Disclaimer: I am not Jay Naylor. I do not own Better Days or Original Life. I make no money from this writing.

Author's Note: Welcome, True Believers, to another installment to the ongoing Chronicles of Jason! I hope you all have a great time with it, so let's go.

Chronicles of Jason

Deconstruction: Chapter One

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Lucy Erikson sat at the counter in her new kitchen, humming a soft tune as she worked on opening boxes and sorting through what she found inside. Tommy was gone, off checking out nearby parks with little Leo, leaving her to do most of this. Not that she minded; it gave her free reign to arrange the stuff around their new home as she wanted. Other than the white, featureless paint on the walls; that was something she would have to talk with Tommy about. Not that she expected much trouble from him; why, with such blank, featureless walls, anyone would be hard pressed to tell where anyone was without being told!

Lucy looked up from the box she was unpacking as the sound of knocking came from the front door. She frowned and stood up, setting the box and scissors on the kitchen counter as she tried to think of who could be at the door. She, Tommy, and Leo had only just moved into the new house five days ago, and aside from the neighbors to the immediate left and right, she hadn't socialized much with the neighborhood. As well, no one from her old Georgia circle of friends knew her new Florida address yet; she'd been wanting to wait until the home was fully decorated before inviting anyone.

Out in the front hall the ringing continued, making Lucy growl. Alright already, I'm coming!" Stomping her way out of the kitchen she passed through the main living room into the front hall and then stopped. The shadow she could make out through the frosted glass of the door was big; very big. And Lucy only knew or knew of three people who were around that size...

"Lucy, there's something very important I have to tell you about. Just listen and don't ask questions. Mr. White is back, he's alive."

Lucy gasped, the glass of water she had been holding falling to the floor and shattering as she brought her hands up to her face. It didn't seem possible to her, she had been there as the waters took him. "Fisk, how...he was dead!"

Fisk looked down at his sister and crossed his arms, a scowl on his face. "Well he's alive now, and you can thank our dear cousin Jason for making sure I couldn't send him back to his grave." Before Lucy could question this Fisk cut her off as he turned and headed for the door. "Don't ask questions. Just know that Jason's not to be trusted; not fully."

Lucy shook her head to get rid of the memory. She looked again at the front door and quietly walked towards it. From her jacket hanging on the wall she drew a small revolver and cocked it. No harm in being safe, right?

Stepping to just beside the door she readied the pistol before speaking. "Who is it?"

Silence, and then a voice, deep and as steel, spoke. "Please, open the door...Light. A lost friend wishes to see you again."

Lucy gasped and stepped away from the door. Only one person she knew liked to refer to people by what their name meant. But if he was here...

"Just know that Jason's not to be trusted; not fully."

Lucy hesitated, but after a moment stepped forward and unlocked the door. Gun still ready she opened it, froze, and gaped at the man who stood on the other side. It was Jason, but he looked so much more...worn than he did their last meeting, a scant year ago at her birthday. He seemed older than he should have been, his once coal-black fur faded to a dark grey and white streaks running through his lanky hair. Scars of numerous lengths and sizes crisscrossed his face and continued on down his neck, where Lucy assumed they continued on underneath his clothes. These as well had changed. Gone was the black duster, the red t-shirt and armored pants. Now he wore a black ribbed shirt and blue jeans, the duster replaced by an armored motorcycle jacket that matched his scarlet eyes. He wore black leather gloves.

Lucy took in all this, and then took a step back from the door. "Jason...is that you?"

"Yes," he answered in that voice, that hard voice. "I'm sorry if this is a bad time, but I was in the States and...I just wanted to see some friendly family again."

Lucy looked up at him and nodded, numb, stepping to the side to allow him in. "Of, of course, come on in..." She watched as he stepped inside, looking at the coat rack for a moment before shaking his head and looking around. She closed and locked the door, before stepping to his side. "I can take your jacket if-"

"No thanks," Jason interrupted, smiling to her. "Though I would appreciate a drink, if that's alright. I just arrived from the airport, and ya know how much they charge for the littlest things. Just criminal!"

Lucy chuckled, and thought that perhaps Jason hadn't changed too much on the inside, despite how he looked. Stepping closer she gave him a quick hug, and then stepped back. "Sure thing, the kitchen's just this way."

Lucy led Jason back through the living room to the kitchen, and there she cleared a spot at the counter for them to sit. "Sorry for the mess," she said over her shoulder as she grabbed two glasses from a cupboard and began filling them with water. "Tommy's been busy setting up his new office down in his company's Miami building, so it's been mostly me unpacking. Here."

Jason took the glass of water and sipped from it. "Thanks, I needed that."

Lucy sat down across the counter from him, holding a glass of her own but not drinking from it. She simply sat there, looking down at the marble of the counter and glancing up at him every now and then. A silence stretched between them, punctuated by the occasional sip Jason took of his drink, until finally "You have questions you're afraid to ask."

Lucy jumped in her seat, startled at the words, and looked up at Jason. He had a knowing look on his face, and a strange look in his eyes. It was nervousness; the same kind of nervousness she felt, and it was this that calmed her enough to gather her thoughts and speak. "Yeah, I have questions. I guess I wouldn't be a good reporter if I couldn't come up with a thousand questions for one topic. I'm just afraid to ask them, that's all. Fisk...he said you aren't to be trusted. That you're dangerous."

"I am," Jason responded, a completely serious look on his face. "I'm a very dangerous man, and Fish has every right to not trust me."

"But why? What happened between you two, with the whole Company? Why have I been completely unable to contact you or Angela for nearly a year? Where've you guys been? Why are you here now? And...and is Will really alive?" Lucy reached across the counter and grabbed Jason's left hand. "Please, please don't leave me in the dark, or tell me it's for my own safety. I have a son, I deserve to know if he's in danger!"

Jason nodded when the barrage of questions ended, and gave Lucy's hand a gentle squeeze. "I have no intention of hiding anything from you, Lucy. All your questions shall be answered."

Pausing, Jason picked up his glass, downed the rest of the water, and cleared his throat. "The answers to all your questions are tied together. Will has indeed come back, but he's not alone. His son and other associates have created a world-wide organization, similar to the Company, and which he now heads. Angel and I have struck out on our own to counter this threat. We are no longer associated with the Company, and I have been out of the country recuperating from injuries, so that is why you have been unable to reach us."

"I see..." Lucy looked back down, finally taking a drink of her water as she thought over what she had been told so far. "So Fisk told the truth about Will...but what about you? Why did you need to leave the Company, and why did Fisk say you're not trustworthy?"

"Because I betrayed them all to Will...to the Organization." Lucy gasped, as Jason kept going. "It was a foolish decision, driven by anger, fear, and horribly misguided love for Angel. Constantine is a very weak child, you see, and I feared he would get worse and eventually die. I knew something like that would ruin Angel, and I...you have to understand, I loved her. I still do, she's off in Hawaii planning our wedding. I couldn't bear the thought of losing her, so I traded the success of the mission I and several other agents were on for her safety. I only just came to my senses in time to save most of them..."

Lucy sat, numb and silent, as Jason's voice petered out. To Lucy's eyes the narrative seemed to have added 10 years to her cousin's life, and suddenly she understood the graying fur, the white streaks, the wrinkles under his eyes. The weight of responsibility must have been slowly killing him. And yet... "There's something else, isn't there? There's more to it, Fisk wouldn't tell me not to trust you if you simply came back to your senses."

"Hrmm..." Jason shifted in his seat and looked away from Lucy. "You're reporter instincts do you credit. Yes, there's more. Did Fisk ever tell you what happened to my father?"

"He told me enough," Lucy answered, unsure of where this was going. "He told me cancer killed him."

"No," Jason responded, "William Hite is my father."

Lucy could not believe what she was hearing. "No way, that's not true. I mean, that's impossible!"

"It is true. At some point, when he was about 16 or so, my father met Velona Black, your father's sister, and had a one night stand with her. He had no idea about the relation until a scientist of his ran a blood test, to study my eyes."

This time Jason reached across the counter to take hold of one of Lucy's hands. "Lucy, I need you to understand something. He may be my father, but you, and Tommy, and Angela are all my family. I have no intentions to hurt any of you, so please, for once, don't heed to your brother's warning."

Lucy stayed silent at first, looking at the gloved hand on her own, smaller hand. The seconds stretched into minutes, before she suddenly chuckled and shook her head. "So many years of wishing to meet, just once, the father I never knew. But you're the one who gets this wish granted to in the absolute worse way possible." She looked up at him and for the first time since Jason started his narrative she smiled, even if weakly. "You didn't choose him to be your father Jason, and you didn't choose what life he led. What you can choose is how closely you walk in his footsteps."

Jason smiled, and nodded. "Thank you Light, for your acceptance. You're a lot wiser than your brother."

"Thanks, I don't think I've ever heard that before." Lucy smiled back at Jason, the smile quickly turning into a smirk as she leaned in across the table. "Now then, enough of that dark and dreary stuff. Did these ears of mine deceive me? What was that you said about Angela planning a wedding?"

Jason smiled, and at the same time blushed so brightly he looked like a tomato. "Your ears did not deceive you. Angel and I are engaged." As he said this Jason slipped the glove off of his left hand and held the hand up to show off a ring. "The date hasn't been set yet, but Angel has you and Tommy at the top of our gues-"

Jason did not get to finish his sentence, as Lucy leaped across the counter and enveloped him into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh my God! Jason, that is so awesome, I'm so happy for you two!"

"C-can't...breathe..."

Lucy eeped and let go, allowing Jason to collapse back into his seat. Jason gasped for air for a moment, before looking over at Lucy and grinning. "Yeah...definitely at the top of the guest list..."

Lucy grinned back, and then stood up to refill their glasses. "Well, that'll be quite an honor. I just hope you take a bit more time starting a family of your own than Jessica and Robert did!"

"..."

Lucy blinked. "Already?"

"She's about...four months, now. Twins, if you can believe it."

"Wow..." Lucy took a sip of her water and looked down. She wasn't totally sure how to continue on the conversation after that. "So...do you two have names picked out yet?"

Jason shook his head. "No, we've decided to hold off until the twins are born. Plus...I've been rather busy the past few weeks."

"Oh?" Lucy leaned across the desk, an excited smile on her lips. "Busy how? Dangerous missions, exotic locations, dramatic fights? Come on, you told me about Will and breaking away from the Company to fight him, you might as well tell me the rest!"

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Jason chuckled and took a drink as Lucy settled back into her seat. "Now let's see, where to begin...okay, listen to this. A defector from Will's organization has been helping me locate other people like me. People who were experimented on to have these." Jason made a vague motion to his eyes. Lucy nodded and he continued. "I've recruited one already, a Russian called Garen. He's a nice guy, once you get past the stick in his ass."

Lucy burst into laughter, and Jason grinned and chuckled along with her. "It's true, he never cracks a joke or anything, and the only time I've seen him smile was when he was teaching Zane how to handle a pistol."

Lucy finished laughing after a moment. When she did she tilted her head and smiled at Jason curiously. "Zane? Is that another person experimented on like you and this Garen person?"

"Erm, well..." Jason coughed and scratched the back of his head. "I hadn't meant to say that, it slipped out. But since you asked, no, Zane's not another experiment. Zane is-"

The doorbell rang, and both Jason and Lucy looked in the direction of the front door. "Oh, that must be them now. The finished up at the hotel sooner than I expected."

Jason stood up and began walking to the front hall. Lucy quickly began following him, her reporter's curiosity aroused. "Jason, who's them? And who's Zane!"

Jason ignored her and kept walking. When he got to the door he unlocked it, and then turned to face her. "I didn't come to Florida alone, Lucy. I came with two others, two very close to me." He opened the door and smiled out at someone Lucy could not see from where she stood at the hallway entrance. "Come on in, I want you to meet my cousin."

The first to walk in was a white-furred, silver-haired Cat in a black skirt and red tank top, and a figure Lucy was instantly envious of. Less cause for envy though were the numerous scars across her face, mostly concentrated around her right eye. Both her arms and belly were wrapped in white bandages, though whether this was due to some injury or merely a cosmetic decision Lucy didn't know. What most caught Lucy's attention were the woman's scarlet eyes.

The woman walked over to Lucy and smiled. She spoke, and Lucy heard a faint Japanese accent. "Hello, Lucy-san. Jason Ni-chan told me soooo much about you on the flight over here!"

Lucy looked over blankly at Jason as Hinata continued smiling at her. "Ni-chan?"

Before Jason could say anything another person entered the house, a young teen of about 13 or 14. His fur was a mixed pattern of dark grey and white, and he wore his white hair down to his shoulders like Jason. He wore black jeans and a white t-shirt with a denim jacket over it.

The teen looked over at Lucy and waved. "Hi, you must be Lucy. Metal-jaw over here wouldn't shut up about you on the flight...why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"I...I..."Lucy's lips trembled as her gaze kept switching back and forth between Zane and Jason. Her hands shook, until she clenched them and turned to Jason. "Jason..is he...?"

"Yes."

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A/N: Howdy folks! I hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter, because I certainly enjoyed writing it! A small retcon in here, I slightly changed Zane's fur color scheme, to create a stronger reason for Lucy to freak out. As always, reviews are appreciated!