Fullscreen for better quality. Backstory: Jackson loved swimming ever since he was a child. It was used as a stress reliever for him to let out all his anger, usually on his mother, who left Jackson when he was only three months old. His father struggled to support them both and Jackson vowed to seek a better life for both once he was old enough. But one day, when he was 13 years old, he and his father had an intense argument about the problem with their financials. Running out of the house in sheer anger and despair, Jackson seeks his only outlet; the pool. Ignoring his father’s warning about swimming in a thunderstorm, Jackson sprinted his way to the community pool, the rain masking the tears streaming down his eyes. Jackson leapt into the water, letting the cool water calm his nerves. Suddenly a flash of lightning shocked the pool, and he felt a jolt of immense pain as the electricity burned his fur. Then, everything went black. Jackson was found and sent to the ER where he discovered that the lightning had affected the neurons in his spinal cord and his brain, paralyzing both of his back legs and giving him nearsightedness. He also had serious burns that burnt off most of his fur, but the lightning also gave him photographic memory, the ability to perform speedy calculations, and slight electricity manipulation. Of course, none of this mattered to Jackson as he focused on only one fact; He would never be able to swim again. He was released from the hospital after 3 months and was allowed to return to school. But his personality changed, he became snappy and irritated, a generally unpleasant person to be around. But no one had to put up with him for long since he moved up the classes quickly. But in 10th grade, he met someone named Peter Parker who noticed his loneliness. Peter suggested that he worked with others that had disabilities to have someone he could relate to. (I just realized how similar he is to Doctor Strange. o_o)
(backstory continued) Jackson reluctantly agreed since Peter kept on insisting that he looked like a sad potato. After spending some time with people like him, Jackson realized that his life might not be so bad after all. Seeing that others have situations worse than him, Jackson vowed to help others in any way he can. Shortly after, the tales of a young boy’s success caught the attention of a certain genius billionaire. The one and only Tony Stark decided to pay this kid a visit with a job offer. At first, Jackson turned him down since he thinks there’s some special condition he doesn’t know about and will affect him later. But Stark denied this and told him he was working on a special project and that Jackson didn’t need to pay him anything. Jackson finally said yes, and Stark got out $10,000 which he somehow fished out of his wallet and gave it to Jackson’s dad as a thank-you for letting son come with him. The project, it turned out, was a set of robotic leg thingies that will help Tony’s friend, James Rhodes be able to walk again. The genius promised to give Jackson a pair once they perfected the prototype. The two bonded over many things such as technology and skipping grades. Stark was also pleased to hear that Jackson was friends with Peter. Even though he couldn’t touch anything, Tony Stark’s lab was one of the most amazing things he has ever seen, but the thing that awed him the most was FRIDAY. Jackson has taken an instant liking to the sassy AI and would spend hours analyzing its code. Stark, noticing Jackson’s interest, offered Jackson to become his apprentice so he could teach him what he knew about technology. Jackson happily accepted the offer since learning from Tony Stark would be a lot more interesting than sitting at a desk at school. Jackson’s life finally seemed to be in order, he would work with Stark on the weekdays and visit his dad on the weekends. Peter would also come by occasionally to do something with Tony (For reasons he wouldn’t tell him). Now, with new friends and a job he loves (Don’t forget his cool new leg stabilizers), for once in Jackson’s life, he felt at peace, that is, until Stark introduced him to the ACA. Wow, that was long.
