Different [A Superhero AU] - Book One

Chapter Six - Hangover

Dan drops Jack onto his bed, immediately going to find rags to clean up the blood that covers his face. The Irishman leans back against his pillows, finally succumbing to the alcohol that floods his system.

"Jesus, Jack," Dan mutters, pulling his bloodied shirt off and pressing a rag to his nose. "I expected the blood flow to have slowed by now."

Jack mumbles a thank you and holds his hand over the cloth, closing his eyes. Dan tosses the shirt into a bin and places some painkillers on his side table.

"Take these when you wake up, okay?" the Brit asks. Jack gives a small nod in response and the Brit leaves.

When he wakes up, the rag is still pressed against his nose. He groans and sits up, clumsily grabbing the pills and gulping them down with some water. With a sigh, he pulls himself out of the bed and silently thanks his quickened immune system for dulling his pain. He moves across the room and opens the door, stepping into the hallway as quietly as possible.

"Where the HELL were you last night?!"

Jack groans and stares at the ceiling for a moment before turning to face the voice. Cry storms towards him, his voice revealing the emotions that his mask hides.

"Getting drunk and tussling with some Americans," Jack replies, ruffling his incredibly messy green hair. He mentally reminds himself to wash it before the day gets any older. "You know I hate it when you go invisible, right? I can't get away with anything."

Cry ignores him as he approaches the Irishman, his mask mere centimetres from his face. Jack takes a step back.

"What if we had been called to a mission? We could have been fighting out there and you would have been too drunk to walk on your own!" He takes a deep breath and crosses his arms over his chest. "Your face is covered in blood. I assume you got pounded."

Jack reaches up, noticing for the first time the dried blood that cakes his face and nose. He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "I got punched."

"No shit you got punched." Cry sighs heavily. "Go wash up and get something to eat. I assume we're going to get a call in the next while."

The Irishman nods and turns on his heel, stepping back into his room. He stares at his reflection in the mirror for a split second, noting just how bad the blood is before getting into his tiny little shower. The water is lukewarm and comes out with little force, but it's a shower nonetheless. He closes his eyes as he massages shampoo into his hair, imagining the soap washing away his headache along with the memories of the last few days. Begrudgingly, he turns off the water and climbs out, now clean of blood and sweat.

Cry meets him in the hallway, the two walking towards the dining room in silence. Even though he can't see his eyes or expression, Jack can tell he's pissed off.

"Eat something. I'm gonna find everyone else," he says monotonously.

Jack nods in response and enters the dining room, digging around in the fridge for something to eat. A couple of the containers have sticky notes on them, letting him know that if he eats that food, he will be slowly murdered by the owner.

He sighs and closes the fridge, finding that he lacks an appetite. His head still pounds, but he does his best to ignore it.

Stephanie walks in, retrieving some of her food from the fridge. She sits down across from Jack, her eyes piercing into him.

"Are you okay?" she asks after several moments of awkward silence.

The Irishman sighs and rests his head on the table. "What do you mean by okay?"

"Like, are you feeling well? Are you prepared for our missions?"

"Oh. Then no, I'm not okay."

Stephanie laughs a little before falling back into silence again. She eats quickly before standing and patting him gently on the back.

"Tell us if you need anything."

Jack nods, giving her a lazy thumbs-up. "You got it."

He watches her leave before standing himself, going to look in the fridge again.

Before he even touches the door, Cry comes into the room.

"Hey Jack, we've got a mission. Let's go!"

The Irishman groans as his hand drops to his side. Of all days, why today?