DT Serum, Primary Testing In Progress

(Time skip okay? Just until something more interesting? I have something planned for later that night with Ashton, but I don't know what all you have planned yet )

(Skippage is fine with me.)

(Want me to do the one later that night in the rp?)

(Whenever you like is fine with me.  All of my plans are adjustable. )

(Okey dokey )

Ashton was late. He was sometimes later coming home, but he was never this late before. A couple of hours after he was suppose to be back, he finally limped in. Ashton was covered in scrapes and bulletholes. He looked awful, and his hand was keeping a deep cut in his side together. But what was probably worst of all, is Ashton looked scared. He knew nothing could really hurt him, but he was terrified. "Lex?" He asked in a shaky voice.

Lex came off his couch, furious.  "Where the hell have you been!  You were supposed to be back..."  He stopped, looking Ashton over.  He crossed the room in what seemed like a single stride and began examining Ashton.  "What happened?" he demanded gruffly.  He began leading Ashton toward the spot he kept the medical supplies.

"Th-they tried to k-kill me." Ashton spilled. The guy was nearly in tears the ordeal had terrified him so much. "B-Black Jack's men ambushed me on Fifth as I was starting to head back. They shot me and stabbed me over and over! One of Black Jack's elite was leading them, and they would have done worse, but I played dead." He hesitated. "L-Lex, I think they would have rathered it have been you instead of me."

Lex paused in his examination to place a hand on Ashton's cheek in a gesture that was surprisingly tender.  "Next time, it will be me, and they'll pay for what happened," he promised in a low growl.  The he started stripping Ashton's clothes and cleaning him up as best he could as though nothing was out of the normal.

There were six bullets in Ashton's chest, and another three in his stomach. He also had five deep cuts/stabs in his torso, and a deep cut on his head. "Lex... please just be careful." He begged. Maybe they weren't exactly friends, but Ashton still didn't want Lex to be hurt.

"Shut up and hold still," Lex snarled.  He stepped back long enough to lay a tarp out on the floor.  It was flat and relatively clean.  Taking Ashton's arm to support him, he helped him lay down on the floor where he began stitching up the deep cut on his side.  He'd have to use the tweezers to dig out the bullets, something he didn't relish.  "You couldn't have had some nice, clean, through and throughs?" he grumbled.

Ashton accepted the help and shook his head sadly. "Worse, I think one was a buck shot...."

"You just have to make everything as difficult as possible, don't you?"  Despite his words, Lex's brows were pinched in anger and worry as he tried to fix all the issues.  There were a lot.

Ashton stayed as quiet and still as he could. He had faith and trust in Lex. His words were usually a bit harsh, but his actions were usually pretty kind towards Ashton.

It took Lex a couple of hours, a bottle of alcohol, and a lot of swearing, but finally he had all the bullets out, the stab wounds stitched, and all the other assorted injuries cleaned out.  Finished, Lex picked Ashton up and carried him to the couch where he laid him down and got him settled.

"Lex, I can sleep in my usual spot." Ashton offered. "Patching me up made me feel a lot better. Thanks."

Lex glared at him.  "Don't you effin' move.  If you tear those stitches out, I ain't putting them back in.  Now shut up and lay there.  I'm going to go get you something to eat."  He paused.  "What the hell do you normally get?"  He'd never paid much attention to Ashton's preferences other than raw meat.

Ashton shook his head. "Beef. But anything I can get works." Ashton decided to stay put. He sensed Lex was in a foul mood, and so that was Ashton's cue to shut up and do whatever Lex said and told him too.

"Good.  Now stay put while I'm gone," Lex warned.  He washed off his hands one more time then put on his new coat and hat before heading out.

Ashton sighed a little but stayed put. He hated being made to not do anything, but Lex had a point. The less he moved, the less likely he was to pop or rip the stitches. Then, it would take even longer to heal.

As Lex was out, a few of Black Jack's men were mugging a pretty woman. It seemed like the duo planned on doing more than petty thief with her.

Lex had just picked up the best cuts of beef from a butcher he'd never frequented before.  Hearing the screams, he groaned and put the packages out of sight before following the sound.  What now?

Black Jack's lackeys had a young woman cornered in the back of an ally. One was undoing his fly while the other pinned the poor girl and threatened to cut off her clothes if she kept screaming. The poor woman was in tears.

Lex leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets.  "Ya know, boys, in this scrap of land, the Shadow says hunt only, nothin' else.  How're you going to explain all this to him?  Better yet, how're you going to explain yer presence on his turf in the first place?"

The guys turned to look in Lex's direction. The one not holding the girl pulled out a gun and unloaded it into the shadows. With her captors distracted, the girl finally managed to pull out a concealed carry gun and shot the guy holding her in the thigh before she bolted deeper into the shadows. The guy who was shot cried out and crumpled, trying to stem the fast flowing blood coming from his leg.

Lex wasn't where the guy shot, knowing as soon as he spoke that's where he'd be aiming.  He shifted along swiftly then came out to the gunman's right.  He grabbed the gun and twisted it savagely, breaking his trigger finger.  "You didn't answer my question," he snarled.

The guy yelped, but managed to grimace at Lex still. "You won't be leader much longer, Shadow. Black Jack's men will kill you like we killed your mongrel of a second, and then it'll only be Black Jack we have to answer to!"