Issue #8

(Double Release!)

Jack and Christian spent a large part of the day together. But when he noticed that the man was starting to get tired, Jack quickly excused himself and left the ward so the blonde could rest.

When he walked out the front door of the hospital, Jack received a text from Steve.

[Squad leader meeting soon. Can you be here in the next 10 minutes?]

Jack quickly typed his reply

[I can be there in one. Want me to bring snacks?]

Steve did not reply immediately. Unknown to Jack, this message made Steve feel even guiltier about entertaining Tony.

[No. This is a serious meeting and I'm pretty sure no one will be in the mood to eat.]

Jack furrowed his brow at this response. He had to provide backup to Hawkeye's squad before. The man was peeling the wrappers off kisses as over 50 mercenaries were closing in on the cover he was hiding behind. The man could eat whenever.

[Got it. I'll still grab something small, though. If we don't bring anything, Clint will probably start chewing on his gum again during a meeting.]

[I'm not sure he will have the appetite but thanks. Just make sure you're not late.]

Unease appeared in Jack's eyes. Although nothing in the messages was wrong by themselves, when he put them all together, Jack knew something was wrong.

Jack texted Emma what was going on and she established a connection with him.

{How bad are your guts telling you it is?} Emma asked

{Scale of 1-10? An 8.}

Emma let out a sigh of relief over the connection between the two.

{Oh that's fine then. You almost had me worried. Don't tell me about anything like that unless it's a ten. I need to continue failing all the students who took this test.}

Emma cut off the connection and left Jack baffled.

"So that is what Christian meant by 'she would treat you the exact same way as I am telling you to treat her' when I asked if the shoe was on the other foot. This woman has faith in me so I need to have faith in her too," Jack was no longer focused on the mission but was reassured about Emma handling her sisters

Jack flew to a nearby bakery before buying a baker's dozen of cupcakes before flying back to Avengers Tower.

Jack flew through the walls and appeared just outside the meeting room before he looked down at his phone to check the time.

'Perfect. I have 2 minutes to spare.'

Jack walked into the room and instantly felt the heavy atmosphere. He also felt 6 pairs of eyes sweep over his body when he walked in, causing him to pause.

'So this meeting is about me. Awesome,' Jack thought to himself as he walked to his seat and placed the cupcakes on the table

"They're for anyone who wants one but I assume by your stares, this is a conversation where it seems like I will be needing them more than anyone else."

"Just to let you know, the three of us objected to this but Rogers makes the final decision," Janet told Jack with an apologetic smile

Jack nodded at her and sent a smile that said he understood. His relationship with Janet was the most complicated of all the people he had slept with since he truly only thought of her as a platonic friend.

The pair were not actually interested in each other but had gotten together after a drunken and sorrowful night for Janet. Hank had blamed her for them not having kids which caused her to drink her sorrows away.

Jack just so happened to have been having a drinking contest with Thor and Hercules the same night (He lost btw). One thing led to another and the pair ended up sleeping together.

The next morning, Janet confided in Jack about why she got so drunk the night before was due to her issues giving birth.

"I'm one of the greatest scientists on the planet. I am one of the most respected heroes. Yet I still feel like all of that is meaningless because I don't have a child of my own," were the words that really struck Jack

And when she confided in him, Jack confided in her. He let her know about his ability to induce fertility in land, plants, animals, and people. So Jack gave her the thing she was craving.

A month later, Janet came back to him and happily let him know that she was pregnant. Ever since then, the pair had been closer than ever which caused more issues with Hank, but neither truly cared about his issues with their friendship.

After getting the heads-up from Janet, Jack turned towards Steve and waited for the man himself to speak. But he was not the next person to say anything.

"I didn't really care either way. I just know that you bring the best snacks from that little bakery you keep hidden from us," Clint admitted as he grabbed two cupcakes and began taking off their wrappers.

Jack smiled at his honesty. It also confirmed that Clint wasn't against him.

'So that means the one who truly wanted this meeting was...'

Jack's eyes flew over to Tony and became much colder. Knowing that it was Tony who called for the meeting, Jack spread out a psionic pulse all around him. When he got the feedback, Jack was ready to kill Tony.

'So that's how this will be. I was gonna let our situation stay as it was for a while but since you wanna bring it to this point, only one of us can remain on this team after today.'

To Tony, Jack was a threat and an enigma that he could neither prepare for nor decipher.

To Jack, Tony was a fool and an ego-maniac that had nothing more than a death wish by trying to push the buttons on one of the most powerful people on the planet.

Either way, they were never compatible but could coexist. It had reached the point where Steve would have to make a choice instead of hoping for the best of both worlds.

The war between Tony and Jack had begun.