He began to scooch  out of the booth. “I am so sorry, but I have to leave.”

“What’s happening?” His franticness worried her. She thought that maybe he was trying to get out of the date. Maybe he was a die heart Gamma Jack fan and was upset by her not liking him.

“I really don’t want to do this.” He pulled his wallet out, throwing more than enough money onto the table to pay for dinner. “There is a work emergency that I need to go take care of.”

“Wait, Jackson!” She called out, but he had already left the building. 

The waitress walked up to her, two plates in hand. “Oh did he leave?”

“Yeah.” She said sadly.

The waitress only put one plate of food down and walked away. She looked down at her food, not even wanting to stomach it anymore. She felt stood-up, even if it was for work, it was a good reason. But it still didn’t hurt any less. 

A TV sat in the corner, words flashing on the screen ‘Breaking News’. She could barely hear it over the clattering of the kitchen. Then the images of a factory on fire appeared on screen. Just like Jackson, she stood up from her seat, bolting out of the diner. 

She was more than thankful that Jackson had preemptively paid for the dinner, because it was something she would’ve forgotten about when running out. Running into the alleyway, she began flying into the sky. 

Flying home as quickly as possible, she changed into her hero uniform. She didn’t know where the fire was, but almost every firetruck in the whole of LA was headed in the direction of it.

When she arrived on scene, Gamma Jack was already there, flying from place to place. The factory was completely engulfed in flames. Metal parts were melting and falling to the ground with a loud thud. Firefighters tried their hardest to put out the fire, but it just kept getting worse. The chemicals in the factory were boosting the flame, making it almost impossible to diffuse it. The factory was in the middle of the city, meaning there were residential buildings and shops all around. 

Gamma Jack flew up to her. “Took you long enough to get here.” He spat at her. 

“Well I only found out because I saw it on the TV.” She said back. “How did you know?”

“That’s not important right now.” He was frustrated from the frantic mess all around. “The surrounding area is blocked off, about three blocks in every direction. We need to help evacuate all civilians in the area. Most of this section, main focus is on the residential buildings to the west of the fire”

She had never seen Gamma Jack so serious before, it made her realize just how serious he took his job. She could only nod in response, flying with him to the west of the fires. They quickly split off, going to different buildings to cover more ground. 

Most of the building had already been evacuated. Most people heard the explosion as soon as it happened and were able to run, but some people couldn’t escape, and that is why she was there.

She ran through apartment after apartment, making sure they were empty. Some rooms had animals that were left behind. She made note of which apartments they were. In her initial sweep, she was looking for people, then she would go back to save the animals. 

Once she cleared three buildings, she heard yelling coming from a shop nearby. She saw a firefighter frantically waving his arms, motioning for someone to leave the building. Flying towards the people, she saw an older looking woman, bracing herself against the doorway of a flower shop.

“No! You can’t make me leave.” The woman shouted. “If this shop burns, so shall I!”

The woman couldn’t be any younger than 65. She didn’t look like a typical old lady. She dressed much younger and was decently fit. 

“Ma’am, it’s really dangerous!” The fire fighter tried convincing her.

Landing on the ground, she walked up to the fire fighter. “Focus on the fire, I can help her.”

The firefighter looked at her with a thankful look before running off towards the factory that was still very much on fire. 

“Listen ma'am," she started. She expected this to be easy, old ladies always loved her. “I know you really love your shop, but the insurance money should cover any damages. If you have specific items you want to save, I can help you carry them to safety.”

“Unless you can carry this entire building, I’m not moving!” The woman shouted back. 

She felt bad, understanding where the old woman was coming from, but in situations like this it was important that she left it behind. “The firefighters are doing their best trying to diffuse the situation. You being here is impeding their attempts and would make it where this building is more likely to catch fire.”

“I don’t care!” The woman kept yelling. “If it burns, it burns, but I need to be here when it happens.”

“I am really sorry that I have to do this, but you need to leave,” She walked up to the lady, grabbing her by the waist.

“No!” The old woman began to scream louder than before, “Someone help me!!!”

“I am!” She yelled back, trying her hardest to pull her off of the door frame without hurting her.

“Help me!” The woman repeated over and over again, voice croaking.

“Woah! What’s going on here?” Gamma Jack asked, shocked at the scene.

“She’s refusing to leave!” She shouted at him, getting increasingly irritated at the woman. She knew she could just yank the woman off easily and carry her kicking and screaming, but that could potentially hurt the woman, and that was the last thing she wanted.

“She’s trying to kill me!” The woman shouted to Gamma Jack. “Stop her!”

“I am doing quite the opposite!” She yelled back. 

Gamma Jack walked up to her, putting an arm on her shoulder, telling her to stop. Normally she’d fight his commands, but tonight was different, he was more serious than normal. Letting go of the woman, she backed up.

“I’m sorry about her.” Gamma Jack smoothly said, putting on all the works. He could already tell what kind of person the old woman was, and he knew exactly how to get her off the doorframe. “How can I help a lovely young lady such as yourself?”

“Oh my.” The woman giggled like a teen girl. “Aren’t you handsome!”

“I know I am.” He ran a hand through his hair, making sure to flex his muscles as he did so. “But you never answered my question. What can I do for you?”

“Many things” The woman said in a sultry low voice.

Gamma Jack groaned in a way that was borderline moaning . “You see, I would love to do that for you. But I sadly cannot do that if you end up dying to this fire.”

“Well we can’t have that!” The woman sprung to life, taking her arms off the door frames.

“How about we get out of here.” He winked at her. She nodded enthusiastically. He kept an arm on her back, making sure that she wouldn’t run off. The old woman took it as an invitation to wrap her arms around his neck and jump on him. Gamma Jack was quick to catch her, not wanting her to fall.

“I think this is better.” She proudly proclaimed. 

“If you think so.” Gamma Jack replied, beginning to walk away. 

As he walked past Phaze, he cockily winked at her, knowing he had won. She could only watch in horror at the scene that unfolded before her. There were no words to describe the disgust she felt deep down in the pit of her stomach.

It took her quite a few more minutes to collect herself and go back to her work. It only took thirty more minutes for the firefighters and heroes to get the fire to completely subside. Every building in the area had been vacated.

It had been a very long night, five hours total. It was beginning to reach 1am, and all she wanted to do was go home, take a shower, and jump in bed. Annoyingly, Gamma Jack came up to her before she could make her escape.

“I saved 204 people.” He said cockily. “How about you? Wait, lemme guess… 175?”

“I don’t count those kinds of things.” She said confidently. “Number’s don’t matter to me, just as long as everyone is safe.”

He rolled his eyes at her, not believing that. “I couldn’t ask for anything more than saving someone that you couldn’t save. Your face was priceless.” 

“Please don’t talk about that!” She quickly told him, rubbing her face. “Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up.”

“Awe come on,” He playfully whined. “Don’t you wanna hear all the filthy things that happened after I got her to safety.”

Nothing happened aside from him dropping her off with some police offers and him flying away. But this was the first time he was getting under her skin, so he had to jump on the opportunity.

She needed to change the subject, and quickly. It needed to be something he couldn’t avoid. “What about your date? Was the old woman better than her.”

He scowled at her comment. “I had to leave it early to save all 205 of those people. And how was yours?”

Gamma Jack asked that, hoping hers would have been the same.

There was no way she would admit to being stood up, even if he had a good reason. “It went amazingly. That is why it took me so long to get the news of all of this. He even paid for my dinner.”

Gamma Jack scowled at her, hating that she had a better time than him. He wanted to end the conversation on a better footing, so he said “Well I have more important matters to attend to than sit around and talk to your gleeful ass.”

“Like what? Kissing that grandma? Make sure her dentures don’t fall out!” She shouted at him as he flew away, knowing she was able to get the last jab.

Even though she brought it up, the thought of it made her shiver. Trying to shake it out of her head, she flew home quickly. The second she landed in her apartment, she stripped off her sweaty suit. Turning on the faucet, she prepared for her shower. 

Before she could get in, a knock echoed through her apartment. She was confused about who would be coming to her so late at night. At first she ignored it, thinking whoever it was would go away.

She was quite wrong as the knock happened again. Frustrated, she grabbed her robe, heading to the door. Being annoyed that someone was stopping her from her nice hot shower, she opened it aggressively.

When she saw Jackson standing in the hall with a large bouquet of flowers, her face immediately softened. 

“Did I wake you?” He asked, worried.

“No you didn’t.” She quickly tightened her robe more and fixed herself up, embarrassed that he caught her like this. “I was just about to take a shower.”

“Oh good.” He sighed. They awkwardly stood in silence. “May I come in?”

She turned around to her apartment. While everything was unpacked, it was still a mess, but how could she not when his eyes were pleading for her to do so. “Yeah.”

She stepped aside, allowing him to walk in. Once he was in the house, he handed her the bouquet. He looked around, analysing the place.

“Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.” She put the bouquet on the dining room table, standing beside it, not really knowing what to do. “Where did you get these, so late at night? Or do you just have a bouquet always on hand?”

Jackson walked into the living room, plopping himself down on her couch. She followed him, still confused as to what he was doing. “There was a flower shop near where I was working. The lady that was running kindly gave it to me.”

In truth, once Gamma Jack had left Phaze, he flew to the shop, walked through the unlocked doors and picked the best bouquet he saw. There was no way he would admit to her that he basically stole it. Although, with what he had to go through with that woman, he considered the bouquet as compensation.

He had just confirmed to her that he too was there at the incident. She wished she had seen him, but she was quite carried away with her job as well. She could only assume that he was there to investigate what exactly transpired to cause the place to blow up. The most surprising thing to her is that he was able to handle that old lady, but again, she seemed like someone who would do anything for a pretty young man.

They sat there awkwardly for a few more moments until Jackson spoke up again. “I came over because I wanted to apologize for running off from our date like that.”

“No need to apologize.” She told him. “I completely understand.”

Even though she thought he wasn’t a hero, it was very nice that he had a similar job that they had to run off to go handle. Maybe, one day, she could reveal her true identity to him, and they could run to the scene together. 

“I don’t think you do.” He continued. “My job is really complicated and I have to run off at random times to handle things.”

“Jackson.” She said, grabbing his hand comfortingly. “I promise I really do get it.”

“Listen.” He groaned, throwing his free hand over his eyes. “Most of my relationships end up falling apart because of it. I really like you, and I do not want whatever this is, to go away just because of that fact.”

She listened to him intently with a warm smile, waiting for him to finish. When he did, she squeezed his hand again. “I really like you too, and as I’ve said: I understand. I get called into work randomly at times too. I will never blame you for caring about your job. I think as long as we both keep that understanding, we will work out flawlessly.”

As someone who cares deeply about her job as well, she could never be mad at him for such a thing. The fact that they were so similar is why they worked so well. She could really see this going somewhere, somewhere more than just a few dates.

“You’re so perfect.” He smirked at her. “I could kiss you.”

“I don’t kiss on the first date.” She playfully replied.

“Good thing the date is over.” He said, leaning into her.

“You’re right.” She replied, leaning into him.

Their lips met gently, slow. The noise of the shower could be heard in the background, completely forgotten.

Chapter Text

They were 15,000 feet in the air, attempting to carry the weight of an airplane. A few minutes after takeoff, the right engine failed, causing the plane to have little control, and to descend at a quick rate.

Gamma Jack and Phaze were thankfully nearby when they heard the explosion from above. They were quick to get to the plane, the struggle was to make sure the plane landed properly, away from the city. In truth, they were barely doing anything other than helping guide it away from buildings and towards some fields near the beach. 

Their feet touched the ground as they let go of the plane, letting gravity take over as it slid against the ground, eventually coming to a stop. When she landed on the ground, she stepped on her foot wrong, causing her to topple over. 

Once the plane finally came to a stop, her and Gamma Jack flew to the plane. The flight attendants opened the emergency exits allowing the inflatable slides to fill with air. She wasted no time phasing through the body of the plane that was completely filled with smoke.

It was always the strangest feeling for her when she had to phase through people, and the people she was phasing through could feel it too as they shivered with the feeling. Looking for anyone who was unconscious or unable to move, she spotted a mother who tightly held a child who couldn’t have been older than a year. 

She quickly made her way through people, heading for the two. Standing in an empty seat she made herself physical again. “I can get him to safety ma’am.” She told the woman with an extended hand. 

The woman looked at her, scared, holding the child closer to her chest. “I can take both of you out of here.” She reiterated, realizing that asking a traumatized mother to give her the baby was the wrong way to go about it.

The woman nodded. She picked the two up before phasing through the plane yet again. The baby began crying, clearly not liking going through layers of metal. Once at a safe distance away from the plane, she attempted to land on the ground, only to be met with a sharp pain that shot up her leg. 

Her balance faltered as she began to fall. The woman gripped her baby even tighter, as she screamed in fear. She began to fly again, refusing to let the woman and baby hit the ground. Placing them down carefully, she flew back and forth, saving person after person. Never stepping foot on the ground.

Once everyone was evacuated and being looked over by paramedics, her and Gamma Jack regrouped. She still floated a few inches off of the ground. Like always, they never talked about work, but tried to one up each other. 

“And how are your things with that guy going?” His voice is condescending, as he prays that he had already dropped her. 

“Swimmingly.” She said proudly. “We’re actually official now! And yours?”

It was a lie. While her interactions with Jackson the past few months were getting more and more serious, they hadn’t put a label on it. But of course, when it comes to Gamma Jack, she knew she had to ‘beat’ him in some way.

“We’re going good.” He grimaced at the fact that she had a boyfriend before he had a girlfriend.

“For her sake, I hope she comes to her senses and leaves you.” She very bluntly said.

“Once he realizes that you’re an ogre, he’s going to go running for the hills.” He responded in turn. “I just hope it happens before he proposes, so he's not stuck with you.

She really wanted to keep arguing, but her ankle was beginning to hurt even without putting any pressure on it. She needed to go home and wrap it up. She could go to the EMT’s and have them do it. But in her mind, they were taking care of people who actually needed it.

“You can handle the paperwork.” She told Gamma Jack. “I need to go home.”

“What? No!” He was angry that she was pushing it all on him.

“You’re a big boy, you can do it.” She said flying off, not letting him get another word in.

The flight home was long and all she could think about was the pain in her ankle. When she arrived home, she removed her costume, still flying in the air. Once she sat on her bed, she saw how badly her ankle was swollen.

It hurt to touch it, but she was trying to determine how bad it was. It was only lightly fractured, so thankfully it should only take a week or so for it to heal. Nonetheless, it was extremely frustrating. She would have to be out of work for a week, leaving Gamma Jack to roam alone.

She called the NSA to inform them of the situation. They were not too enthusiastic about it, but it worked as a testrun on him going back to working alone. After wrapping her ankle, with some ice packs sandwiched in between, she took a bath. 

Knowing she needed to relax, she sat on her couch, reading a book. No matter what she did, she felt bored. What was worse, she had a whole other week of this. When a knock emerged from her door, she couldn’t be happier. Flying to the door, she saw Jackson through the peephole.

He was dressed nicely, large bouquet in hand. Landing on the ground, she opened the door. “Did I forget a date or something?” She asked him, not remembering them making any plans

“No.” He told her, handing her the flowers. She noticed in his other hand was a bag of Chinese takeout. “But I thought we could stay in together and have some dinner.”

“That sounds amazing.” She smiled with delight. “I really needed this today.”

“Me too.” Jackson walked past her, heading to the dining table to place the food down. She closed the door, hobbling over to him, leaving the bouquet on the coffee table. He noticed her pained movements and immediately got worried. “Woah, what happened?”

He walked up to her, assisting her to the table. She leaned on him, enjoying the feeling of his strong muscles under her arm. “Bad day.” Was all she explained.

Once he situated her in the seat, he began unpacking the bag, placing the food out onto the table. “A bad day is your co-worker leaving all of the paperwork for you to handle. That’s more than just a bad day. What happened?”

“I tripped and lightly sprained my ankle.” She just left out the part that the tripping was caused by her carrying an entire plane. 

Jackson shook his head and tsked at her. “You need to stop being so clumsy.”

“I’m not clumsy.” She rolled her eyes at him. 

“You so are.” He laughed at her. “Whenever I see you, you always have a new bruise of some kind. Now a sprained ankle? Unless someone is… is it that co-worker of yours? God so help me-”

He started getting really angry at the thought of someone harming her. She had never seen him get so mad. “No one besides myself is doing this to me.” She quickly said, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. Although most bruises or injuries are caused from criminal attacks. It never really occurred to her just how much she got injured until someone cared enough to pay attention to her.

“Well then, you need to stop being so clumsy.” He went back to scolding her. “Maybe you should put yourself in bubble-wrap. That way you won’t get bruised.”

“I don't think I could work with bubble wrap constricting my arms.” She noted.

“Just quit working. I can support the both of us.” He said with a cocky smile. There was a bit of truth behind his comment, but he just covered it with a joke.

“There’s no way I could be a homemaker. I was deathly bored after work. I don't know if I can survive the next week being out of work. Let alone the rest of my life.” She said, “Plus, I love my job. Saving people's lives is really fulfilling and I don’t think I could live without it.”

He knew all too well the prideful feeling of saving people lives. Even if he thought that they were doing it in different ways, he couldn’t blame her. “You have a point. I don’t think I could take you away from that. Although, I would hope you would prioritize our kids once we have them.”

“Kids?” She laughed. “Jackson, we’re not even dating and you wanna talk about children?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Not dating… yet.” He corrected her.

She couldn’t help but laugh at him. He was so charming, and it worked on her every time. She began to imagine what life would be like if they dated, got married, and had kids. Even though she lied to Gamma Jack about them already being together, she couldn’t help but yearn for that label. 

“So how was your day?” She wondered, continuing the conversation. “How has your co-worker been as of late?”

He rolled his eyes at her, not wanting to talk about it. “Horrible as always.”

“What’d she do now?” She frowned at his comment, upset that someone was bothering him.

“I really don’t want to talk about her.” He aggressively stabbed his chicken. Jackson looked back up to her. “Tonight is about us. Not our shitty co-workers.”

She nodded in agreement, not wanting the thought of Gamma Jack ruin her romantic night. Dinner went on as normal, with many laughs and hints of them being more. Normally when they finished, they would clean up everything together. This time Jackson refused to let her help. 

Walking her over to the couch, he gently sat her down. Grabbing a pillow off of the couch, he placed it on the coffee table before moving her leg to rest on the pillow. He had never been so soft, so kind. It was hard to believe that such a tall buff man could be so caring.

Jackson began to throw away the empty boxes, cleaning the plates. She reached for the flowers on the table beside her leg. “Where did you get these?” She asked, turning to him. 

He tensed the slightest bit. “A shop near the factory that burned down.” He said, trying to act calm, hoping she would see it any minute now. “The lady that owns it gives me a discount. It allows me to buy the biggest one in the store.”

“That damn woman.” She muttered quietly to herself, noticing the white card tucked in between a few buds. 

Grabbing the small card, she read the words ‘Will you be my girlfriend? ♡’. She turned back to him, eyes wide, shocked. 

He was leaning against the counter. A small smile plastered on his face as he kept his arms crossed over his chest. “So?”

“Jackson.” She sighed out his name, trying to get up, wanting to be close to him.

He was quick to make his way to her, grabbing onto her. “Hey! What did I say about moving?”

She clung to his shoulders for support. “I would love to be your girlfriend.” She said breathlessly, staring into his vibrant green eyes.

He smiled back at her. “Well then, I would love to be your boyfriend.”

They stared at one another, smiling like idiots in love. The mood between them had changed. It still stayed the same underlying desire for one another, but now it held more. More passion, more romance. A Label. Officially dating. 

Jackson leaned into her, kissing her. This activity was far from uncommon, but with the newfound passion, it felt good. Their lips moved together slowly, precisely, passionately. His hands trailed farther and farther down her body, wanting more. 

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned more of her weight into him. Jackson began to walk her towards her bedroom, being careful with her injured ankle. She was so caught up in the moment that she forgot about her hero's costume that was scrunched up on the floor at the foot of her bed. 

She only noticed when she stepped on the unique fabric. Luckily for her, the room was ridiculously dark, and Jackson had stepped over it. The only light came from the moon that showed through the crack in between her curtains, allowing her to only see him. She fell over when he lightly pushed her onto the bed. Her legs hung off the bed, just enough for her to reach for the uniform. 

Jackson pulled his shirt off, allowing it to fall right beside the outfit. His fit chest distracted her. It was like the Greek Gods sculpted with their own hands. She couldn’t help but reach out and touch him. He gave her his classic smile, leaning over her and kissed her. She got lost in him once more, enjoying the feeling of his hands roaming her body, enjoying the feeling of his bare skin under hers. 

When he began to pull up her shirt, she remembered. His legs straddle hers, allowing her to try and reach for it. She could just barely reach it with her unhurt foot. She tried over and over again to grab it with her toes. She groaned in exertion, trying her hardest to grab it. 

She was so focused that she didn’t even register Jackson’s hands on her chest. “You liked that?” He assumed he caused that noise to come from her mouth.

“Y-Yeah,” she stuttered out, coming back to the moment between them, trying to keep him distracted. 

“There’s more where that came from,” His hands trailed further down her body.

She really wished she could close her eyes and enjoy the feeling of Jackson, her boyfriend. But nothing turned her off more than being found out to be a hero, risking this very new relationship. 

With one final groan she was able to sandwich both her costume and her belt in between her toes. Thankfully, Jackson’s legs were stationed widely, allowing her to pull the clothes through them without ever arousing suspicion.

Kicking the clothes fully under the bed was hard. The fabric caught on the fibers of her carpet making it where she kept having to make small kicks to get all of it under. The jumping of her leg was assumed to be her squirming under Jackson’s touch.

When it came to her belt on the other hand, the metal of the gun easily slipped over the carpet. After dealing with the clothes, when it came to the belt, she kicked it too hard, causing it to glide all the way into the bar that held the center of the bed.

The loud clink noise caused Jackson to stop, sitting up, pulling his hands from in between her legs. “What was that?” He began to stand up, wanting to investigate.

“The rats.” She quickly said as it was the first thing that came to her mind. Her hands reached for his hard biceps, stopping him from investigating further. 

“The rats?” He wondered.

“Yes.” She clarified, knowing she had to continue on with this logic. “I’ve been having rat problems ever since I moved in. I thought I finally got rid of them, but I guess there's another.”

“You’ve been here for three months, why didn’t you call anyone?” He began kneeling in front of her, wanting to find the beast under her bed. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“No!” She quickly said, sitting up. 

She grabbed his face before it could dip lower than her knees. He stopped, staring up at her. She held his face gently with one hand, petting his hair with the other. His eyes were mesmerizing, almost forgetting what would happen if he looked under the bed and found out that she was a hero.

Leaning into him, she captured his lips in between hers. He moaned into the kiss, pushing into her. Before she could get carried away again, she pulled back. “If there’s one rat, there’s more. We can look into the rat issue later.” She put their foreheads together, wrapping her uninjured leg around his torso to stop him from moving. “Right now… I need you.”

“As you wish.” His head started to move in between her legs. “But if a rat touches me while I’m down here, I’m killing it on sight.”

“That’s fine with me.” She laughed, knowing there was no real rat down there. 

She threw her body back on the bed, enjoying the feeling of her boyfriend, knowing that the secret was safe for now.

 

It took about a week for her ankle to heal almost fully. It also helped that when she was home alone, she could just fly everywhere, and when Jackson was over, he was pampering her like a princess.

It was her last day of recovery. Since she still had a free day, she thought to get all her shopping done. She had about five bags hanging off her arms. Originally she was just going to fly home with all the bags, but it was such a beautiful day out, she couldn’t resist taking the longer route and walking.

It was so peaceful. Even though the city was bustling with movement, she couldn’t help but bask in the chaos of it all. Of course her bliss could only last so long, as a certain hero that was patrolling the area noticed her. 

Gamma Jack was flying over LA on his normal patrol. Because of her, he had learned to slow down and take a closer look at what’s below him. That is how he noticed his lovely girlfriend ‘struggling’ to carry so many bags down the street. 

She was a damsel in distress, in his eyes anyways. Someone who was recovering from a sprained ankle shouldn’t be carrying so many heavy things. He was quick to act, flying to her like he was about to fight the most dangerous criminal. 

It was hard for him to remember that in this form, he was nothing more than just the best hero around, not her neighbor, not her boyfriend. He landed behind her, stopping her by saying “Hello there, beautiful. Need any help with those bags?” 

She stopped, turning around to see who was offering help. Her neutral face turned to a frown when she spotted the co-worker she thought she wouldn’t have to see for at least another day. “No, I’m good.”

She turned around and continued on walking down the road, hoping that would make him fly off. She knew he didn’t like rejection, and hoped he would just huff and fly off. He gave quite the opposite reaction. 

“Don’t be like that.” He caught up to her, walking alongside her, grabbing some of the bags out of her hands.

Again, she stopped turning to face him fully. “Give them back.” She tried to snatch them from him. While her foot was healed for the most part, she still felt pain from time to time. At that moment, it seized up causing her to not get the bags from Gamma Jack.

“Not so fast darling.” He moved back from her. “I’m a hero. You’re a hurt woman who needs someone to carry her bags for her. It’s my job to help the civilians of this city. Especially ones so beautiful such as yourself."

All she could do was stare and blink for a moment. She couldn’t believe that the man that so adamantly despised her was standing in front of her, trying so very hard to flirt. “You’re not getting in my pants. I have a boyfriend.”

Gamma Jack laughed at her, continuing to walk down the sidewalk, knowing exactly where they were headed. “I promise, I just want to help. Plus, don’t tell the public this, but I too have a girlfriend.” 

As he held her groceries, she had no choice but to follow. She found herself saying the same words she always does when he mentioned his love interest. “Poor girl.”

“What?” He paused for a moment, recognizing those words.

“Nothing,” She quickly said, remembering that she is not in hero from. Now to make him less suspicious, she had to keep talking to him. “My place is this way.”

He pushed what she said aside, assuming he misheard. He let her believe she was leading the way, even though he knew exactly where they were headed.

“Does your girlfriend know you try to pick up girls on duty?” She thought that since she was out of uniform, and he would hopefully never see her in this way again, she could be a bit more brash. 

“I don’t pick up girls while on duty.” He laughed. It was funny to him, she was talking about his girlfriend, not knowing it was her. “Well, only the absolutely beautiful ones, like you.”

“I thought you said you weren’t trying to get in my pants.” She reiterated.

“I’m not.” He responded, already knowing he had. Knowing he will again many times. 

She rolled her eyes at him. “I would like to reiterate. I am in an amazing relationship and I would never throw that away for the likes of you.”

He hummed happily, even though she was insulting him in a way, it was in defense of him as well. They had only been dating for a week and she already had undying loyalty to him. Only if she knew that by flirting with her, he wasn’t cheating on his girlfriend. 

“Tell me, how is your boyfriend better than me?” He needed to know what she thought of him.

“Well first off. He’s more attractive.” She had to pick her words carefully, making sure to not admit that she is in fact was the partner he hated.

He inwardly laughed, knowing that they were one in the same. But he was confused as to why she would think why his civilian form was more attractive to her. Normally, women he would sleep with felt the complete opposite. 

That is why he loved her so much. When she looks at him, she doesn’t see the glam, the hero that saves countless lives. She sees him for who he is. “I have never seen the man, but I highly doubt that statement. They don’t call me Handsome Jack for nothing.”

She again rolled her eyes, ignoring his comment. “Second, he’s kind and caring. Very gentle. You’re known for being explosive, literally.”

“I don’t see your boyfriend fighting crime and killing criminals.” That one kind of hurt, but again, to him, she only knew what the news said about him.

“And lastly.” She started walking into her apartment building, really wishing she could just fly up to her apartment. “He doesn’t go behind my back to flirt with other girls.”

“Well how do you know that?” The words came out of his mouth before he could think. He forgot that he was in fact the boyfriend she was talking about. He didn’t want to put any doubts in her head about himself. 

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs staring up at him as he continued going up, before he noticed that she hadn’t taken a step. He looked back at her to see her face full of disgust. “My boyfriend is not a degenerate. Unlike you.”

In a way, he felt very insulted. Here was the woman he loved calling him a degenerate for doing what he loved best, being a hero. On the other hand, he was so proud. Proud that the woman he chose was defending his image to a complete stranger. Not just a stranger, a hero that most women would toss their boyfriends aside for.

She finally began to climb the stairs, pushing past him and began to head to her apartment. This was the first time she regretted living on the top floor, because now she had to walk about four stories in silence with the co-worker she’d have to face the next day.

He pushed down the anger, remembering that to her: the man she was insulting was someone who came up to her randomly on the street, took her bags from her, and unashamedly flirted with her after admitting he had a girlfriend. She had every right to hate this version of him. And how could he stay mad when her butt is placed so nicely in front of him.

If only she knew, then she would’ve thrown her arms around him, and give him a big kiss for helping her with the bags. One day he would tell her, and they would look back on this moment and laugh. But that day would be far in the future, not until he 110% knew he could trust her. 

They arrived at her apartment. She didn’t allow him to walk in. She couldn’t allow him in her safe space. Taking the bags from him, she placed them in the kitchen. Gamma Jack respected her boundaries, staying in the hallway, leaning against the doorway. 

After placing everything down, she walked back to her open door. He gave her a cocky smirk, happy to know that he helped his girlfriend. “So, do I get a kiss for my services?”

She didn’t even respond, slamming the door in his face, needing to be rid of him. Gamma Jack stood in the hallway for a moment, just staring at the closed door. He was shocked, but it didn’t take him too long to recover. 

Running to his apartment, he changed out of his uniform. Dressing in normal clothes, he ran back over, knocking on her door. When she answered, she swung the door open, angrily. Her body relaxed when she realized it was Jackson.

“Was that Gamma Jack walking down our hall?” He wondered like he saw it happen. 

“Ugh.” She groaned, turning around, allowing him to come in. “He helped me with my groceries, even when I told him I’m fine. I thought he was supposed to be doing important stuff, like catching serious criminals.”

If she was on the job, there was no way she would have allowed him to do such a thing. It only proved that he hadn’t changed in the three months she’s been on the job. 

“Helping you seems pretty important to me.” He tried to defend himself. How could he not assist his injured girlfriend.

“If I knew you weren’t working today, I would’ve invited you.” She said, putting the last thing in the fridge. She walked up to him, wrapping her arm around him, missing his warmth. 

“I’m on my lunch break.” He lied, knowing he couldn’t stay here long, no matter how much he wished to stay here with her. He leaned down to her, kissing her, getting the reward for carrying her groceries. 

“How long do you have?” She asked before kissing him again.

“About ten.” Jackson responded and went back to kissing her as well, hoping to get a little more than a kiss as a reward.

“We can make that work.” She pulled away, grabbing his hand and leading him to her bedroom.

Chapter Text

“Sign here.” The NSA agent handed her the clipboard with the assignment termination paper attached.

She grabbed the clipboard  from the agent, then a pen that was sitting on the agent's desk, and signed her name.

“Alright, that's all we need.” The agent smiled at her.

“Thank you.” She said, standing up and walking out of the office space and heading towards the stairs. 

Once she was outside, she basked in the sun, closing this chapter of her life. She was free, or at least she thought she was. Gamma Jack emerged from the crowd, needing to fight with her one last time.

“Finally, I can get back to my work without you dragging me down.” He crossed his arms.

She hoped she would never have to see him again. “I too can get back to what I do without having to worry about your ego.”

He rolled his eyes at her. “I’m just glad I never have to see you again. Have fun in New York.”

“I’m not going back to New York.” She laughed at him. “I like LA, I think I’m going to be staying here longer.”

“Ugh.” He groaned, really thinking he was rid of her after today. “Well just stay out of my way from here on out.”

“You know, heroes are supposed to work together.” She noted.

“Oh I’ll work with other heroes. Just not you.” He was quick to respond.

She rolled her eyes at him. It was good that she no longer had to tag along with Gamma Jack, but her opinion of him definitely shifted, ever so slightly. He was still an egotistical asshole, that would never change. Over time, she has noticed that he truly cared about his job. Even though his priorities still were a bit skewed, he still did his job, and did it well. 

She also noticed that he seemed to take less time with his female fans. She chalked that up to him finally having a girlfriend and knew that the second she dumped him, he’d go back to the way he was. Even if she no longer really hated him, she still really didn't like him. Their personalities clashed too much for her to ever willingly work with him again.

Much to her surprise, Gamma Jack held his hand out to her, respectfully, waiting for her to shake his hand. Even though he loved to annoy her, piss her off, and belittle her accomplishments, he had gained some respect for her.

She grabbed his hand with strength, shaking it. He returned the same strong grip. “Good luck.”

“To you as well.” She said. 

Once they let go of each other's hand, she flew off, heading to her apartment. She wasn’t even working that day, but she needed to fill out some paperwork to officially no longer be partners with Gamma Jack.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. The weight of Gamma Jack was massive, most of it being his ego. She hoped that if he ever needed another partner to reel him in, it wouldn’t be her and would feel sorry for any poor soul that had to deal with him.

When entering her home, she made sure to put her suit and mask up properly in its designated cabinet. After the incident with Jackson a few months ago, she made sure to never leave it laying around and put it away the moment she got home. 

Things with Jackson had been going remarkably well. She was expecting to get over the ‘honeymoon phase’ of the relationship pretty quickly, but she still felt as though everything was perfect. Or maybe she felt that way because it was. 

There was nothing about him that she didn’t like. Nothing that she had learned and went ‘oh’ with disgust or hesitation. He always knew exactly what to say to her to make her flustered or want more.

They have seen each other every day since, most of the time for dinner, or just wanting to be close to one another. He never questioned when she had to run off to work, she always knew he would be right behind her either way. Being around him was intoxicating. He always knew how to make her feel better after a long tough day.

It had become routine. Around 6:30pm would be a knock from Jackson, he would often invite her over for dinner or ask to join her. She began to cook extra food in case he wanted to join. But today he broke that routine.

A knock emerged from her door at 5pm. Usually by this time, Jackson was just getting home and needed to shower and settle down. She opened the door to his smiling face. “What happened?” She asked, wondering what got him in such a great mood.

“I feel the need to celebrate.” He said proudly.

“Celebrate what?” She was still confused as to what was going on.

His smile grew more as he was practically gleaming. “My co-worker got moved to a different department.”

“Oh well that is most definitely something to celebrate.” She smiled back at him, walking to the kitchen to grab wine.

“No,” He stopped her. “Not like that.”

She turned to him confused. He still stood in the doorway. “How do you want to celebrate?”

“Follow me.” He said, turning around and beginning to walk away. 

She quickly grabbed her things before following him out into the hall. They headed to the garage for their building. Normally, whenever they went out, they would walk or use public transport. She had only been in his car a handful of times.

They got in the car and he began to drive away. This anticipation was killing her. “Where are we going?” 

“You’ll see.” Was all he said as he kept driving. He stopped at a local pizza restaurant, one they had ordered from many times. Excited to eat at one of her favorite places, she began to unbuckle her seatbelt but he quickly stopped her. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute. I ordered ahead.”

He got out, practically jogging to the restaurant. She patiently waited in the car as he came out with a large pizza box. Entering the car again, he handed it for her to hold. At first, she sat it on her lap, but the fresh grease seeped into the cardboard, burning her skin.

They talked about random things, but the question still screamed in the back of her mind. They left the bustling loud city, heading up the quiet mountains. They entered a public park that was basically empty aside from the occasional jogger or hiker. 

He parked the car in the spot closest to the cliffside. Grabbing the pizza box from her, he left the car, heading to the front of the car. She followed quickly getting out. Looking out to the horizon, she saw the sun setting behind the large city. 

It was a beautiful view. The city lights began to turn on as it entered that weird stage of dark enough where you needed lights, but still bright outside. She couldn’t see the sun behind all of the large, towering buildings. But she could see the bright orange, pink hue that painted the sky.

They leaned on the hood of Jackson’s car. The pizza box sat between them, using the hood like a table. At this point, the pizza had gone cold, but was still good nonetheless. 

“Nothing is better than this.” Jackson sighed out, eyes on the horizon.

“It would be better if the pizza was still warm.” She joked.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Not everything can be perfect.”

“You’re perfect.” She smiled at him.

He chuckled looking off into the distance, appreciating the praise from his girlfriend. He went back to what he originally said. “Eating my favorite pizza, in my favorite spot, with my girlfriend is the perfect way to celebrate.”

“You’re favorite spot?” How many girls have you brought up here?” It was mostly a joke, but the question still stood.

“One.” He said, turning to her, “You.”

She laughed at him, not fully believing him. “Oh come on now, you’re telling me you’ve never had a girlfriend.”

“Oh I’ve definitely had many girlfriends.” He proudly admitted. “But none were anywhere close to serious as we are.”

“It’s funny isn’t it? We’ve only been dating for three months, yet this has been my strongest relationship.” She knew why, and it was because he didn’t ask questions. 

Most of the time when she got into a relationship it ended poorly because she was a hero and it was hard to keep it a secret. In the few relationships that made it to the stage where she relived herself would quickly end after that. They could never understand the complexity of being a hero, but in a way, she could tell Jackson would understand. If he couldn’t understand, he would at least be more supportive than her precious relationship.

“I agree. You’re the most understanding, loving girlfriend I’ve ever had. That is why I love you.” He said confidently, looking into the sunset. It was the first time those words had been spoken into the relationship.

She turned to him, stunned at his confession. Noticing that she was looking, he looked at her with a cocky smirk as he bit into his slice. 

Smiling warmly at him, she admitted, “I love you too Jackson.”

 

After they came back to her apartment, they cuddled on the couch. Sitting close together, her legs were laying on top of his as his arm rested behind her. They held hands, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. 

“I know we haven’t been dating for too long.” Jackson started. “But I think this, whatever this is between us, is really special.”

She smiled at him, inching even closer. “I do as well.” It made her wonder when the right time to reveal herself would be. Would doing it sooner be better, or would it be best to hold it off?

“I can really see myself marrying you one day.” He leaned his head against hers.

She leaned in and kissed him. She smiled into the kiss, enjoying the feeling of him. When they pulled away from one another, his face contorted to one of dismay. She looked at him confused, wondering what happened, but she let him speak first.

“But” He started, his voice quiet, like someone else was going to hear. “Before we can get too serious, I need to tell you something.”

She frowned, scooting away from him. All possibilities started running through her head: He had another girlfriend, He was a villain, or even that he had a clingy mother that she would have to deal with. Nothing could prepare her for his confession.

His worried face turned to one of cockiness, like he was taking the persona of someone else. “I am the hero Gamma Jack.”

Scooting to the opposite side of the couch, she stared at him in shock. “You’re joking.” She laughed, honestly not believing him.

“I’m not.” He replied, grabbing her hands. “It’s why I run off at the smallest sign of danger. I know that I have a reputation with the ladies but I swear to you, I haven’t done anything crazy since I met you.”

She couldn’t be around him, standing from the couch and taking a few steps away from him. “I don’t believe you.” Deep down she did. It made so much sense, but she couldn’t believe it, refused to even.

Jackson stood up to meet her. He pulled his mask out of his pocket putting it on to show her. “I’m being serious. I know it's a little shocking but I promise it won't affect anything between us, other than you understand more. This will be good.”

She shook her head, unable to speak. The man she loved was one in the same as the one she hated. It was hard to wrap her head around. She didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, them both being heroes was a good thing, they had an understanding that a civilian partner wouldn’t be able to comprehend. On the other hand, they had just spent the past six months fighting one another. While they had come to some sort of truce as heroes, she was going to continue not liking him for what he said and the way he did things. 

Jackson was beginning to panic, he thought that they would have a little laugh. At most, he thought they would have to figure out how to handle specific situations and talk about potentials with him getting hurt. But this reaction was something that he didn’t expect. She was so shocked, it almost made her look fearful, and he couldn’t understand why.

She walked away from him, heading toward her bedroom. He stood in the same spot, calling out to her. “Hey! We can talk about this.” The fear of her leaving him was beginning to set in. 

Finally, he followed her into the bedroom, needing to know what was happening. When he entered, she was standing in front of a cabinet that had a light, showcasing something. Her body blocked the contents of the cabinet. He was confused more than anything, not understanding her actions.

“Come on.” He said, annoyed but practically begging. “We can talk about this.”

After standing there for quite some time, she turned to him, mask on, revealing herself. It was his turn to be stunned, freezing in place. He began to have the same thought process as her, how can someone so nice -the person he loved- be the same person he had resented for the past six months.

Now they knew, they knew each other in their entirety. How did they get there? How come in one persona, they were so deeply in love, so much so that they were ready to show their true forms? How come in the other persona, they constantly tried to bother the other, getting some form of sick joy out of it. Which persona was the real one?

The answer laid somewhere in the middle. At the end of the day, they were both personas. She was the hero that worked her hardest to save everyone in need, but she also was the same person who came home, waiting for her boyfriend to come knocking on her door, excited for what they were going to do for the night.

He was both the asshole coworker that made it his life mission to make her job harder, and the caring boyfriend that tried his hardest to make her feel better after a long day. 

Preconception. That was the answer to why their two relationships had turned out so differently. Before she had even met Gamma Jack, she was told who he was, an egotistical megalomaniac. When meeting him, she had the expectation that he was an asshole, someone she didn’t want to get to know, thinking she already knew exactly what kind of person he was.

When Gamma Jack met her, he was mad. Not mad at her, but mad at the situation. He was being monitored, babysat, over something that wasn’t even his fault. She always acted as though she was correct, refusing to see his point, so he decided not to try and reason, and attack her on other aspects.

Would they be able to look past the things they have said to one another in hero form? Could love prevail in this situation? The only way they could tell was if they tried.

“So.” Jackson spoke up, not knowing what else could be done. “What now?”

There were no words she could use to explain how she was feeling. She had no words for him. The only way she could answer his question was to march up to him, placing her lips onto his, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. She wanted to love him, all of him in his entirety. He accepted the kiss, leaning into her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her in tightly. 

After six months of working together, in hero costume, they have finally agreed on one thing. They wanted each other.