Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Cliff copied Cal's gesture of stroking the couch lovingly. "Do you think your parents would be on board for hosting my second wedding and celebrating my love for this fantastic piece of furniture?" Cal asked with a lazy smile. "Oh totally, you how they love hosting things, organising things and having the island full of people to cook for." Cliff replied. "True, they should totally set up some kind of retreat place on the island whenever Matteo moves out. They'd make a shit tonne of money." "I could see them doing that. And the fact it's both a couch and a polygamous thing wouldn't bother them in the slightest, you know how chill they are when it comes to what and who my siblings and I are attracted to. That's probably because none of us ended up straight..... well expect Charlie as far as we know." "Your parents are awesome." "Understatement, but very much agreed."

When Fia made her 'people have married stranger things on Earth comment' there were various nods of agreement, prompting John to say "I had a mate who literally married themselves." Seeing the looks of interest and sceptical disbelief he continued "And I don't mean they married their doppelganger from from another Earth, their clone or somebody they met who looks like them, has the same name and is the same in every other way. They actually married themselves." "Where on Earth was that?" Jay asked, putting emphasis on the word 'Earth'. "Vegas." John smirked.

"Of course it was." "Glad I wasn't there for that, one trip to Vegas with you John was enough to scar me for life." "But it was a great trip." "We got kicked out for card counting, because you were so shit at it." "Like I said, a good trip." John smirked, to which Chas gave a sigh and made a face that could only be described as 'you are so unsufferable I want to strangle you right now'. "So does anybody you know and consider a friend actually have a normal marriage?" Cal asked, aiming the question at John. "Actually yes, me mate Aish does, and her both her husband an' her two kids like me." Aisha was an old friend of John's, one he was on very good terms with, yet somehow Fia would never have met her.

 

[MzHyde]

When Cal and Cliff kept going on about the marriage of Cal and the couch for a joke, both Kay and Fia smirked as it went onto how Cliff's parents could host it all once again and be completely chill with it. It really wouldn't shock either of them that Cliff's parents would be completely and utterly okay with such a situation, especially after seeing for themselves just how relaxed and opened minded her parents were about pretty much anything. The idea of hosting out the island or part of the island at least as a retreat place, did actually sound like a good one to Fia, agreeing with Cal via a nod that they would indeed make an absolute killing financially.

She so knew no one of her Earth group could possibly disagree with her statement because she knew it was true. She had read and seen online plenty of stories of things that people have married, people marrying themselves, being one of them. So hearing that John knew someone who did that wasn't surprising at all. She even smirked when he said it happened in Vegas, having the same reaction and thought as Chas and Elliott about that snippet of information. She had to stifle a little snigger when Cal asked if he knew anyone with a normal marriage thinking it was a fair question. With the mention Aisha, she rose an eyebrow having not known this friend of his. "you've never mentioned Aisha before" she couldn't help but remark.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay like Fia had to stifle a snigger at the question, usually jay wouldn't have such a childish reaction, but she was in a particularly good mood (partially due to the reaction she got from Rinaa earlier, now totally able to see why her brother got such a kick from doing that to her. Cal's question was a good one and brought a smirk to Elliott's face, he'd asked similar questions like 'are any of your friends who aren't Chas normal?' before. With the amount of crazy things that happened in John's life and the exaggerated spin he put on things, it would be easy to assume that there was nothing normal in the man's life. Elliott had actually heard of Aisha because she'd ended up in Chas' cab one day by pure fluke and decided to pay John a visit.

The fact that Fia hadn't heard of her was both surprising and not surprising to John. Even though Aisha lived and worked in London, it was rare for her and John's path to cross, so he never really had cause to mention her other than in passing. "Yeah well, with her it's a no news is good news kinda thing." John shrugged before giving a proper explanation. "Me and Aish go waaaaay back, almost as far back as me an' Chas. We grew up on the same estate and got up to all kinds of shit together, smoking, drinking, stealing, some breaking and entering, trespassing and of course of magic, with mixed results on the last one. Pretty much anything we were told not to do, we did." "It was hard to know who was the worse influence out of the two at the time. Aish was older and a bit of rebel, but John was John, all magic, arrogance and magnetic pull, even as a kid you couldn't help but get sucked in. And I'm talking as a like a nine year old." Chas added, confirming what John was saying, while giving his own insight on the topic.

"Anyway, Aish straightened herself out, joined the Met, became a cop, a pretty good one at that. A detective.... something rank." John waved a hand, hoping i would somehow jog his memory."Detective sergeant last time we saw her, though she probably got promoted after Gary died." "Fair point" John nodded "Detective Inspector Aisha Bukhari has a certain ring to it. Which is why I never really cross paths with her much. If she calls me or I cross paths with her it usually means an incredibly intelligent demon with human killing urges is on the loose. Usually means a trip to the morgue to see a body that has been gruesomely decimated, or tortured with hellish precision. The kind of demons who treat it like a game, a sick game at that. Last time it was a bunch of rich tossers with angel wings being chucked off roofs." Despite the topic there was a fond edge to John's voice.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay noticed how Jay even stifled a snigger the same time that Fia did and could see how the earlier moment put her in a really good mood which was very much nice to see. Just like Fia, Kay hadn't heard of Aisha either, but for her it wasn't a surprise considering in the great schemes of things she hadn't known John all that long so she wasn't to know all of his friends in that amount of time. Hells, he didn't even know hers, only heard of Sam and in her eyes, that didn't exactly count. Not only that, the closest one shhe could call a friend he only met when a demon possessed him and he had to send him to Hell.

Fia listened intently as John explained who Aisha was, not surprised that yet again his friend from his childhood was linked to getting up to all kinds of no good. She thought it was interesting though how this Aisha managed to clean up her ways and become a detective. "and now it makes sense why she's never been brought up in conversation before" she replied. She could hear the fondness in his voice when speaking of his friend also, smiling in response as she spoke to him back.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both John and Chas had been surprised when they saw just how much Aisha had turned her life around since they were kids. People who grew up in their neighbourhood rarely ever escaped that life, yet Aisha managed to (as did Chas). It took a certain person and sheer determination, hard work and bloody mindedness to do so, things that the woman had in spades. At some point she'd had a realisation about how her life was going to pot and how what she actually wanted was a better life and to make a difference. Aisha got lucky when it came to joining the force, despite the various illegal things she'd done as a teenager she'd never been caught, leaving her with a clean record.

Most of what was being said about Aisha Elliott already knew, but he listened intently anyway, he always enjoyed seeing John talking fondly about somebody from his past (there were so few people he felt like that about). Jay was also listening, but for different reasons. This Aisha sounded pretty chill, and even as a retired assassin, Jay was always collecting contacts, people in the underworld, law keeping and gossip circles, anybody who could give her information for a job. If this woman had helped John, then maybe she could also prove useful for Jay in the future. Jay filed away the name for looking into another time.

Chas nodded in agreement with John, then Fia's words. "Yeah, like John says, no news from Aisha is good news." He then smirked wickedly and added "there's also the fact that John stole Aisha's boyfriend." This Elliott hadn't heard before and he raised an eyebrow. "Really? This I gotta hear." "Same here." Cliff agreed while Cal nodded, indicating her interest. "I didn't steal her boyfriend." John objected, placing particular emphasis on the word 'steal' before giving a smirk and saying "I borrowed him. There's a difference" he continued as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, while Chas rolled his eyes, this was a long running debate, one he suspected might never be resolved. Seeing the looks he was getting from the others he shrugged "what? She got him back, and he was a total douche anyway." He waved a hand dismissively.

Spoiler: Comic reference

 

[MzHyde]

Both Kay and Fia rose an eyebrow when Chas added what he did about John stealing Aisha's boyfriend. What Kay found herself thinking was that she wasn't even surprised in some ways as it seemed so accurate to his character to do such a thing. She thought it was something she never thought she'd ever be thinking about the person she was with, but here she was surprising herself by thinking exactly that. She looked on as everyone seemed to have the same reaction as herself, Fia included, knowing that none of them were going to let him just try and not explain this story.

"borrowed or not... And I can't believe in some ways that I'm saying this, but why did you 'borrow' her boyfriend?" she found herself asking him. She felt like she probably should know the answer if it's John, but she was going to ask anyway. "I'm more shocked that I wanna know this story as well" Fia added, feeling that as his kid it's probably something a normal child wouldn't want to know about their parents, but she wasn't exactly normal and neither were her parents. She was also convinced it wouldn't be remotely near the weirdest story she would have heard about her father, knowing that in her time she had heard many a story.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott couldn't help but smirk at the very slight notes of outrage in John's tone at being called a boyfriend-stealer. Borrowing, it seemed, was fair game in John's book, but he'd never stoop so low as to steal the boyfriend/girlfriend of one of his friends and was insulted that somebody would even think of him as being capable of such a thing. Trust John to be so picky on something like that. Cal and Cliff couldn't help but smirk and chuckle slightly at the explanation, it fit very much with what they knew of John's personality and the kind of person he was as a teenage tearaway (and still was today). The way John told it, so utterly unapologetic about what he had done, even trying to justify it by saying the guy was a douche anyway just added to the whole story.

John merely smirked at Kay and Fia's questions and prompts for him to elaborate. He didn't feel weird or self conscious talking about his past sex life in front of his time travelling daughter, adopted son, Kay, or any of the others in the room (who he considered pretty much family by now). It certainly wasn't anything he was ashamed of and they were all adults (bar Fia, but if she couldn't cope with the answer he was about to give, then she shouldn't have asked. "Why did I do any of the stuff I did when I was a teenager?" He responded rhetorically with a grin that was half cheeky half cocky, before answering his own question. "I was bored, drunk, horny and in need of a good shag. He was good enough lookin' and Aish wasn't around. And it wasn't like we hadn't shared shit before."

"Not to mention that back then John had a habit of forcefully dragging people from the metaphorical closet. And on a couple of memorable occasions, a literal closet" Chas couldn't help but add, to which John nodded and smirked, clearly quite proud of doing that."The bloke in question was practically in bloody Narnia he was so far in the damn thing. If anythin' I did him a favour." John declared before adding. "For the record I've still got it, though it's gettin' rarer to find anybody my roughly my age whose that closeted. Which is a good thing, don't get me wrong. I'm all for equality on that front. As long as they're not fucking animals or dead people, then leave 'em be. Anybody who thinks otherwise is a self entitled wanker who need to get their head out of their arse and their mind out of the Middle Ages"." His tone made it quite clear that he meant every word he was saying, homophobia or any kind of discrimination on the basis of sexuality was something that really riled John up, and had been the starting cause of numerous arguments that had grown into fully fledged bar fights. The angry undertones to his voice made Cliff suspect that there was a personal reason outside of his own sexuality.

 

[MzHyde]

Seeing John smirk at her question, Kay found she had gotten the answer she suspected even before John said anything, yet she still let John explain it anyway. She was surprised though that Fia wanted to know the answer considering not that long ago she shuddered at the story of her parents going at it. She didn't however ever have a problem or feel weird hearing John's stories of his past one night stands because she was too used for years hearing Sam boast about her latest notch on the bedpost. The half cheeky half cocky grin didn't go amiss on her at all, it just made her smirk back at him before rolling her eyes at the answer that he finally gave. She even sniggered slightly at Chas adding to the story for a very slight bit of context.

Both girls let John continue on before finishing the story with an expression of anger toward anyone who thought differently, or more to the point, homophobic. That was one thing both of them could nod in agreement with, homophobia disgusted both Kay and Fia greatly particularly because of their link to Sam, as well as now Cal and Cliff. "agree with you there. There's been several times when at school where I've punched among other assaults to a few people in defense of Sam and the current girlfriend she had at the time." she replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It didn't come as a surprise to anybody that Kay would have witnessed homophobia in some shape or form when her childhood best friend was out, and from what they'd heard, very much proud about it. "Good on you for doing that." Cliff replied, her words extending to John's earlier statement, as well as Kay's words. "Always helps to have somebody fighting in your corner, speaking from experience." "Though we did get lucky, on both Attil and your home world there has been sexual equality for hundreds of years, and it's legal so nobody bats an eye." Cal added, knowing that Jay, Fia, Chas, John (and to an extent Elliott) would have little or no knowledge related to sexual equality and politics across various systems. "It's only when you go off world to other systems that you meet some right arses."

"Sadly they still exist, but most of them have enough brain cells to realise that you don't insult the person who is saving your life and dispensing your medication." She then gave a sigh of annoyance "unfortunately some don't think that way, and as a doctor I really want to take back my medical oath of 'do no harm' and beat them into next year, but that would make me just as bad as them. So taking the moral high ground just has to be enough sometimes." "And in military settings, a good sparring session or competitive trials sorts out most problems." "If they can't respect you personally, then they can respect your skills?" Jay asked with a wry look, that made it clear she was speaking from experience, not just of her time with AJ's crew. "Exactly." Cal agreed, with a nod and a smile.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just never thought any of what she ever did. To her, she was just defending her sister and best friend and thus doing what any accepting family member and friend would do. She listened to what Cal and Cliff said, explaining what the current state of things were for those who weren't straight and thought on the whole it was better than a lot of places. She had to smirk when Cliff said there are times when she wished she wasn't bound by the oath she took but had to give her many kudos for never breaking it and being the better person. Fia had heard the stories of how Kay defended Sam before by Sam herself and as much as she had issues with Kay's over protective parenting style, she did have to respect that there was a fight in Kay who would defend the ones she loved dearly.

"talking of sparring.. Sort of, I remember being told a story of when Kay defended Sam one time and threw a bowling ball at a homophobe right in the nuts" Fia couldn't help but comment as it came to her mind, her saying it before she could stop herself. Sam had told the story but now that it came out, she decided she'd pretend that future Kay told it instead. "one) I'm impressed you were told that story, and two) I didn't throw it...it was more of a case of I used it like a boxing glove and smacked him one." Kay said, lifting her fingers up as she said the numbers, whilst saying it casually like it was a totally normal reaction to have. Sure, she had gotten banned from the bowling alley straight after but in her eyes it was totally worth it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The others had been aware of Attil's stance on sexual politics, it was something Elliott had taken for granted as a child, and as he'd been young, he'd just assumed that a similar policy existed everywhere else. Seeing how different things were on Earth, and in some cases, how awfully non straights were treated had been a horrible shock for him, especially as he'd figured out pretty quickly that he swung both ways. He was both heartened and disheartened by what Cliff told him. To hear there were other places like Attil where there was equality written in the law (and it had been there for so long that nobody batted an eyelid) made him happy, everybody deserved the chance to be with who they wanted without fear of attack. But to hear there were places filled with prejudiced and homophobic assholes saddened him. He'd been on the receiving end of such discrimination and it utterly destroyed a person, and after long enough they began to believe what they were hearing, that they were the problem, that something was wrong with them. John and Chas' thoughts were going along similar lines, while Jay already knew the situation, having seen it with her own eyes.

Cliff taking the moral high ground when it came to homophobes was something that impressed everybody. She could very easily have just walked away, but to continue working and doing job, putting her personal feelings aside and treating the homophobes with the same courtesy and care as a normal person was more than impressive. She deserved a medal for it in John's opinion. Elliott couldn't help but wincing slightly at Jay's words, knowing that all the crew had have treated Jay better, even if the assassin had tried to kill him, and threatened the others many times, they should have taken the moral high ground like Cliff did. He made a promise to himself to change things when they saw the crew again.

The story about Kay and the bowling ball went down well with everybody, various smirks, nods of approval and remarks of 'good on ya' and 'that's how you show 'em'. Nobody thought it was on overreaction and nobody disapproved of what she'd done. Even when Kay clarified the details, it didn't make it any less impressive an act, in fact it made it better. "Wish I coulda seen that." John told her, with a very slightly wistful edge to his tone, the mental image of Kay wielding a bowling ball as a weapon against a homophobe was strangely appealing to him. "You're not the only one there, though I'd probably join in if I'm being honest." Jay added with a smirk that Elliott knew meant she was thinking of what other ways she could use a bowling ball as a weapon. "John would too, the amount of barfights he's started is ridiculous. There's a reason I stay outside the pub with the engine running when he's in one." Chas replied, he was annoyed that started fights so easily, but his tone betrayed a sort of fondness at John being so consistently John. John wouldn't be John if he didn't do stuff like that. "Well you did hit a couple of homophobes with the taxi that one time."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just smirked when John said about wishing he could have seen what she did, she noted his tone and how wistful it was, as well as how she could tell he found that he strangely appealing imagining her in such a situation. She even smirked still when Jay said she wished she could have as well. She let them all say their piece before she decided to clarify on a bit, "I should note I also slightly drunk, so the fact my aim of his nuts actually worked was a bit of luck. But yeah, this guy said some disgusting things to Sam and her girlfriend as well as including the whole 'I can turn you straight if I take you in the back alley.' bull to Sam. He went to grab her and that's when I lost it. I already had the bowling ball in my hand at the time so I figured why not use his nuts as the pins and swung for him. The ass hole was so focused on trying assault Sam he didn't see me coming. Next thing he knew he was on the floor crying and blood seeping through his jeans. Got banned from the alley but I went proudly, saying that if they were happy with homophobes threatening to rape people to make them straight, then I wouldn't want to use their services anyway"she explained, putting emphasis on the word disgusting to really make her point that they were not repeatable.

Fia as like the first time she heard the story from Sam, listened happily, always liking hearing how her mother became an utter badass out of nowhere. She also thought it was a good lesson to never truly piss her off as she was convinced Fee may have given Kay that extra burst of strength to completely smash the guy's parts. "and knocking homophobes over with a car is justified too" Fia added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The venom in Kay's voice made it quite clear to the others exactly how bad these comments were and Cal and Cliff once again counted themselves extremely lucky that they'd been born and lived amongst people who were so accepting their entire lives. Cal and visibly shuddered at the notion of being able to turn somebody straight by raping them. It was monstrous thought. Cliff had very little experience dealing with rape victims, she was trained, for that kind of work, but one of her colleagues was, and the stories she told about how the lives of these women (and sometimes men) were ruined were equal parts heartbreaking and horrific. Jay on the other hand had a murderous look in her eyes at the thought. At that moment in time, hearing that story she had nothing but respect for Kay, the guy deserved what he got (and worse). From Kay's description it sounded like the damage was permanent, a lifetime reminder that what he'd said and attempted to do was wrong.

"That asshole got what he bloody well deserved. And if the damage was permanent, even better, he'll never forget how wrong he was." John declared, wondering why he felt so proud of Kay for doing what she'd done when it had happened years before he was even around in her life. Cliff nodded in agreement with Kay's statement about how she wouldn't want to use the bowling alley anymore. "You were damn right to say that and walk out. If anything, the bowling alley should have banned him as well. If this had been on Attil or back home, I would have brought him and the alley to court and sued them for everything they had." The look on her face and the passion in her words made it quite clear that she would have done just that. "Well worth being banned for to stand up for somebody like that and make them think twice before they do such a thing again. Raping somebody to 'convert them', it's not just wrong, it's horrific." Elliott's airquotes around the word 'convert them' were hard and angry.

"Didn't know they were homophobes at the time, all I knew was that there was a mob of them chasing John who'd just been thrown out a pub window." Chas explained, he wasn't the kind of person deliberately knocked people down for no good reason. Being hit by a car hurt (he knew from experience). He hadn't drove fast enough to kill them, just enough to knock them down and maybe crack a few bones, which would provide John with enough time to dive in the cab so they could drive away. "Turns out they'd been giving a gay couple shit in the bar, John got involved and things escalated dramatically from there. But yes, they deserved it, and I don't say that kind of thing lightly."

"They deserved it." Jay agreed, her tone hard, her eyes gun metal grey. "In both cases." She added, just in case the others didn't know she meant both cases. "It's bad enough to give people shit for the way they swing. You can't help that, or change it, it's just who you are. But to attempt rape as a conversion strategy? That's just barbaric." She pushed her hair from her face before continuing. "The damage done by rape is the kind of damage lasts for life. It's horrific to do such a thing under any circumstances, but as a 'conversion therapy'? I can't think of a more heinous crime, and I've seen and done some pretty awful stuff in my life." The coldness in her eyes and voice as she spoke was the coldness of an assassin. There was an anger in her tone that Elliott had never seen or heard before, the anger that came from personal experience.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay could hear the pride for her in John's voice, which made her smile. It may have happened years ago, but it still brought someone she cared for deeply to be proud of her and that meant a great deal to her. She listened to everyone reply their reactions to what she said, knowing that it was one story no one could say she overreacted or went too far as she knew if the likes of any of them were there, they wouldnt have stopped at what she done and near damn well murdered the guy. She nodded at everything Cliff and Elliott said, agreeing that what the guy said and threatened to do was beyond horrific.

She then listened as did Fia at Chas' explanation about how he didn't know they were homophobes at the time. In both their minds the realisation of what the people were would have put a sense of relief almost onto the situation and not feel so bad about hitting them. It also felt so typical of John to get into such a fight and throw himself into Chas' cab. "agreed. It's beyond barbaric if you ask me. It's why I saw red and just went for him. And I'd do it again gladly if I was put in that situation again. Jay you're right about that, rape leaves a dark mark on someone which you never truly get over. Hopefully it was permanent what I did" she replied to Jay, her own tone dark, remberance of what her biological father said to John that one day haunting her.

"well even if it proved not permanent, I think it was pretty badass of you to do. Either way I doubt that jerk has ever forgotten that a redhead called him out in an epic manner" Fia spoke up finally, picking on her mother's tone but deciding to not say anything on it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was a very typical John thing to do. Whenever there was any sign of trouble kicking off in a pub John would be there. If he wasn't the one causing it, he'd be the one who escalated it. Like Kay, he'd seen red at the insults (which were getting worse and cruder as the seconds passed). So he stepped in, putting himself between the couple at the homophobes declaring to the whole bar that he was bisexual, and proud of it, so everything the group had been saying to the couple applied to him too. That statement was followed by a barrage of insults at the homophobes insulting everything from the way they were dressed, to the fact that they were clearly only acting like this because they couldn't pull a straight person, and were compensating for their tiny penises by acting like ginormous douches. The homophobes weren't pleased in the slightest, a punch was thrown which John dodged, before giving back one of his own, flooring a gang member. From there it had escalated until he was thrown through the window.

John was also thinking about what Kay's possesed father had said. He didn't believe a word of it at the time and Kay's reaction had told him that it was a load of bullshit designed to rile him up. (Which it did, but enough that he'd lose his head, it was the kind of anger that made him get smart). That was also the first time they'd met Rinaa, and to this day they didn't know if she'd left the fragment in Kay on purpose as some kind of payback or if it had been a genuine accident. With Rinaa it was hard to tell anything for certain.

"If it was bleeding that much, then I'd say it was. A bowling ball is a blunt instrument after all, it would usually bruise. In order to get somebody to bleed like he did, you'd actually have to crush them." She gestured with her hands, making a splat gesture to indicate what she suspected happened to the guys nuts. "I've seen similar injuries in crashed pilots, so this is a pretty educated guess." Jay once again nodded in agreement with what Kay said about a dark mark being left. "Oh I know." She replied, her eyes still lifeless, her tone still hard.

 

[MzHyde]

That whole day still haunted Kay if she was truly honest with herself, yet like most things and like John, she swallowed it down and pretended it never happened. Her main reminder being the necklace around her neck as that was the reason for even visiting the old family home in the first place. She acted like it was bullshit at the time because she was so focused on wanting out of that situation, just wanting to see what it was her mother wanted her to have. Yet deep down in the deepest parts of her memories she knew there was an element of truth to what her father said, they were just so locked away she didn't want to believe it really happened. The only difference was that it wasn't her father that was the culprit....it was her so called doctor.

She looked up as Cliff explained her educated guess to saying what she did was permanent, nodding proudly, yet the whole topic brought out a tick in her she hadn't done in a long time, not since her panic attack at the underground fight between Jay and Elliott...she found herself pressing and rotating her thumb into the palm of her hand as firmly as she could, her skin in her palm around her thumb, as well as the pad of her thumb turning white in the process. She just nodded once more at Jay's tone and instantly in that moment, she felt her and Jay had something in common-albeit a horrific one. "how about a change of subject? It's getting too heavy for this time of night" Fia spoke up, noting Kay's tick.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay's tone and demeanour surprised them all, none of them had seen Jay when she was in full on assassin mode, the first time she'd met Elliott and co she had a serious concussion and grudge against the world. But seeing her right now gave them a glimpse into what that Jay was like, cold and calculating, with eyes like a shark- a dull almost dead looking grey in colour, with the unmistakable gaze of a predator in them. It was a chilling sight. All heads turned towards her at the last remark, nobody quite sure what Jay was saying. Was she speaking from personal experience because somebody she knew had been raped, or because it was Jay herself who'd been raped. Elliott couldn't see anybody getting the jump on Jay, but there was so much he still didn't know about her. One assassin could take another after all. With all eyes on Jay, even Cliff missed the tic Kay was displaying. had she noticed it, she would have realised that there was something more going on, but her attention was firmly on the blue haired woman.

Being a doctor, Cliff just couldn't let what Jay said slide by without addressing it in some form. Even if the assassin refused to say anything further on the matter, Cliff had to ask, even the tiniest clarification would be enough. It was times like this that she'd slip into sign language. "You don't need to answer, it's probably none of business, but are you speaking from your own personal experience or...?" She left the question hanging, half expecting not to get a reply, pleasantly surprised and slightly apprehensive when she did. This was the kind of subject where one had to tread carefully after all. "Sadly yes. Both mine and somebody else's." Jay's sign had been rusty, but after spending close to a week with Cliff's family, it had all come back to her, her hands signing almost as fluidly as Cliff and Cal's. "What happened?" A blunt question, but Cliff couldn't think of anything else to say. Jay paused, considering whether to answer or not, before deciding that yes, she did indeed trust Cliff (and the others who were fluent enough in sign to understand what she said). "Out with a friend one night, somebody slipped some Hyxocortimol and tranquilliser combo into the drinks. Didn't realise there was something wrong until it was too late, the drug is tasteless and odourless after all. There was a group of them waiting in a back alley behind the club. I got lucky, having a higher drug tolerance than most. That and they went for my friend first. By the time I came around it was too late for her, but I beat the shit out of them. Four ended up in hospital in ICU, two in the morgue and my friend in a medically induced coma. She died." Cliff just listened, hoping that she was hiding just how horrified she felt at the story. She knew the drug in question- a date rape drug similar to Rohypnol, but worse.

At Fia's statement they both nodded, a change of topic was definitely a good idea. It was late and by the looks of it it would be an all-nighter for most of them. "Actually yeah, do you guys" she gestured between Cal and Cliff "have any bio-port cables lying around? I was thinking it'd make trawling through all the forums and data a hell of a lot easier." "You have a bio-port?" was asked by Elliott, eyebrow raised in surprise, while at the same time Chas asked "what's a bio-port when it's at home?" "Yes I do." Jay replied, pushing up the left sleeve of her hoodie to the elbow, exposing her forearm "and this..... is a bio-port" as she spoke she dug her nails into a patch of her skin about a third of the way from her wrist. It wasn't flesh, there was no blood, instead it was some kind of plastic-rubber hybrid. She pulled it up, then pushed it to one side to reveal a metallic port, similar to a USB charging port, but with a different shape.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was actually glad that for the most part everyone didn't even notice her tic. It was one reason why for many years it was her tic, it was subtle and not many people ever noticed it. Fia only noticed because it used to be one of her own tics, one she had picked up from Kay herself, except for Fia, she dug her nails into her palm more than the pad of her thumb. The conversation of rape was getting too close to home for Kay and clearly it was for Jay also. However she did notice that Cliff was obviously asking Jay about her experience, even if it was through sign language.

When Fia asked about changing the subject, Kay was actually glad for the suggestion. With the subject now well and truly changed, both girls rose an eyebrow at the mention of a bio-port, wondering what it was, so when Chas asked, they didn't feel so dumb for not knowing the answer. They both watched on as Jay then proceeded to lift up her sleeve and shoe them exactly what it was, Fia finding it fascinating to see. "that's so cool!" she chimed in a typical teenage manner. "it's certainly something" Kay agreed, slowly letting her tic relax and go away, the numbness in her palm dissipating and letting feeling return to it once more. If she was anywhere else she would have done what Fia did at Cliff's family home and just left the room to regain herself but in this instance, she didn't and stayed put.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The others all craned their heads to watch as Jay revealed the port. Elliott's surprise, Jay had never told him about the bio-ports, and as the technology didn't exist yet on Earth, she had no cause to use it. Jay just shrugged nonchalantly "it's pretty standard in the circles I work in. The normal number is two, one on each arm. It's just more practical to be able to plug from either side, and if one gets damaged or lost, you still have one that works." As she spokes she pulled up her other sleeve, and showing the other port. Two centimetres below the current bio-port was a a roughly circular patch of scar tissue, Jay didn't have to explain how she'd gotten it, it was the same shape as the bio-port, and in the exact same position as the one on her other arm. Evidently somebody had ripped out the old one.

"That's pretty impressive, can you use it to charge a phone? Or is it just data?" John asked, curiosity visible in his eyes. "This type, no, it's purely data. But more hard core techies get all kinds of implants, including charging ports." She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the photos, her eyes narrowing as she searched for what she was looking for. Photo found, she passed it to Elliott he passed it over to John. The image was of a side on view of a person, their t-shirt sleeve rolled all the way up to their shoulders, revealing a whole line of different shaped and styled ports stretching from the bottom of their forearm to just below the shoulder joint. The background was blurry, but it looked like some kind of spacecraft hanger. "He's one of the best hackers I've ever met, NOT somebody you want to get on the wrong side of." She explained.

While the others passed around the phone, Cal answered Jay's original question. "Neither of us have bio-ports, so we don't have any cables here." Jay nodded, suspecting that was the answer and was about to say she could source her own, but Cal wasn't finished yet. "Buuuut Deke definitely does, and he'd be more than willing to lend them, if you can put up with him teching out for at least half an hour."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened as Jay said it was pretty standard in the circles Jay was in, but to Fia it was still impressive, mostly because of the fact Earth doesn't have anything of the sort around. She listened to what Jay said more, nodding as she heard the explanation before Jay showed there was I deed another one in her other arm, and right above it a scar. She managed to summarise it was from an old bio-port as it looked the exact same shape as the one below. Hearing John ask such a question like does it charge a phone, made her smirk thinking it was such a typical John question to ask before realising it was something she would have asked if she had thought of it.

As Jay found the photo on her phone and passed it round both Kay and Fia took a look at it to see what she was showing, Fia's eyes widening ever so slightly and discreetly at the sheer amount of bio-ports in the guy. She also wasn't surprised that Cal said Deke would have what Jay needed, as from the little she saw of him he definitely seemed the type to own pretty much anything and everything tech related. She then handed Jay back the phone as she was the next closest after Elliott.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Borrowing from Deke sounded like a good idea to jay, she hadn't spent too much time with the green skin techie, but it had been enough to see that not only was he incredibly skilled with mechanics and the associated coding aspects, he had skills in other areas like document and identity forgery that suggested an illegal aspect to his past. He was loyal to his friends and the plas-ball team he ran, he was passionate and he hadn't even batted an eyelid at Rinaa being a time traveller. The two had hit off easily, falling into an easy routine of banter and nerding out as if they'd known each other all their lives. Despite everything, she trusted Rinaa's judgement on people. If she said Deke was one of the good ones, then Jay wasn't going to question it. "I don't mind at all, don't underestimate the nerds when they're the one kitting you out, informing you and guiding you over the comms that what I say. And I've been meaning to talk to him anyway. For everything he's done for Rinaa and to ask a favour that's not exactly illegal." "Deke's solid, he'll do what he can to help. And he really does like having Rinaa around the labs and on campus, they really did hit it off."

John had never seen anything quite like the array of ports on the guy's arms. He could only guess that there was some sort of status connected to the number and variety of bio-ports a hacker had, the more ports, the better and more elite that hacker he suspected. "Reminds me of the inside of Bruce's techno suit, y'know the big bulky one that he totally based off the Hulkbuster." He couldn't resist slipping in that reference, it had been the first thing he'd said when he saw Bruce's latest suit, a snarky, acidic comment, his voice dripping with his trademark annoyance and disapproval. Elliott couldn't help smirking at the reference, John had a very valid point. "Yeah, I know the one, you bitched about it for like a week. Solid." "It wasn't a week." John rolled his eyes before adding. "And I know for a fact that he has a phone charging device in those clunky boots of his, charges as he walks and fights apparently. One of the few sensible things he added, not that I'd ever tell him such a thing."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia got the reference of the hulkbuster but not why he used it for Bruce Wayne, until after a few seconds and it fell into place. The reason why John kept changing his wording before to not let slip the League's identities. Fia got there about 0.4seconds before Kay did but neither said anything openly to let on that they figured it out. They just did a side glance at each other and that said it all to the two of them. Bruce Wayne was Batman. Now it made so much more sense as why John refused to let the League know about them, even in Fia's timeline, why John refused to let Bruce see Kay in his apartment and go out of his way to hide her away with Elliott at the time, instead of making up some bullshit excuse that she was just another notch on his bedpost at the time.

Kay understood suddenly why it was so crucial for the League not to find her, even as themselves and not their superhero vigilante alter egos. Why worries due to experience of them wanting to experiment on her and Fia. She kept the thoughts to herself and wouldn't ever discuss it with John, not unless something truly major came up that warranted it. Instead both Kay and Fia played ignorant and casual, choosing to smirk and roll their eyes at the phone charging device in a boot. "surely in a boot is a stupid place though? Or is it just me that can see flaws in having such a thing in a boot?" Fia asked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John hadn't meant to out Bruce as Batman, but he was so used to referring to the caped crusader by his birth name when the Gotham billionaire wasn't around to hear it. This was hardly the first time he'd mentioned Bruce Wayne in the same context as Batman before, and it didn't even occur to him that Fia and Kay didn't know the Bat's identity. When talking to Bruce suited up, he tended to go for something like 'Bats' or 'Batsy', knowing just how much it would piss the other man off. Bruce was powerful, he had connections and he wasn't beyond using emotional blackmail to get John to dance to his tune every once in a while. He'd had dirt on John in the past, and other League members had tried to use his sister and niece against him, only for John to call them out on being worse than the people they were supposed to be fighting, and using them wouldn't work, as he had been estranged from his sister ever since she moved out as a teenager. (That wasn't true, they were very close, but it was the cover story they'd agreed on).

If Bruce knew about the existence Fia and Kay, John couldn't say whether the other man could keep it a secret. That uncertainty was enough to make it something he would keep a secret and take to the grave. And once a secret like that had been revealed, it was impossible to keep it hidden again and would most certainly be used against him. That was why he'd gone to such lengths to hide Elliott's existence from The League and why the same applied to future Kay and Fia. If people like Bruce Wayne, or worse, his enemies got wind of anybody they could use against him, it wouldn't be long before somebody would do just that. And that was a risk John was unwilling to take (regardless of the timeline).

"It's more sensible than it sounds." Jay replied to Fia's pondering. "There's few places you can put such a thing without it being a hindrance, putting it on the arms or torso means a high risk of it getting damaged in a fight situation, and having a phone on your back is just stupid, not to mention at serious risk of breaking when you fall and ended up with shards of phone embedded in your back. Most people keep some kind of weapons on their thighs, along with waist holsters and in some people wear utility belts, attach burglary tools to their waist or whatever else you might need. In a way it's not too different from having a gun or a knife holster built into your boot. Not to mention that having it on your leg mans you can use the energy created as you walk to charge the phone." After giving her little speech Jay then smirked "But if we're gonna talk about the League's shoes, then I think Wonder Woman wins hands down for style wise for those plate armour platforms. I don't wear heels much, but I would totally wear those."

Spoiler: The Wonder Woman boots Jay is talking about

 

[MzHyde]

Fia had always had her suspicions that Batman was Bruce Wayne, she wasn't a stupid girl in the slightest and like with most things, was way to inquisitive for her own good half of the time, so she knew at some point she would find out the identities of the League. She was her father's daughter after all, it was only a matter of time, she just didn't expect itd be in this very moment that she'd figure it out. Kay knew he had used Bruce in the context of Batman before, but for some reason I'm her head it just went in one ear and out the other, whilst the other side of her mind always noted hoe he would quickly catch himself mid sentence and change names before he did out any of the League.

Fia listened to what Jay said in response to her comment and now she truly thought about it, it didn't seem as stupid as she initially thought. She had been known to shove a tiny blade in her boot before for certain hunts in her timeline so now she heard it put into that sort of context, it made sense. "I guess so, never thought about it like that" she admitted, showing she willing to admit when she didn't think of something, was wrong for any reason or similar. With the topic coming up about shoes owned by the League she had to chuckle and nod, agreeing with Jay on that sentiment. "agree with you there. They are actually pretty amazing boots." she replied with a smile, her tone showing she was a typical girl when it came to footwear. She also wasn't against fighting in heels, something she had proven in that dream she went back and showed John, Kay, Chas and Elliott. For someone who had her really clumsy moments she was surprisingly nimble in heels when fighting.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay's arguments were sound and solid. Pretty much everybody in the group had kept a knife in their boots at some point or another. They all had tended to often wear knee high biker boots or combat boots (with the exception of Chas), but Jay was the only one to keep a gun in her boot. Her gun of choice on Earth was a black, sleek handgun, with all identifying numbers filed off, while off world it was a slightly more bulky pistol that could either fire regular rounds or rounds laced with toxins. Against the bulkiness of her boot, the holster was barely visible, just looking like another decorative leather piece on her boot.

There was something so strange about seeing the assassin and the phoenix mage child talking about shoes. It was such a stereotypical 'gossipy, ditzy girl' thing to do, yet neither of them could possibly be labelled in that way. Jay could and would fight in heels, looking both elegant and terrifying in the process, they made a good weapon on and off her feet. It was for that reason that she had a pair or two where the plastic of the heel disguised a wickedly sharp metal blade. She just chose not to wear heels as regular boots were more comfortable and she didn't need a height boost. John had to admit they had a point, from an aesthetic point of view the knee high boots were impressive, but with the red and colour colour scheme gave him serious iron man suits vibes (a point which he had told Diana to her face). "Good shoes or not, she's still a total bitch to me most of the time." John replied. He and Wonder Woman always managed to rub each other up the wrong way, she was technically the leader of the Justice League Dark, but John ignored that fact, preferring to go rogue and do his own thing, much to Diana's annoyance.

It was then that both Elliott and Jay's phones text alerts went off simultaneously, indicating that a text had come in. Jay pulled out her phone, read the message and smirked, before opening the attached image. "Looks like she's a girl of her word." Jay remarked with a smile.