Now You See Me Mugged

Jack released a deep sigh of contented relief as the cool mid-September air caressed his sweaty skin.

It was just past midnight and the Four Horsemen were _finally_ heading home from the deserted venue for their show earlier that evening.

The show had actually gone very well and Jack allowed himself a small smile of victory. The four had worked together flawlessly, every single trick performed went off without a hitch and the audience absolutely loved the whole thing.

That was definitely a win in his book considering that not two days ago they had been questioning and arguing every move made. Yes, they all had the same goal, and yes they realized every one of them was necessary in order to pull their scheme off, but that didn't mean they had to like each other. They were colleagues, not friends.

The walk to the hotel they were currently residing in was only about ten minutes and Jack found he was quite thankful for the few moments of peace the walk offered him. When the four were at the hotel his schedule basically consisted of: wake up, eat, go over plans, practice a few tricks, eat, go over_ more_ plans, and by mid-afternoon Jack knew he either had to escape the monotony or he'd die of boredom. So he'd normally wander around until an acceptable time to enter the cheapest bar he could find rolled around. The others never complained; well, they never said anything period, so Jack just assumed their silence meant his life choices didn't bother them. But even with the evenings of respite gained in the bars Jack found his body and mind growing slow and sluggish with a fatigue that could not be chased away by a good night's sleep.

For the first time since exiting the building Jack noticed the noise, or more appropriately, lack-there-of. He was so used to the constant hustle and bustle of New York, even at 12:10 in the morning there would be noise, car horns, sirens, the occasional shouting. He'd grown so accustomed to the constant backdrop of noise that now, walking down the absolutely silent city streets, he felt a little unnerved. He had to constantly keep reminding himself that Columbia PA was not New York, and constantly making comparisons was a waste of time. But Jack found that a little part of him enjoyed it, the constant reminder that he had done it; he'd escaped New York and actually, _finally_, begun his life.

A barking laugh from up the street drew Jack's attention to the ever growing gap between himself and the remaining Horsemen. Merritt laughed again, loudly, and a higher pitched chuckle belonging to Henley merged with the noise, causing a tiny smile to ghost across Jack's face.

The smile, and the slight joyful flutter of his heart, disappeared as soon as Jack's eyes landed on the hunched over figure lurking in the shadow of a near-by building. Although he showed no outward signs of unease, Jack's eyes darted about swiftly, desperately searching for any other unsuspecting victim he could potentially use to his advantage. More witnesses dramatically decreased the likelihood of bloodshed.

"Shit." Jack cursed under his breath, aside from the three figures a good twenty feet ahead of him the alley was deserted.

Jack's heart stuttered to a grinding halt as the lone figure lazily pushed themselves off the wall and meandered into the middle of the narrow alley, effectively separating him from the safety the other three Horsemen would've provided.

The pale streetlight cast an eerie glow down the alley, glinting menacingly off the silver blade the mugger was holding, but keeping their face in shadow.

"Hey Jack, what's taking so long?" Daniel's shout echoed off the surrounding stone walls but he didn't even glance over his shoulder to check the whereabouts of their youngest member.

"Probably got distracted by something shiny." Merritt joked, but as the light flashed over the blade once more Jack had to shake his head at the irony of it all.

Jack's pace had slowed significantly but even then he couldn't prolong the inevitable confrontation any longer.

"Your wallet," The man, and Jack could tell it was a man not only from the gravely quality of his voice but because of the at least day old stubble just barely visible under the man's black hood.

Jacks' hands flew to the air, palms open and facing his threat. For the second time that night he was acutely aware and thankful that he wasn't in New York because the muggers there certainly wouldn't _ask _for your monetary possessions.

"Look buddy, I'm gonna be straight with you, I've got maybe fifteen bucks on me right now. So let me just ask, is this really worth it?"

The man shook his head angrily, gesturing wildly with his blade, "Shut it liar! Anyone dressed as nicely as you must have more. Not to mention your friends over there."

Jack's nostrils flared as he took a brave step forward, "Leave them out of this!"

"I don't think so, the cash, now!"

"Jack who are you talking-" Henley's question was cut short with a gasp as she turned and took in the scenario before her.

Grudgingly, and with hand still raised by his shoulder, Jack reached in his back pocket, extracting his beaten and tattered wallet with two fingers.

"Set it on the ground!" The man demanded, taking two tiny steps closer to Jack, all the while his knife-hand outstretched toward the Sleight.

Behind the mugger Jack saw Merritt's hands clench into fists, he and Daniel looked absolutely livid. A sharp shake of Jack's head halted their offensive attack before it could even begin. Even if the two magicians would get to him before the mugger stabbed him, the risk of injury for all three of them was too great. He'd rather lose the wallet than be the cause of injury to a member of his team.

Jack bent to obediently drop his wallet on the concrete when suddenly the man lept forward with a speed Jack never would've guessed he'd possessed. He saw a flash of black clothing and for a second he feared the man had gone after the other Horsemen, but then a sharp pressure on his neck alerted him of his mistake. Jack released an aggravated breath when he realized he couldn't do anything.

"And the rest of you, hand over your wallets!"

Jack's nose crinkled in disgust at the rancid odor of the man's breath and the yellowing of his teeth. It was obvious he didn't care much for personal hygiene.

Daniel's nostrils flared and his jaw was set in a hard line, causing a tidal wave of warmth to flood through Jack's body; the man actually cared about him. "Listen buddy, I'm not sure you know who you're messing with."

"The Four Horsemen?" The mugger scoffed, "The so called "nest big thing in magic"? Please. You do a few parlor tricks and awe the crowd, that's hardly magic."

An idea seemed to spark in Merritt's mind and he took a confident yet cautious step forward, hands raised the entire time. "How about a demonstration and you can decide for yourself?"

"Ah, hey! No moving!" The mugger screeched fiercely. His hand tightened around the weapon and pulled Jack slightly off balance, if he hadn't been in such a tight choke-hold he probably would have fallen over. It was obvious that the man was growing desperate and Jack feared what he might accidentally do in a fit of rage.

"Okay, okay." Merritt drawled in that slight southern accent of his that always made him sound relaxed, whether or not he actually was. "Let's just keep everything calm."

The mugger blinked sweat out of his eyes, his breath was coming in anxious bursts and Jack knew if he didn't intervene soon the whole scenario would end badly. He really didn't fancy a trip to the hospital that night, as a patient or otherwise.

"I'm not going to ask again." Jack was proud of the very small wince that escaped his mask as the tip of the knife dug into his skin. He felt the uncomfortable tickling sensation of blood dribbling down his neck, most surly staining his white dress shirt. _'Well shit, that's not coming out.'_ The Sleight had to chomp down on his tongue to keep from laughing out loud. There he was in a very dangerous, life threatening situation, and he was concerned about the stain his blood would leave on his white shirt. It was all a little ridiculous.

"Okay." Henley nodded softly, her wide eyes glued to the mugger's weapon of choice. "Okay. We'll give you what you want, but you should just be forewarned that none of us has that much money."

A deep, guttural laugh echoed off the old stone walls surrounding the Four. "You? Not much money?" Another laugh escaped the man's throat, loud and disbelieving. His knife jiggled about as he continued to chuckle, causing Jack to sway with the weapon to escape as much injury as possibly.

Suddenly the man stopped laughing, his jaw hardened into a deep frown and his hands shook furiously with anger. "You're trying to tell me that you don't have much money when you walk around with a purse like **that**?"

The gesture was subtle, the knife barely moving away from Jack's throat, but Jack had been waiting. As soon as he felt the pressure of the blade leave his throat he lept into action.

His hands whipped up to the mugger's wrist, snapping the bone with terrifying ease. The mugger dropped his weapon with a gut-wrenching scream but Jack wasn't finished.

With the immediate threat neutralized, Jack focused on incapacitating his would-be assailant, jabbing his elbow back into the man's solar plexus. The force of Jack's offensive attack caused the man to double over, gasping to catch his breath, allowing the easy follow-through of Jack's knee to the mugger's nose. With one final kick Jack sent the beaten man falling to the curb a few feet away; judging by the way he was groaning, the man wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

Jack released a short sigh, bending to retrieve his discarded wallet, his measly fifteen dollars still tucked safely inside. Turning back towards the other Four Jack halted in his tracks, mouth dropping open at the varying degrees of shock adorning each of their faces.

"What?" Jack questioned, eyebrows raised in confusion.

Daniel was the first to recover, shaking his head slightly as if that would help him process what he'd just witnessed. "How'd you **do **that?"

Before Jack could reply the mugger made his presence known once again, releasing a loud groan, his feet sliding slightly across the ground.

"We really should get outta here." When no one moved Jack released an annoyed groan. "I **will **explain just, please, can we get off the street?"

"Alright," Daniel nodded in agreement, "But I expect a full explanation."

The Four continued down the alley at a brisk pace, making sure to stay relatively close together so as to avoid another incident. When they were around the corner, Henley anonymously called the police to report a possible mugging. Yes the man had threatened them and attempted to steal their money, but he didn't deserve to lay in the street for hours until some kind citizen took mercy on him.

The rest of the walk took roughly five minutes and was completed in utter silence. Jack felt the awkwardness of the entire situation pushing in on him; it was suffocating. He'd never been very worried about what other people thought of him, but these people, he had to work with them and trust them and he found that he really was afraid of their judgment.

When they filed through the door and into the living room of their small apartment, any hope Jack had kindled that Daniel would simply drop the whole matter sputtered and died as the man in question spun on his heel and fixed Jack with a pointed stare, arms crossed over his chest, head cocked expectantly.

A small huff of annoyance escaped Jack's lips before he launched into an explanation. "I grew up on the streets okay? I had to learn how to take care of myself or I never would have made it. So I joined some gyms, took classes. Anything that would help me defend myself so that in a situation just that," Jack gestured towards the door with a wide swing of his arm, "I could make it out alive. I had to learn how to survive, so I did."

For a moment no one said anything, they just stared and Jack was certain he knew what was coming next. Judgment, rebuttal, perhaps even worst of all, pity. Daniel's simple reply had his jaw falling open so wide it could have touched the floor, and his mind reeling to catch up.

"Okay." Daniel gave a lazy, one-shouldered shrug before turning to leave, most likely to retire for the night.

Jack blinked, "Wait, what? What do you mean okay?"

Daniel just smiled, a tiny, kind smile. "You honestly thought we were going to judge you? **Us**?"

When Daniel offered no further explanation Henley released an annoyed sigh and pointedly glared at the magician before stepping forward and placing a hand on Jack's shoulder. "What I believe Daniel is **attempting** to say, is that we understand. Life can't have been easy for you, and knowing how to take care of yourself is a really, really important skill to acquire. Jack, we just saw you beat that mugger to a pulp and you barely batted an eyelash. We just were wondering where you learned to do all that."

"Usually when people find out my backstory they run away. Or smother me."

Merritt laughed loudly, rolling his eyes at the mere thought. "I realize we don't know each other all that well, but come on Jack, did you honestly believe that a little kung-Fu would scare us away? That kinda hurts my feelings."

"And after seeing what we just saw, it's **very **obvious you don't need anyone smothering you." Henley smiled kindly, her brown eyes sparkling in the pale moonlight.

And suddenly, all of Jack's apprehension and fear vanished. He was surrounded by the three people on the face of the earth that would understand everything he'd gone through. Maybe they hadn't lived through the same trials, but they had lived through their own. They understood what he needed and what he didn't need and respected his judgment enough to believe when he said he didn't need to be smothered or treated like some fragile porcelain doll.

For the first time since joining the Four Horsemen Jack allowed himself to relax completely, content in his knowledge that he was safe; he was home.

**A/N: So this is my first attempt at 'Now You See Me' fic. Let it be known it has been quite a while since I've seen the movie so, mid-September air, yeah, I've no idea if that's at all correct with the movie timeline. Sorry! Please, any feedback would be greatly appreciated, especially since I plan to write more for this fandom in the future! **


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Now You See Me, Family, Friendship