The cargo doors of The Panther hissed open, finally cutting short the agonizing wait. Jason stared into the interior of the jet and saw two figures standing on the top of the ramp.
His smile nearly ripped open his face.
Laureen was leaning against the wall of the plane. She didn't look all that bad since Jason had last seen her, save for her hair being undone and she looked slightly paler. She grinned back at Jason, her face practically beaming. "Fucking hell guys," She said, laughing. "We've been waiting here for seems like goddamn forever. You assholes sure took your sweet ass time! I was worried I was gonna have to try and fly this fucking thing!"
Jason broke into laughter, as did James and Audrey. Audrey started to tear up a bit, clasping her mighty hands together. As they all laughed, Jason's gaze went to Max, who was lingering by Laureen's left side, silent.
He wasn't smiling. His face was grim and sour, his messy hair looking greasy. His undershirt looked even dirtier than during the raid on the Agency. He folded his arms, his single eye narrowing into a glare as the others took notice of him and the laughter slowly died.
"Max..." Audrey said carefully. "Its good to see you too."
Max didn't say anything. Laureen rolled her eyes and elbowed him.
"Yo, Earth to Captain Brooding," She grunted. Max barely reacted to her prodding. "Hey! Dude, come on, we're all back together! You should be fucking happy and all that shit. The others are alive! All of 'em!"
Max finally did look up. He fixed his dark gaze on her and snarled, "Happy?" He spat on the ground. His voice rose. "Happy? Why should I be happy?! We've been stuck in this plane for..."
"I estimate at least eighteen hours yes I think that's it oh dear." James piped up before covering his voice. He spoke rapidly still but was muffled. Max shot him a venomous look and James shut up.
"Yeah," He jerked a thumb at James. "That." Laureen gritted her teeth, clearly getting pissed off. Max appeared to not notice or, more likely, didn't care. "I don't see a damn reason to celebrate when our base is in ruins! People are dead! Dead!" He pointed a finger in Laureen's face. "We've just got first row seats to one of the worst terrorist attacks in military history and all you little shits can think about is getting back together, having a little party to celebrate that we're alive! Yay, good for us!" He clapped his hands sarcastically. "Meanwhile, we've been grounded while the monsters that did this are still out there and people like Robertson have been killed! You want me to lighten up are all that in less than two days?! Fuck all of you!" He was screaming now, right in Laureen's face. "And especially fuck you, Laureen, for keeping us here for that long when all this was hanging over our heads! Some leader you are-!"
Laureen punched him. Right in the nose. The unexpected blow sent Max toppling backward and he slammed into the wall. He rubbed his head, panting. Laureen looked down at him, rubbing her hand.
"Cut your bullshit and step back," She snarled. "You think each of us are okay with what just happened? Huh? Cause I got news for you, Max, we fucking aren't. But we're all alive and that's a big fucking victory. Especially when I thought all of them..." She gestured at the group. "...were dead. I give a fucking huge crap about what just happened but I care about my goddamn friends too, shithead. So shut the fuck up. That's an order."
Max wiped a hand across his face, a bruise beginning to form around his nose where Laureen had punched him. An awkward silence settled over the group. Jason looked between them but inwardly, he smiled slightly. He would've done the same thing to Max, honestly. He felt for the guy, he really did, but he was just being a straight up dick now. Jason thought he had gotten over his issues but the whole Akihiro incident had dragged him down considerably. He almost looked pathetic, lying there on the floor of the plane, a shadow of the leader he used to be.
Laureen sighed and leaned down, offering Max a hand. Max looked at it for a minute before slapping it away. He pulled himself up and turned away, angrily stomping off into the bowels of The Panther. Laureen watched him go before shaking her head.
"Dude's been acting like that ever since we landed here," She growled. "I know what happened was big and shit but Jesus Christ. I've had to pull rank multiple times just to keep him from storming off. Guess the chain of command is the only thing he still respects."
She sighed and turned back to the others. She forced a smile. "But fuck that for now. You guys are alive!" She grinned broadly before limping down the ramp, using the wall as support. James practically tackled her, grabbing her in a bear hug. Laureen stumbled and laughed, patting his back.
"Whoa there professor, bum leg, remember?" But she didn't force him off and returned the hug. Jason moved next to the two, Audrey looming over them both and smiling broadly while Hiroshi lurked behind them.
James finally released her, babbling wildly. "Oh goodness Laureen I was so so so so sorry worried I thought maybe those vile mercenaries you know the ones right right good great yes perhaps they'd followed your trail found you captured you but you're here and you're alive and you're okay barely even a scratch on you oh goodness thank you thank you thank you Panther!"
Laureen laughed again, patting him on the cheek. "Yeah dude, its all good here. The Panther got us through that blockade they'd made around the base no problem. We got a little cooked, sure, but we got away. You do design your shit well, professor."
James blushed brightly. "Oh Laureen thank you thank you I'm so glad you're alive and yourself and you have Max and The Panther and-"
Suddenly James's eyes snapped closed and he toppled forward like a ton of bricks. Laureen caught him but staggered and her injured leg gave way, the two them toppling down in a heap. Laureen grunted as she struggled beneath James's now sleeping form as he began to snore.
Jason smirked as he looked down at them. "Guess its six thirty."
"Yeah, yeah I guess it is," Laureen grunted angrily from beneath James. "Now get him off!"
Audrey gingerly reached down and picked James up, slinging his sleeping form over her shoulder. Laureen pushed herself up. Jason tried to reach down to help her but she waved him off.
"Its alright..." She grunted. "I can do it myself."
She sat there for a minute, panting, before trying to push herself up. She struggled and flailed for a few moments before grabbing the side of the ramp for support. She pushed up hard, managing to rise her feet. Laureen grimaced, putting a hand to her leg brace but she stayed up, although her stance was a bit wobbly.
Jason looked at her, concerned. Laureen glared at him and said, "Hey, don't give me that pitying look. I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah I'm fucking sure," Laureen grunted back. "I'd fucking tell you if I was hurting or some shit, right" Her mock scowl slowly melted into a smile. "Damn Jason. Its...really good to see you."
Jason gave her a mock salute. "Aye captain...its good to see you too."
Audrey nodded in agreement. "Yeah...I'm really glad to be back...I was..." She swallowed then forced a smile. "I'm just glad everyone is okay."
A yawn suddenly broke through the air. Everyone turned around, all eyes going to Hiroshi. He was stifling a yawn, his sleepy eyes blinking to stay awake. He looked back at the group and flushed bright red.
"Sorry..." He mumbled, averting his gaze. "I'm...tired."
"That's something I can relate to," Laureen jerked a thumb at the jet. "Come on inside. You guys look like shit and there's 'some' grub in here. Probably a chance to catch some zs too." She limped back up the ramp, heading into the jet. The group followed, Audrey stooping her head low to avoid banging her head on the top as she went in.
The interior was a bit of a mess. Overhead lockers had been pried open, rations and bottles of water covering the floor. Max sat at the cockpit, his feet on the dashboard. He didn't acknowledge the others as they walked in.
Laureen strode forward and sat down. She grabbed a box of rations and a bottle of water and tossed them to Hiroshi. He eagerly uncorked the water and began to guzzle it.
"Ain't got too much here," Laureen said over Hiroshi's frenzied gulps. "But we've managed to make our supplies last, thanks to Max and his survival training." She jerked a thumb at Max, who didn't even turn around. "So thank him for that."
"Thank you Max." Audrey said sincerely. She didn't bother waiting for a response and gently depoisited James on one of the seats. He snorted in his sleep.
Hiroshi torn open the box of rations and began helping helping himself. But his face turned green as he ate a few and he spat them out.
"Ick!" He groaned, sticking his tongue in disgust. "That's gross!"
Laureen rolled her eyes. "They're rations, dude. They're not supposed to taste like a steak dinner. Besides, Max and I have been living off them for over a day. You've got it fucking easy."
Hiroshi still made a face. "I guess..." He muttered, before forcing anotherr ration down his throat. He barely supressed spitting it up again. Laureen sighed.
"So," Jason said, interrupting them. He wanted to keep them on track, as good as it was to see Laureen again. "I've been avoiding police, law enforcement, government, etc ever since James and I escaped. We met up with Hiroshi and Audrey when we were rescuingg Audrey from a mercenary convoy. Hiroshi stumbled on us by accident there and we got Audrey loose from their clutches."
Laureen looked at Audrey. "Shit. You were held hostage by those assholes?"
Audrey twiddled her fingers together before stroking a hand over her bandaged and bruise face. She winced as she did. Jason gritted his teeth angrily as she did that, reminded again of what the mercs had done to her. He felt himself oddly nostalgic for the days of when the were starting out, when they just fighting Zeus. Zeus had been a maniac for sure but he wasn't a monster. Since then, they're opponents had gotten more deranged and horrifying, culminating in this. Zeus hadn't made it personal but Akihiro and Jacqueline seemed determined to strike at their hearts.
Laureen shook her head. "...Fuck. Fuck. Well, shit, I'm glad you got okay but jesus, that must have been fucking terrifying."
"Yeah..." Audre muttered. "It was. Can we not talk about it?"
Laureen raised her hands. "Yeah, that's my bad." Audrey smiled thankfully.
Jason spoke up again. "So. I was thinking we could use The Panther to get in touch with Axel-"
"Axel? You spoke with him?"
"Yeah," Jason explained. "James had his number memorized, so we were able to use this lady's cell phone to call him and he traced this plane's coordinates to tell us where you guys were."
Laureen whistled. "Huh. Smart thinking. Guess you do have more than a pea brain after all, Jason."
Jason smirked back. "Fuck off."
Laureen laughed then turned serious again. "Alright, that makes sense to me. Probably need some help with this shit, right?"
"Yeah...and will all of us together, we'll probably be better off than trying to approach some assholes in government who have a bone out for us. Maybe paranoia on my part but I trust my gut."
Audrey chuckled. "You always do."
They exchanged a brief glance and held each other's gaze for a moment. Laureen looked between them and raised an eyebrow, before coughing.
"Uh...guys?"
Jason pulled his gaze from Audrey and shook his head. Right, shit. What is wrong with me?! I'm so unfocused all of a sudden...I keep getting distracted... He coughed awkwardly and said to Laureen, "Right. Anyway..."
Laureen leaned back in her seat, gesturing for him to continue. Hiroshi continued to munch on rations behind them, his loud crunching mixing with James's snoring.
"...Anyway. As soon as we're able, we should contact Axel and ask him where to go. Then we'll fly The Panther to wherever that is and..." Jason clapped his hands. "Well. I don't know what after that but that's the next step."
"Right..." Laureen tapped her fingers on the seat. "Problem is, none of us can fly this thing."
Audrey shook her head. "James can."
"He can?" Laureen rubbed her chin. "Eh, you're right, dude helped build this, probably memorized how to fly it too. But still, he won't be awake from another twelve hours and I imagine we don't wanna contact Axel until he's up. Right?"
Jason gritted his teeth together. That...seemed insefficent but he had to agree it seemed logical. He sighed. "Yeah...guess so. But that gives us a long while to kill. What should we do?"
"What we should do..." Laureen rose and pointed a finger outside. "Is get some goddamn grub?'
Jason blinked. "Food? Seriously? At a time like this?"
"Yeah," Laureen grunted. "Hiroshi looks about ready to keel over and I doubt rations are gonna hold him over based on how he's reacting to 'em. Hell, they're barely holding me over. I bet your guys ain't had much shit to eat either, right?"
Hiroshi muttered in agreement, spraying crumbs onto the floor. Audrey also nodded and patted her chest. "I guess I'm pretty hungry."
Jason looked between them. He opened his mouth to protest then slowly closed it. Laureen was right. They needed food, they needed to rest a bit, recover from the hell they had been through for the past, long hours. He slowly nodded.
"Yeah okay. But where are we gonna get food? We can't just pull up to a drive thru, especially wearing our outfits, and we aren't exactly 'close' a town."
Laureen smirked. "We could say we're here for a ComicCon." Hiroshi chuckled at that as he took another sip of water.
Jason rolled his eyes. "Har har. But what's our actual plan?"
Laureen pushed herself to her feet. She limped across the room and bent down over the pile of stuff on the floor, rummaging through it. She then picked up a bag and unzipped it, tossing it onto the seat. She gestured at it.
"There ya' go."
Jason gave her a look but approached the bag and rummaged inside. He pulled out several rain ponchos. He looked one over and said, "These?"
"Sure," Laureen grinned. "We take off our masks and they'll cover the rest. In lieu of a change of clothes, these will be the best damn thing we got. We put 'em on, drive to the nearest MacDoalds or whatever, grab some food, and drive back. Easy!"
"...Sure," Jason grumbled. "Just don't jix us."
"Stop bitching and put it on," Laureen said. She looked at Audrey and Hiroshi. "Audrey, no offense but I don't think-"
"I know, I know," Audrey said, raising a hand. Her antennae twitched. "I get it. I can't come. Too visible. That's okay, I wanted to rest anyway."
Hiroshi swallowed some more rations before also speaking up. "My head hurts and I'm tired and I'm hungry. I don't really feel like coming." He supressed a yawn and leaned back in his seat, spraying crumbs down his armor. "If that's okay."
"Good with me," Laureen slipped off her mask before tugging on her poncho. It enveloped most of her outfit, save for her fiery red boots but those could be easily be passed off as an interesting fashion choice. "Come on Jason, just you and me then." She didn't even bother inviting Max along.
Jason threw on his own poncho. It felt a little awkward, covering his body as it did but whatever. Disguses for disguses sake. Laureen nodded and said to the others, "Hold the fort here. Any mercs or other shady assholes come knocking, mess 'em up." She then limped down the ramp, heading for the truck.
Jason nodded to Audrey and Hiroshi. "We'll be back. With food."
"I seriously can't wait," Hiroshi said. He dropped the bag of rations to the floor. "Whoever invented these is a jerk."
Audrey chuckled. She nodded to Jason. "Good luck."
Jason smiled back at her. His heart skipped a beat again as he looked in her warm smile, her twinkling eyes, all contrasted against her massive, exoskeleton body. "Good luck to you too. Try and get some rest, okay?"
"I'll do my best."
Jason stared at her for another long moment. He thought about asking her, right then and there, if she liked him. If she had a crush on him. But he heard Laureen call, "Hey slowpoke! Move your ass!"
Audrey waved to Jason then slowly turned away. Jason sighed then walked down the ramp, his poncho swaying in the breeze. He saw Laureen climbing into the driver's seat of the truck. He jumped into the passenger's seat.
"So where'd you guys get this?" Laureen asked as she turned the key in the igniting. The truck rumbled to life.
"Hijacked it from the mercs," Jason said as he slammed his door shut. "They were using this to transport Audrey."
Laureen made a face. "Well. That's a bit disturbing."
"Yeah..." Jason hastily changed the subject. "Uh...I don't know the area. Like at all. I hope you do, otherwise we could get lost real fast."
"Cool your jets, bro," Laureen pressed the gas and started to drive away from The Panther. "You trust me, right? I'll get us some goddamn food if it's the last fucking thing I fucking do."
Jason laughed. He leaned back in his seat, watching the sunrise come over the trees.
"...I'm glad you're okay, Laureen." He muttered.
Laureen looked at him. She sighed and patted his hand. She said, quietly, "Likewise, Jason. Likewise."
They drove off down the road, the sounds of birds and whistling wind around them.