Jax (Reckoners)
| Jax | |
|---|---|
| |
| Groups | Reckoners |
| Homeworld | Earth (Reckoners) |
“He doesn’t quit. He doesn’t slack. He doesn’t stop. ”
—Zeff describing Jax to Prof.[1]
Jax is a Reckoner, part of the Texas cell. He is trained by Zeff at the Coop alongside Paige.[2][3][1]
Attributes and Abilities
“This kid could’ve arm-wrestled Steelheart himself and won. I’ve trained a lot of warriors. This one’s something special. And John, you should see that kid swing a sword. ”
—Zeff to Prof[1]
Jax is a skilled mechanic. He routinely works on motivators[3], and when he was growing up, he put together antique muskets with his brother Dan.[4] He is capable of repurposing a variety of electronic devices to suit his needs.[3] Jax is also a skilled swordsman. Often wielding his brother’s old artillery sword,Shiloh, Jax trained in sword combat with Zeff at the Coop. He had to block 100,000 strikes before he was allowed to strike once, ensuring that he has a very solid understanding of the basics.[5]
Jax is determined to be a hero: a person who helps others. He is determined to prevent others from feeling the loss he has felt.[4] He fights to protect nice things for others, realizing that not having those things for himself is the cost of being a hero.[6]
History
Dan’s Death
Jax lived in Houston with his family, prior to Obliteration blowing it up. Jax visited his older brother Dan in Boston for spring break when he was eleven. He and Dad had a great time together, up until the Epic Lovestruck came to town and killed Dan by causing his blood to flow backwards and overload his heart. Afterward, Prof found Jax and cared for him, and Jax went and retrieved some of Dan’s belongings, including his sword and his silver class ring. Prof told Jax that Houston, where all his family lived, was destroyed by Obliteration. Prof took Jax across the country, and told Jax about the Reckoners. Jax decided that he wanted to be a Reckoner.[4][7]
The Coop
“I came here to be a hero. To save people. And try to make sure they get to live in a world that still has all that stuff. Even if none of it will be there for me. ”
—Jax when asked why he’s at the Coop[6]
Prof took Jax to the Coop, a Reckoner training facility in Texas. He put Jax under the harsh tutelage of Zeff, the head trainer at the Coop. Zeff put Jax through intensive and difficult training. Whenever Jax broke any of Zeff’s rules, he had to balance on the Post, a four foot tall wooden post, for hours. Zeff took Jax’s swords from him, and told him he could have it back when he knew how to use it. Zeff’s training methods were often cruel, such as making Jax lay down and have mice crawl over him and not be allowed to flinch. After Jax had been at the Coop for two years, a girl named Paige arrived at the Coop, who’s family was murdered by an Epic, just like Jax’s. Jax and Paige quickly formed a good friendship, united by their suffering under Zeff’s hand and their shared past. Every night her and Jax snuck out to work on motivator’s in the Coop’s workshop, and every day they both went through intensive training. Zeff told Jax that once he had blocked ten thousand practice sword strikes, he could strike back. One day, Jax struck at Zeff out of frustration, then said he had done the 10,000 strikes. That night, Zeff gave Jax his sword back.
As the years passed, they grew more adept in hand to hand combat, swordsmanship, and firearms. Zeff has them fight older more experienced kids, and often has them fight outnumbered, sometimes facing up to six or seven opponents at once. One day, Prof visited the Coop to check up on Jax’s progress, and Zeff locked Jax and Paige in the kitchen, saying that he was too embarrassed at their progress to present them to Prof. At Paige’s suggestion, they used the sonic snare motivator from the workshop to eavesdrop on Zeff and Prof’s conversation. Zeff told Prof that he was incredibly impressed with Jax, saying that he’s a “sparking prodigy.”
“Who in the sparking hell are you? Where’s the little pipsqueak I left here six years ago?”
—Prof to Jax[8]
Afterwards, Zeff discovered that Jax was spying on him, but was impressed rather than angry. The next day, Prof gave assignments to the Reckoners at the Coop. Abigail was assigned to take most of the Reckoners, including Paige, to Arlington to defend against a raid from Lux (city). Jax and Zeff were assigned to go to El Paso to meet with Knighthawk.
El Paso and Arlington
Jax and Zeff drove to El Paso, where a group of Epics had faced off against the city of Lux and lost. They met with Knighthawk, as well as a man who Knighthawk introduced as “The Californian”. They discussed motivator technology, and Jax impressed Knighthawk with his knowledge, but he unwittingly revealed valuable information to both of the men. Zeff was angry at Jax for revealing important secrets, and they quickly left El Paso, Zeff stealing a vial of Mitosis DNA as they went. As they drove to Arlington, they got a call from Abigail, saying that an Epic was he healing his soldiers, making them immortal. She requested help immediately, saying that they were being overwhelmed. As Zeff and Jax neared Arlington in their truck, the floating city of Lux began to leave. However, it then changed course and began following Zeff’s truck. When they couldn’t evade the city, Zeff and Jax had to drive into the city and ditch the truck. Ravens flew down into the city, and chased Jax and Zeff through the streets. Zeff was shot, and the Epic Wingflare arrived. Jax didn’t want to leave Zeff, but Zeff used Jax’s boomerang motivator to teleport him into a nearby building. Wingflare killed Zeff, and Jax went to meet up with the remaining Texas Reckoners.
Galveston
Jax and the others set up a trap for Lifeforce in Galveston, where Lux was due to attack. Lifeforce didn’t appear however, and Wingflare was out in the open instead. Abigail called for them to abort the mission, but Jax disobeyed, firing a rocket salvo at the attacking Ravens. Jax furthur disobeyed, orders, attacking Wingflare instead. Hershel used explosives to crack Lux in half, distracting Wingflare. Though Wingflare managed to rebuff Jax’s attack, he still managed to snatch some of her hair, which was valuable for her DNA. Jax and the other Reckoners escaped, though Briggen was badly wounded by shrapnel.
Infiltration of Lux
Preparation and Entry
Jax and the others worked to prepare for their infiltration and assassination, using the Fathom motivator to preform reconnaissance. Jax tinkered with motivators, inventing scorchnotes and reversing the mitosis motivator. With it reversed, it caused singular objects to cease to exist, making it the perfect weapon to use against Lifeforce. They went a town where Lux was due to stop and take in new residents, then joined the massive crowd of people swarming up the latter. Jax and the other Reckoners fought their way to a ladder and climbed up into the city of Lux, where they were greeted by a Raven processing group. They were partially searched, and several of their bags that contained their scorchnotes were confiscated. The Ravens’ search was interrupted when a high ranking Raven took over, and led them to their new house personally. The Raven revealed herself as Paige, who had survived Wingflare’s attack and become a high ranking Raven. In their new house, they discussed how to best to take control of the city and kill Lifeforce.
The Mission
Jax and the other Reckoners used maintenance tunnels to get near the power grid, where Jax and Briggen were assigned to connect the Wingflare motivator to it. Briggen made a mistake however, and the Ravens were alerted. Jax was forced to leave Briggen behind, and Briggen was captured. After they had retreated back to their safehouse, they sent a message to Briggen using his broken boomerang watch. They went to Lifeforce’s palace to kill Lifeforce, but Briggen betrayed them. Lifeforce allowed Jax to duel him, but Lifeforce won. They were captured, and Jax was offered the chance to join Lifeforce. When he refused, Jax was locked up along with his fellow Reckoners.
Work with Motivators
Jax loved tinkering with his brother Dan, which sparked his interest in Motivators when he first arrived at the Coop. Zeff required he read all the books on microbiology and chemistry that they had there if he wanted to work with the motivators, which Jax did. Since Zeff didn’t allow him any time to work in the motivator workshop, Jax snuck out of his room every night instead. When Paige arrived at the Coop, she joined Jax in his nightly work. With her help, Jax invented coilers, which allowed him to reverse the effects of any motivator. He used the coiler on Boomerang’s DNA, and made a watch that could teleport him thirty feet in any direction, then teleport him back to his original spot. He also used the coilers to modify several other motivators, such as sonic snare and mitosis. During the infiltration of Lux, Jax had to jury-rig several motivators, such as boomerang watches. At one point, Jax also mixed the powers of two Epics, Glimmer and Sonic Snare, to make the shockwave gun. His discoveries were groundbreaking in the world of motivator technology, and Knighthawk was impressed by Jax’s knowledge. Both Lifeforce and Perrick were also interested in Jax’s skill and knowledge, and wanted to recruit him to help with their projects.
Relationships
Dan
“He was a hero. He was my hero. ”
—Jax[7]
Dan is Jax’s older brother, and the two are very close. Dan and Jax wore best friends, even when Dan went to college. Instead of spending his time out of school partying, Dan would spend time with Jax. Both of them love Civil War history, and would spend their time together assembling old musket parts, building forts, and re-enacting Civil War battles. Dan knows that Jax likes the crispy slices of bacon, so he pretends to steal the soggy slices from Jax's plate and replaces them with crispy slices from his own. When Dan dies, Jax is heartbroken, and keeps Dan’s class ring and sword, now the only thing he has of his brother.
Zeff
Zeff is the one who personally trains Jax at the Coop.[5] Zeff is very harsh and tough with Jax, but that strictness grows out of a desire for Jax to be strong. He has Jax's best interests at heart, though Jax often doesn't see it. [9] It’s only much later that Jax grows thankful for Zeff’s intensive and sometimes strange training methods.[10] When Zeff is shot and badly wounded in the street, Jax doesn’t want to leave him, but Zeff uses Jax’s boomerang watch against his will to save him.[9]
Paige
“No matter what happens, know that I love you, and have ever since the first time you took me to your workshop in the Coop. ”
—Paige[11]
Jax trains with Paige at the Coop, and from the beginning they form a strong friendship. They are united by their shared suffering under Zeff, and they enjoy working together in the motivator workshop every night. [5] Jax is deeply in love with her, but is too afraid to tell her lest she not return the feelings. Upon news of her supposed death, Jax became very grieved as well as angry at Wingflare for Paige’s death. When it is revealed that Paige is alive, they have a happy reunion, but are kept busy by the mission. It isn’t until their final assault on Lifeforce’s palace that Paige confesses her feelings for Jax.
Trivia
Jax's best subject in school was science.[6]
Notes
- ↑ a b c Lux chapter 9#
- ↑ Lux chapter 1#
- ↑ a b c Lux chapter 8#
- ↑ a b c Lux chapter 3#
- ↑ a b c Lux chapter 7#
- ↑ a b c Lux chapter 6#
- ↑ a b Lux chapter 4#
- ↑ Lux chapter 10#
- ↑ a b Lux chapter 12#
- ↑ Lux chapter 36#
- ↑ Lux chapter 55#