The Obligatory Egos Swap AU - Jacksepticeye Egos

Broken Bones, Mending Hearts

The office building was only two stories, but Jameson felt like it was towering over him still, and he couldn't build the courage to open the doors and step inside.

The first day at a new job was always the hardest, and, man, had Jameson had his fair share of those. He was a good worker, but his colleagues never thought as much.

He was timid, but rightfully so when all eyes were constantly on him because of something out of his control. They all put more pressure on him than necessary, therefore affecting his work relationships, and ultimately losing him jobs.

He really didn't want to deal with all that again, but money wasn't exactly... optional.

Jameson took a deep breath and reached out to open the door.

"Hey! Get back here!" Just before his hand connected to the dreadful metal handle, he was knocked to the side, his arm hitting the ground before him so his body landed on top of it. He thought he heard a snap, but his ears were ringing too loud from panic to be sure.

Jameson cried out briefly, turning himself over and sitting up in front of his new job building. Even through the tears, he could see someone dressed in all black running off down the street, the city's brightly-dressed new local hero chasing after them.

Making a quick calculation based on his condition, Jameson then raised his not broken arm and shot a cryo blast that froze the criminal in place by their feet and made the hero slow to a halt behind them in confusion. He was still a good shot.

But it wasn't time to celebrate. He had to get this broken arm taken care of. He stood and leaned against the wall of what would have been his newest temporary job, but was now out of the question. He pulled his broken arm to his chest and hid his other, newly frozen-feeling, hand in his pocket.

Of course, this happened the one day he didn't bring his gloves...

He started walking away as he heard police flood to the scene and got as far as the end of the block before he heard the voice again, coming closer and calling, "Hey! Stop, please!"

He stopped out of curiosity, eyebrows raising.

Had he been seen? The street was empty aside from him and the hero and whoever he'd been chasing, neither of who had been paying him any mind.

The hero wasn't even panting as he caught up to him. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't stop after she pushed you- oh, look, and now you're hurt!"

Jameson looked straight ahead, meeting the multicoloured eyes in front of him, then shifted his gaze away. "I'm fine."

The hero looked down, handling Jameson's arm away from his chest to look at it. Jameson expected it to hurt, but he was gentle, turning it over in his grasp. The bone was clearly out of place, but it didn't seem to have been scraped enough under his sleeve to lose him any blood. Either way, "This doesn't look fine. Come on, there's an ambulance back where we were, they can take you to the hospital to get this fixed up."

Jameson didn't have it in him to start an argument, letting himself be taken back past the office building to seek medical help. The hero called out to the paramedics just before they got back in the ambulance. They took one look at him, then at Jameson, and took them into the back without question, beginning to immobilise Jameson's arm for the casting process at the hospital after the hero explained his side of the situation.

"How's the pain?" one paramedic asked, eyes trailing over Jameson as the other did the work.

Jameson shrugged his good shoulder, still hiding one hand in his pants pocket. "Not bad. I have a high pain tolerance."

"I really am sorry," the hero suddenly spoke again, startling the paramedics sitting with them. He ignored them, staring right at Jameson, watching as he shrunk further into the gurney bed. "I've been chasing that girl for the last month I've been here. She's been a tricky one."

"It's not just you, Chase," the other paramedic said once he finished with Jameson's arm. "She's been terrorising this part of the city for a while. We've responded to several calls where she's been involved. She causes injuries left and right, like a bad luck charm. I'm just glad you finally caught her."

"Chase?" Jameson asked aloud, ignoring the rest of what was said. He'd heard of the hero being around, but this was the first he'd heard his name.

Chase smacked his hands over his face in embarrassment. "Oh, yeah, I guess I didn't really introduce myself, did I?" he chuckled, then sat straight up and held one of his hands forward. "Name's Chase! Chase Brody! New in town, hero extraordinaire, and all that." His grin was a little bit lopsided, light brown hair poking out of his ball cap and shadowing blue and green eyes. He seemed young, and his looks didn't help.

Jameson raised an eyebrow, debating whether to take his hand out of his pocket—where the skin was still cold and likely bright blue. After what was probably way too long, he took the chance, shaking Chase's hand with his own. Chase sat in place looking at the discoloured skin. The paramedics stared in awe as well.

"Jameson Jackson," Jameson introduced timidly, unsure what the reactions meant. "The hero scene isn't for me normally, but I make my exceptions."

He sat in silence as the people around him simply ogled at the anomaly in front of them, his anxiety only growing. Until-

"Dude!" Chase exclaimed, still staring at Jameson's hand. "This is sick! You totally helped me out back there, didn't you?"

Jameson smiled, a breath of relief leaving his chest. "I should hope that was me. I'm the only one I know with my type of abilities."

"Cryokinesis," Chase gasped excitedly. "I've read about it in my comic books!"

"Does it hurt? Your other arm," the paramedic who fixed Jameson's broken arm asked, eyes wide as saucers. "I've never seen anything like it, it's fascinating."

"It doesn't hurt, no. It's a bit numb, though, and very cold. It's never harmed me, it's actually quite soothing at times."



The rest of the ride to the hospital went quite the same, though this time Jameson didn't feel so much of the pressure as normal. Chase and the paramedics seemed respectful, but he still hid his hand in his sleeve once it came time to see a technician for his cast.

To Jameson's surprise, Chase stayed with him through the entire thing, watching everything with childlike glee. Jameson chose blue for his cast wrapping, and then the technician left, and so did Chase and Jameson.

"Blue, really?" Chase asked laughing. "Had to make it match your power, eh?"

Jameson smiled. "That's one reason. I just like blue. What's your favourite colour?"

Chase stopped on the road, spinning in place and flaunting his very yellow outfit. His cropped jacket wasn't zipped, making it easily flow around him in the wind, and his boots were laced loosely around his ankles. "I guess I haven't made yellow enough of my personality; time for a suit upgrade!"

They laughed together, and Jameson realised how easy it came to him. Once he started laughing, he couldn't stop himself as Chase continued to make jokes and general chatter.

"Hey, why don't you do the whole hero thing with the abilities you have?" Chase asked once they sat down at a nearby park. A couple of squirrels approached them and made themselves comfortable along the back of the bench.

"It's not that I don't want to, or I wouldn't use them at all. I just... guess I'm not a leader type. I can't imagine having so many people idolising me for what comes naturally. I was born with them but had to hide myself for most of my childhood, for a lot of reasons." Jameson watched a kid skateboard by, Chase's eyes lighting up too. "Some people just aren't cut out to be directly in the spotlight like you are."

Chase nodded absently. "I guess I can see where you're coming from. My family didn't want me to continue this after I left high school, but it had always been my dream to help people. I moved out as soon as I could once I turned 18 to pursue it and have been travelling since."

"How long's that been? Since you turned 18, I mean," Jameson asked, letting out a humourless laugh. He couldn't imagine someone risking their life like that so young.

"Sneaky way to ask how old I am, eh?" Chase grinned. He let his eyes fall to his lap. "I'm 23. Just, actually. My birthday was last month, the day I got here." He lifted his eyes again, letting them roam the park with a twinkle. "This city is so pretty, I almost don't want to leave."

"Then why do you need to?" Jameson got curious. Chase looked down again. "Stay for a while, I'm sure the city would love to have you!"

"I don't..." Chase scratched the back of his neck. "There's no real reason, I just... travel. It's just something I do. I guess I never have much of a reason to stay any one place for long..."

The wind blew through their hair, and Chase took his cap off so it wouldn't blow away. This brought Jameson's attention to a small patch on the side of his head where hair didn't grow, that the hat usually seemed to hide. The skin was roughly scarred over. Jameson tried not to make it obvious he was staring, but he frowned heavily. The silence returned and the afternoon sun shone.

"I like you, Jameson. You seem wise," Chase mumbled finally and let his eyes wander to Jameson, quietly studying him. "You said you can't imagine leading, but would you ever consider my line of work if you had someone to do it with who could lead you?"

"You'd want me as a sidekick?" Jameson grinned as Chase's surprise became obvious on his face, probably not expecting Jameson to have guessed what he was implying. "Truth be told, it might be a fun side of myself to explore. I wouldn't say no."

"Was I that predictable?" Chase laughed after another moment of shock. Jameson nodded. "All right, yeah! Self exploration!"

Chase stood, pulling Jameson up by his good arm. It had finally gone back to normal, or at least as normal as Jameson said it would. He clapped Jameson on the back. "Welcome to the team, then!"