Chapter Text
Jabber wasn’t expecting to be babysitting today, but that was just his luck since joining the Cleaners. Sometimes he thought he wasn’t cut out for all this righteous shit, but if he wanted to keep his job, apparently that now included keeping watch over and training the scruffy little Sphereite that fell from the sky not long ago. He wasn’t sure why they picked him, of all people, but he was pretty positive he wasn’t the best choice for a teacher—so he deduced that they were probably just trying to keep him occupied with something other than seeking out violence.
So, when he actually met the kid, and got chased through an alleyway with a used plunger, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Sphereite was his kind of crazy. Maybe not exactly his kind of crazy, but he seemed powerful and full of potential, especially with an ability as versatile as his. Of course, Rudo didn’t manage to get anything on him since one tiny poke from Mankira had him subdued in less than a second, but that hardly counted. Jabber figured pretty easily that this kid had more unchecked issues than half the people on the ground, let alone on the Sphere. He had a feeling he’d feel more at home on the ground than he ever did up top, at least as long as he stopped trying to bring shit to a knife fight.
It’s safe to say that Enjin’s expression when he pulled up in the car to find Jabber with Rudo slung over his shoulder like a rag doll was priceless. Enjin rolled down the window, glaring at Jabber with a screwed up face— he couldn’t tell if it was caused by the stench of shit, trash and sweat that was probably wafting off of them or because of Rudo’s unconsciousness. Jabber just grinned proudly.
“...Thought I told you not to use your instrument on him?” Jabber’s elder huffed, brow arched in accusation at him and the white-haired boy draped against his back. That certainly answered his question.
“Pipe down, old man, it was one of my weaker ones. An’ he came at me first! Flingin’ turds ‘n shit…” Jabber mumbled with a pout, opening the door to the backseat and lazily propping the Sphereite up against the opposite door before getting in himself, kicking his feet up on the center console.
“The air down here was probably enough of a shock to his system,” Enjin complained, trying to nudge the boy’s feet off the console so he could rest his arm comfortably, “who knows how your toxins will hold up?”
“Hey, it’s not my problem if he’s a coddled lil’ Sphereite!”
“It will be if ya kill him!”
Jabber mocked Enjin under his breath and begrudgingly moved his feet off the center console. He shifted until he was upside-down in his seat, with his feet dangling over the back cushions and his hair pooling on the floor. He loved the way it made him dizzy, making all the blood rush to his head. Jabber knew Enjin was right, Rudo would be a valuable asset to the Cleaners—and even if he wasn’t an asset, then at least he was still valuable—but that didn’t mean Jabber was going to try to be all buddy-buddy with some kid that fell from the place that’d been tormenting the ground since long before any of them were born.
“Y’know you should probably quit sitting like that… Unless you wanna lose your head with Enjin’s driving.” Riyo snickered from where she popped up from behind the back seats. Enjin seemed shocked that she was there, brows raised at her through the mirror.
“You nap in the trunk and you’re coming at me? I’m just being attacked today.” Jabber groaned exasperatedly and righted himself with some difficulty due to the moving vehicle, which seemed to want him on the ground.
“Thought you were into that-” Riyo teased, leaning forward over the seat, reaching out for the unconscious boy’s hair, “hey, this guy’s hair is mad soft, I’m jealous…”
“Quit tormenting the unconscious kid, would’ya?” Enjin grumbled half-heartedly from the front seat.
“I’m just playing with his hair! I wonder what kinda hair products they have on the Sphere to get it this nice… it’s gotta be virgin, too—there’s no damage at all…”
“Well, I’m not sure he’ll be as chill with you playing with it when he wakes up as he is now. Seriously, he chased me around with a plunger just ‘cause I pulled up!” Jabber mumbled, arms crossed against his chest, still pouting.
Riyo rolled her eyes, “Something tells me there’s more to the story than that, knowing you.”
For the rest of the way to headquarters, the car ride was filled with bickering and singing along to whatever was on the radio—typically Too Lily, since Enjin and Riyo were both completely obsessed, not that Jabber was complaining much either—interrupted every once in a while by Rudo shifting and everyone watching with bated breath to see if he would regain consciousness. He never did, and considering how horrendous Enjin’s driving was, Enjin and Riyo began to doubt that he ever would.
“So,” Enjin spoke up with a sigh, “are you positive you used one of your weaker ones…?” Jabber groaned loudly at the man’s doubtful tone.
“Ugh, yes! I don’t even have any of the good shit on me right now!” Jabber pouted, slumping back in his seat. Enjin wouldn’t let him use anything worse than paralytics and sedatives anyways and he knew that, so he wasn’t sure why he insisted on interrogating him about it constantly—he only went against the boss’ wishes one time, and the punishment wasn’t even any fun so it wasn’t worth the trouble or the risk of losing his job.
“How much longer until he wakes up? We’ll be back at HQ in-” Enjin clicked his tongue, checking the time on the dashboard, “five minutes-ish.”
Jabber bit his lip and winced, throwing his head back to mask the expression. Really, Rudo should have woken up by now, but he’d been interrogated enough on his toxin use for the day and didn’t want to mention that since it’d only make his team doubt him more. Riyo raised an eyebrow in a way that was almost knowing from behind him, but didn’t mention anything to Enjin.
“Should be any minute now…” He mumbled as if he was lost in thought.
Suddenly—almost on cue—the Sphereite woke up and shot up in his seat and shouted, cornering himself against the seats and the door to get himself as far away from Jabber as possible. For someone so insistent that Jabber wanted him dead, he sure was helping him out right now by proving him right. Rudo looked like he was gonna vomit, either out of panic, as an after effect of the toxins, or from the way Enjin’s driving jostled them around.
“Keep your paws off of me you freaky, clawed, shithead-!”
“Oh man, here we go with the lame ass insults again.” Jabber rolled his eyes and crawled into the front seat next to Enjin to avoid Rudo resorting to throwing shit at him again, not that there was much room or resources to do so in the cramped vehicle. Enjin groaned out loud, trying to look back and gauge the situation and keep his eyes on the road at the same time.
“Jabs, what the hell did’ya do to the kid-? Hey, if you’re gonna hurl, don’t do it inside.” Enjin huffed in frustration, making Riyo snicker in the back from where she’d taken Jabber’s place and slipped properly into the seats instead of lounging in the trunk—Rudo only seemed to panic more.
“I told you already, bruh!” Jabber pouted, crossing his arms like a child throwing a tantrum. Sure, he knew Enjin’s suspicion was founded in reality, but he really didn’t see how it was his fault that the Sphereite brat was so unaccustomed to life on the ground that he threw a fit over the littlest, most mundane things.
“He’s with the Cleaners? He tried to kill me with his- his claws!” Rudo shouted, gripping onto Enjin’s seat in front of him and pointing an accusatory finger at the older teen.
“Are all Sphereites this dramatic?”
“Jabber.” Enjin spoke sternly, shooting the boy in question a look.
“I’m being for real! I was just showing off Mankira! The brat’s lived on the sphere his whole life, it’s only fair I show him a real treasure.” Jabber defended, earning him a more intense glare from the older man. Riyo leaned over and rested her head on the back of Jabber’s seat, regarding him with an amused smile.
“You didn’t go all-out, did you?” She asked.
“Of course not. If I went all out, he probably would have passed out from the shock—And then I wouldn’t have had to use my toxins, or run from a crazed Sphereite with a shitty plunger! Where’s the fun in that?” He was getting increasingly irritated with the repetitive questions, it felt less like actual curiosity and more like an interrogation because they didn’t trust him despite him proving his reliability over and over. Why did they need an in depth explanation of what happened? He got the job done, didn’t he?
“Wait- there was shit on that…?” Rudo perked up, looking mortified, but at least distracted from accusing Jabber of trying to kill him. Enjin had to pull over to avoid crashing in the midst of his laughing fit.
Once Enjin calmed down enough to keep driving, the rest of the car ride was filled with getting Rudo to relax enough to explain what he’d need to do once they got to Headquarters. Jabber finally got some peace with the focus off of him, and got a chance to kick his feet up on the dashboard and admire Mankira—wiping the crevices in each one of the ten rings of any dirt and grime that may have gathered in those dingy alleyways. He cared more for Mankira than he cared for himself or his well-being, always cleaning and polishing her but frequently forgetting his own needs.
It wasn’t long before they made it back to Headquarters, despite how agonizingly long it felt to the restless teen. He hopped out of the car a hot minute before it even stopped moving, with Riyo in tow as the two of them walked ahead of Enjin and Rudo to leave them to their official business.
“Soo,” Riyo started, keeping pace with Jabber on their way to the cafeteria, “what’s his deal?”
“As in his Jinki? Or the obvious anger management problems?” Jabber scoffed out a laugh, snatching two small bags of chips from a rack: spicy for him, salty for Riyo. He tossed the girl hers for her to eagerly open and dig in to as they made their way back out of the cafeteria, continuing their conversation on their way back to their rooms.
“Both, but you don’t seem too excited. I thought you’d be glad for him coming around to spice things up.”
“He’s got potential and all but he’s not doin’ much ‘spicing’. Sure, now we got a new, powerful recruit- But I have to do all the training! Why should I be glad about that? It doesn’t benefit me or nothin’, and you know damn well Enjin’s gonna make me go easy on him.” The boy huffed, tugging his own chip bag open and tossing one into the air to catch in his mouth, only for it to bounce off of his nose. “His Jinki is interesting enough as is but I feel like there’s gotta be more to it, y’know? His ability feels too powerful just to be somethin’ some bratty kid from the sphere got just ‘cause.”
“Hm. That’s true and all, but that’s not what I meant.” Riyo tossed away her already finished chip bag. She really scarfed down food like no one else.
Jabber turned his head in interest and raised a brow at Riyo, as if urging her to continue so he could occupy himself with stuffing his own face while she elaborated.
“He’s a living, breathing, giver from the Sphere. Think of all the people that are gonna be on the hunt for him as soon as word gets out about him…” Her tone portrayed that she knew exactly what would pique Jabber’s interest, turning to give him a sly smirk when they stopped at her bedroom door. Jabber had to bite down on his lip to suppress a giddy grin at the thought.
“Ouh, don’t get my hopes up like that, Riyo… It’s been so long since I’ve had a good fight…”
“Yeah, yeah,” Riyo teased and rolled her eyes, “get outta here, ya freak-show. I need a nap.” They said their goodbyes for the night and parted ways, Jabber walking off to his own room with a pep in his step and newfound giddiness.
Jabber shut himself in his room and found himself in a fit of excited, hopeful giggles—he really hoped Riyo was right. It really had been too long since he’d had a real fight with anything other than a trash beast. He could take out as many trash beasts as he wanted and pretend it gave him the same rush, he could spar with any Cleaner or supporter and act like it compared, but at the end of the day nothing would come close to the thrill of seeing violent intent reflected in someone’s eyes, like they truly wanted him dead. He could provoke his peers as much as he wanted in hopes that he’d get a similar reaction, but even if they could get away with beating the shit out of another Cleaner, they were all used to Jabber’s antics by now.
It felt like forever since the Cleaners had gotten the chance to deal with anything more than trash beasts, with any form of human threat being handled by the Hell Guard as soon as they came up—Jabber had half the mind to clean up his act and join them instead just for his sanity. He hoped more than anything that Rudo would draw as much attention to the Cleaners as possible, and he’d take them all on himself if he had to just to get his fix.
Changing out of his uniform and into more comfortable clothes, Jabber spent the rest of the day fantasizing about all the nasty people he hoped Rudo would bring into his life.