J.C.

J.C.
Skills	Military training
Groups	Aspect
Homeworld	Earth (Legion)

“Life is much simpler when you can just assume that everyone is trying to kill you. ”

—J.C.

J.C. is one of Stephen Leeds' aspects.

Appearance and Personality

“It was best not to push J.C. on the fact that he was a hallucination. I'm pretty sure he knew, deep down, exactly what he was. He just didn't like admitting it. ”

—Stephen on J.C.'s insecurities

J.C. is large, but lean, and has a square face and jaw.

He has a hard time accepting that he is a hallucination, and hates being reminded of the fact. Then, Arnaud comes up with a theory, explaining to J.C. that, since the universe and time is infinite, it is probable that somewhere, sometime, all the aspects were once "real" people. J.C. takes this to mean he is actually an Interdimensional Time Ranger. However, when Audrey asks him if the future has flying cars, he instead begins to pretend he's from the future, and he uses this as an excuse to say odd swear-words, claiming they're "future swear-words."

He is very paranoid.

Attributes and Abilities

J.C. is a master gunman and an ex-Navy SEAL. He knows a lot about guns, and always has one on his person. He finds it easy to recognize the make and model of any gun. Using guns is somewhat of a pastime for him, and Stephen's mansion has a firing range, likely for this very purpose. Despite this, he sometimes fires them at targets indoors, and once even fired one at the ceiling of the White Room to quiet the aspects. He also has subscriptions for all gun magazines, in every language, despite not reading any language but English.

On two occasions, he has also been able to physically move Stephen to protect him, something that no other aspect has done. The first time, he guided Stephen's hands as he shot terrorists, and the second he pushed Stephen in a way that made him exit a moving car safely.

History

Search for Razon's Camera

J.C. was shooting a picture of Osama bin Laden when Stephen asked him to stop. He continued shooting for a while but eventually stopped and checked in on Stephen while he and a few other aspects were entertaining a petitioner who turned out to be a grad student looking for research, but stayed outside the room. He checked in again when they opened the letter containing the picture of the Lone Cypress.

Later, when Monica showed up, he advised Stephen to wear a gun, just in case. During the conversation when Monica hires Stephen, he endured being the butt of several jokes. Stephen brought him along to Razon's house, where he identified both the gun kept by Razon and the one carried by Monica, raising questions about both. Stephen took him along to Jerusalem. On the plane ride there, he made fun of Kalyani, a new linguist aspect. While in Jerusalem, J.C. carried a duffel with an M4A1 carbine in it, claiming he has contacts in Jerusalem able to supply him with such. He got carried away in an argument with Ivy and ended up making out with her in a secluded alcove of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Upon discovery by Stephen, he rejoined the other aspects. When Stephen was knocked out, Stephen imagined that his captors took all of his aspects hostage alongside him, so J.C. ended up together with Stephen and all the aspects present in custody of the Abu Sayyaf. He untied the other aspects but feigned inability to untie Stephen and Monica so he didn't have to admit that he isn't real. He accompanied Stephen while Stephen failed to fix Razon's camera. When Monica's escape provoked a shooting match, he helped Stephen to shoot all of the terrorists with one of their own guns. A barely-alive terrorist pulled the pin on a grenade, injuring Stephen. Back at Stephen's mansion, J.C. continued to argue with Ivy.

The I3 incident

J.C. showed up to Stephen's date with Sylvia, despite not having been invited. This disobedience concerned Ivy. He did, however manage to identify Zen Rigby, an assassin who was suspiciously dining at the same place Stephen was. As they met with Yol Chay, Yol donated to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in J.C.'s name, which annoyed him. Yol hired Stephen to find the body of Panos Maheras. Stephen and the aspects next proceeded to I3 headquarters, where J.C. noted that the inviting atmosphere undermined the security measures. As they left I3, J.C. used his cell phone to tell the other aspects to organize in the White Room.

In the White Room, he fired a gun at the ceiling to quiet the room. His contribution was a suggestion that Stephen should confirm independently that the feds are involved as Yol claimed. He also suggested that Stephen change clothes to insure he wasn't bugged by Zen. While in transit to the coroner's office to search for clues, J.C. identified that they were being tailed. Fearing Zen, J.C. helps Stephen exit the car while its moving to confront the tail. Unfortunately, the tail was Dion Maheras, Panos' younger brother, not Zen. J.C. correctly deduced that they actually had two tails, Zen and Dion. While at Liza's office, J.C. helped Stephen realize that security is actually quite good. He also called Kaylani to videochat with Ngozi to do some forensic investigation. After Stephen got the security tapes, he was confronted by Zen. J.C. helped him to navigate the confrontation, telling him what kind of gun Zen carried and telling him to do as she asked. The aspects and Stephen next go to Mrs. Maheras' house.

Just as they left Mrs. Maheras' house, Stephen said he wanted to break in to Exeltec, an I3 rival that hired Zen. Shortly afterwards, J.C. realized that Zen bugged Stephen during the tussle outside the coroner's office. Stephen then ditched his previous plan and went to Denny's instead. J.C. ordered and ate some food. After Denny's, Zen came up to the car and had Stephen get all of his aspects out of the car, including J.C. She prevented Stephen from leaving, however, and forced Dion to drive off with only Stephen, Zen, and (unbeknownst to Zen) Audrey in the car. J.C. attempted to run after the car, but he ran out of breath when Stephen noticed the car was going too fast for J.C. to possibly keep up. After Stephen escaped from Zen, J.C. accompanied him to Mrs. Maheras' house once more to turn the body over to the feds.

Chasing Sandra

Stephen brought J.C., Ivy, and Tobias to what he assumed is the interview he promised Liza. The reporter, Jenny Zhang, is very knowledgeable about Stephen and his aspects, and identified J.C. as "Id", the part of one's personality that causes their needs and desires. Such talk makes J.C. uncomfortable and he left to buy things from the convenience store nearby. At a text from Sandra, Stephen and the other aspects left J.C. behind. J.C. was annoyed and texted Stephen an excessive amount while attempting to get back. After J.C. failed to ride Ubers to Stephen's location, Stephen sent him a car. Stephen payed someone an exorbitant amount to drive to J.C.'s location, open the door, drive to Stephen's location, and open the door again, allowing J.C. to catch up. J.C. arrived just in time to shoot nightmare Armando and save Stephen. He then bandaged the stab wound from Armando's knife.

“You're going to have to handle this alone, Skinny. [...] Why do you think I've been training you all this time? I knew. See what's real. You can do it.”

—J.C. to Stephen, moments before dying

Stephen and the aspects went to Walters and Ostman Detention Enterprises to infiltrate it. J.C. suggested putting together a team of experts, including Chin, Lua, and Marci, but Stephen declined, preferring to act now. J.C. pointed out an open window that they then used to break in. J.C. directed Kalyani over phone to gather guns from his room so the aspects can protect themselves if any of them go nightmare. J.C. continued to help Stephen infiltrate until everything flashed white and the aspects and Stephen appeared in a large warehouse. The infiltration exercise was revealed to be a simulation. When Kyle put Stephen in the deserted island simulation, J.C. at first attempted to solve it the normal way along with Ngozi and Ivy until Lua showed up and broke them out of the simulation.

When the subsequent mob fight simulation ensued, Ivy was the first to be hit by gunfire. She kissed J.C. as she died. J.C. then told Stephen that he can continue on his own, and stood up into the gunfire, dying instantly. Uniquely, Stephen was able to continue to use J.C.'s knowledge after he died. With other aspects, such as Armando, their death prevented him from understanding almost anything about their specialty. In this case, Stephen seemed to inherit J.C.'s proficiency instead of losing it to the void. Stephen took a mobster's gun and accurately shot mobsters and Kyle with it.

Relationships

Ivy

J.C. bickers constantly with Ivy, although the two have a love-hate relationship, and at one point he even suggests to Stephen that he should imagine her looking better.

Stephen

J.C. is one of Stephen's older aspects^{[citation needed]} and they have a mutual respect, although Stephen (and the other aspects) occasionally jest about J.C.'s usefulness. J.C. calls him Skinny, presumably referring to his smaller build when compared to J.C. Stephen usually takes J.C. along for most things, along with Ivy and Tobias.

Trivia

• J.C. was Brandon's favorite aspect to write.
• All of the aspects, except Kalyani, were loosely based on famous actors. J.C. was based on Adam Baldwin from Firefly.

Notes

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