When Stars Collide, a BH6 x Dr Who crossover

Chapter Twelve: Jack

Wasabi cleared his throat. "So, now what are we supposed to do?" He glanced meaningfully at the other two.

Honey shook her head. "I don't know. But I think we should head back to the manor."

"I agree," Fred said, one hand in the air, pointer finger up. "We can make a plan of attack from there. It will take some doing, but we must stop this super villain."

Wasabi resisted the urge to face palm. Sometimes he wondered if it wasn't all like a game to the laid-back looking man. At the very least, it was like a dream come true. As for himself, well, Wasabi wasn't entirely thrilled, but it was nice to be useful and help people.

"I'm going to call Heathcliff," Fred announced, pulling out his phone. "Much faster," he explained. "And we should make sure everyone's gear's ready."

Honey nodded. It was the best plan they had, for now. Hopefully GoGo and the others were figuring things out. Waiting was the hardest part.

.....................................

"Here." Jack pushed a steaming bowl of ramen noodles towards Hiro. The liquid splashed just a bit, but that was quickly sopped up with a napkin. "Now that we're out of the way, why don't you tell me more about what's going on."

Hiro eyed the captain, still not sure about him. "Why don't you first tell me how you know the Doctor and what you were doing in that alley?"

Grinning, Jack couldn't help but admire the kid. "Touché," he answered. "I haven't given you any reason to trust me yet, have I?" The resulting headshake was answer enough so he settled back against the booth's not-so-comfy shell.

"Okay, let's see," Jack began, trying to decide just how much to tell him. "I met the Doctor a long time ago, back when I was more of a con man than anything."

Hiro almost spewed noodles at that announcement, not that he was any better. Before Tadashi had encouraged him to use his big brain for something more, he'd played a great con in the bot fighting arena, pretending to be a helpless newbie, until his Megabot destroyed all the competition. "You, a con? No."

Ignoring the sarcasm, Jack continued. "Let's just say he made me see the error of my ways and set me on a different path, helping people. I admit it got kind of addictive, the battles, the planning, putting things together."

Hiro nodded, completely understanding this aspect. He suddenly felt like he could trust this guy, at least a little bit. They'd both been through combat. Although it hadn't been for the same things, or reasons, it was something they had in common. And the man was right about it being a bit addictive. Okay, totally addictive. Sometimes he wondered if he didn't go on missions more as an escape from reality then to help others, but only sometimes.

"He's saved my life more times than I can count, and I'd like to think I've saved his a few times too," Jack nodded, seeing Hiro's reactions. His estimation of the boy went up a notch. "We've helped each other off and on over the years."

"Fair enough," Hiro responded, then slurped another mouthful of noodles. The ramen was pretty good, not that cheap crap some people got at the store. Authentic. Another point in the captain's favor.

"As for why I was in that alley, I was trying to secure the area," the captain eyed the boy, trying not to smile at the liquid dripping from his chin. He hadn't gotten anything, but when he'd heard the boy's stomach growl... well, he couldn't just leave him hungry. "We've had reports of a possible experiment happening in the area. We're not exactly sure where, but figured that area was the most likely."