`` everything burns {jax}

[Regina Mills]

Somehow, the past several months in which Storybrooke had been trying to regain its footing seemed even longer than the entire twenty-eight year duration of the curse. Things had been...admittedly rather unstable for awhile. Several weeks ago, Regina wouldn't have tried walking so openly down the street as she did now. And admittedly, she didn't need to venture out into the open to have had several attempts made on her life - these people really could get surprisingly violent when they wanted to be. Fortunately for her, it hadn't taken long to remind them that she was still the Queen they'd all once so strongly feared. After several angry displays of her own, most of the people of Storybrooke weren't quite so keen to come after her so directly.

What she was more worried about at the moment were the enemies she'd had long before the curse - Mr. Gold, for one, was probably plotting against her at that very moment. And Snow...traitorous, conniving, brat that she was, was probably the one who'd orchestrated the mobs in the first place. Regina wouldn't have put it past her.

She was brought out of her brooding, hateful thoughts, however, when a moment later she rounded the street corner to see a car that seemed to have broken down on the side of the road. Regina paused and regarded the vehicle carefully, her eyes narrowing a little at the sight. The vehicle didn't strike her as being a familiar one, and it looked somewhat...out of place among the sleek, dainty little cars and family-targeted mini-vans frequently seen around Storybrooke. The natural alternative was that this car belonged to a stranger - which, to the mayor's displeasure, were becoming more and more frequent around town these days. It was as if as soon as the curse was broken, the outside world was drawn to the enchanted town instead of repelled by the magic which had protected it all these years. Regina wasn't all too sure what to do about it yet...thus far, she'd been making a point of trying to send all of Storybrooke's new 'visitors' on their way as quickly as possible, lest they figure out what was going on in this town. This one, she decided, would be no exception.

She looked around briefly, trying to determine where the car's owner might be - and then spotted a pair of feet protruding from under the car. Well, it looked like whoever had broken down here was already trying to get the problem fixed. Wonderful. ...That was, unless he happened to be one of those impossibly stubborn 'do-it-yourself' men who had no mechanical skill whatsoever and would only end up making the problem worse - thus only extending his stay in Storybrooke longer. Regina grimaced at the very thought, arranged her expression into one that was polite and formal (though she knew the man could not yet see her), and approached the vehicle.

"You seem to be having trouble," she remarked a bit quizzically; talking to a pair of legs wasn't doing wonders for her image. "There is a mechanic's shop only a little ways more into town, you know - I'm sure he'd be more than happy to assist you." That was, if said mechanic wasn't off neglecting his duties by spending time with his dear beloved children, Hansel and Gretel. She scowled briefly at the very thought of the two insolent children...

[Jax]

It had seemed like a simple job. A simple way to get the parts for a vintage 1920's motor cycle, which he could trade for classic shotgun circa 1879 and... well it was one of those situations that ended up in a home that Jack built. It would have been simple despite the fact that he had not only had to leave his bike behind to drive this hunk of junk across the country, and he had to do it in a piece of junk that barely had room with all that stuff packed into the seats for him to drive... heck he had to hold some of the stuff on his lap. It had made for a long... so long and uncomfortable.... he swore he had crease marks from boxes on his lap. So when the short cut through a town in the middle of freaking no where ended up with his car breaking down he had simply looked down at the box... put the car into park, and barely slammed the wheel with his fist before sighing and getting out of the car.

It had taken him a bit, locals looking at him strangely. Whispering when they thought he wasn't looking. The heat had made him take off his coat so he had supposed part of the people staring was the shirt proclaiming to the world "Some mornings just aren't worth chewing through the leather straps" The bright green and black hair didn't help... nor the multiple piercings. His search for the problem with his car had ended up with him climbing underneath, head phones on blaring his music as loud as he dared. Looking under the car he had not noticed when the woman approached, the headphones kept his ears from this reality... but when he reached for the tool box that was out from under the car and instead of grabbing a wrench his grease coated hand and found a slim, warm ankle he was justifiable startled. He took a moment feeling the ankle, touched the flesh and then withdrew his hand. Pulling himself out from under the car the grease coated, green and black haired, heavily pierced young man with wrench in hand looked to the woman in practically shining formal wear and pulling off his headphones with his free hand and slumping on the car regarded the woman without a glance at her ankle... well that was a lie. His eyes dipped down, and back up again in an age old gesture. Someone looking in his eyes would see the judges holding up a pair of grudging eights as he asked.

"What ya want? If ya came ta stare ah suggest ya take a picture though if ya want ma ta take ma shirt off dat costs extra."

[Regina Mills]

The moment a grease-covered hand reached out from under the car and grabbed her ankle, Regina ... just ...froze. For a fleeting couple of seconds, the expression on the normally unflappable mayor's face was one of sheer, unadulterated horror as her gaze slowly fell down to the hand that still hadn't released her. The moment he finally let go she took an immediate step back, shuddering slightly at the knowledge that her ankle was now probably similarly coated with grease - it was times like these that she regretted her usual tendency to wear high heels everywhere she went. A grease-coated shoe or sock would have at least been faintly less cringe-worthy...

By the time the man pulled himself out from under the car, Regina had already opened her mouth to make some sort of sharp comment - but said comment died in her throat the moment she made eye contact with the man. ...And his...hair. And...piercings. And.....shirt.... No. No, this was absolutely not acceptable. She wrapped her black trenchcoat more tightly around her, practically bristling at his gaze - and just when she thought her indignation could rise no higher, he spoke. Very rudely. In fact, the former queen couldn't remember the last time she'd been addressed with such a complete lack of respect, and for a moment she could do nothing more than glare incredulously at the stranger. Her polite facade had all but been abandoned at this point, scowl firmly in place, before she found her voice again.

"That won't be necessary." she responded rather frostily, eyes narrowed as she fought to control her voice from descending into a growl. She wasn't in the best of moods at the moment, and she doubted that this particular encounter was going to improve that - but losing her temper now would probably get little accomplished. Brushing her dark hair out of her eyes and giving a short sigh, Regina managed to compose herself a bit more fully when she spoke again in regards to 'what she wanted' from him. "Actually, I was going to offer you a bit of advice, though clearly you're entirely too confident in yourself to require any outside assistance." The comment was made very curtly, and a bit bitingly - and her gaze fell upon the car once again (the thing made Emma's death trap of a bug look elegant, she noted dryly).

"Just how long is it going to take to fix that?" Regina asked pointedly, clearly displeased with the idea of this stranger staying in her town for any longer than he needed to.

[Jax]

The music continued to pound out of Jax's headphones as he smirked at the woman who was trying to confront him... scare him away perhaps. She was obviously disconcerted at having someone like... him... in the middle of this 'perfect' little town. He had driven through places like this. Small town America. Perfectly sculpted lawns, clean air, almost no crime. No boring place in the world to live. He doubted he would fit in and he had no desire to. Fitting in was something he used to do... and he had brutally murdered that one before he had figured out that the planet fancied him. Now normality was just a distant nightmare. Still... he let his eyes linger a bit as he smirked and turned back to the car. He slammed a fist down on the wall of the glove compartment and with the cleaner of his two hands grabbed and tossed a small plastic jar to the woman. It was a half full jar of petroleum jelly.

"When ya get home spread that on ya ankle. Use a good amount, then wipe off with a clean dry was cloth. Will take dat grease right off. Fighting fire wit fire works... as long as it is da right fire."

Smirking at this still he pulled out a cigarette and taking out a grenade shaped lighter he lit it holding the lighter a bit away from his face as a foot long flame erupted. Lighting it he stuck the 'grenade' back in his pocket. Again he slammed his hand on car, this time on the side of the front of the car. This time the hood popped up. Peering at the inside of it he waved dismissively at the stranger.

"Don't get ya panties is a bunch. Ah will be out of ya town in a few hours... maybe a day."

A wisp of smoke began to raise from the car and with a surprising turn of speed Jax was a step back from the car. There was no panic only caution as he edged around the engine and reaching into the back seat pulled out a fire extinguisher small enough to fit in a lunch box and sprayed it liberally inside the engine as more smoke began to appear from various places. He emptied it into the engine and wiped some foam from his hair. As he looked back at the woman.

"... maybe twa..."

A loud THUNK rang out as metal met steel and Jax blinked as he stooped and looking under the car saw the gearbox laying there along side the drive shaft. He straightened and rubbed the back of his head and invented profanities in his head.

"weeks.... two weeks... let's step away before da car proves me wrong in a ballestic way shall we?"

Taking another puff he looked at the woman as he looked at the car cursing his choice to take a short cut.

"...is dere a motel six or something in dis town? And maybe a place ah can pick up some parts... maybe borrow a few tools?"

[Regina Mills]

The next thing she knew, he was throwing...something at her - something which she caught on instinct. Her gaze dropped briefly to the jar of petroleum jelly, eyeing it with a mixture of disdain and suspicion as if she expected it to suddenly explode in her hands. Her expression didn't soften much at his explanation, though she did seem to begrudgingly decide to hold onto the jar once he assured her that it'd be effective in getting the grease off her skin. Though admittedly, she nearly dropped it upon seeing him pull what looked like a grenade out of his pocket - only to realize a moment later that it was a bizarrely shaped lighter. This...was surpassing irritating. This was beginning to become concerning. Of all the people who could have possibly stumbled across Storybrooke, of course fate would have it be this man. As if she didn't have enough to deal with at the moment.

Regina's scowl only deepened at being told 'not to get her panties in a bunch'. "Excuse me?" Obviously this man was accustomed to speaking to - to two-bit harlots that lingered on street corners and not women who conducted themselves with any sort of elegance or authority. Although...if she found it unsavory, it was vaguely amusing to imagine how appalled Snow, or Cinderella - or one of the other pampered little princesses who'd known nothing but propriety their whole life - would be. Still, that amusement was not enough to warrant her encouraging him to stay for any longer than was necessary. The longer he was here, the greater the risk of him discovering Storybrooke's secret was - that, and she could only imagine what sort of trouble he might cause around here. For Gods' sake, he looked like a criminal. What sort of influence would he be on Henry, if they ever ran into each other?

Her disbelief, as well as the dull sense of horror that was beginning to take over her, gradually rose as she watched the shenanigans that ensued next. Oh, but it was tempting....a little magic would've had the vehicle back to a state where it was at least drive-able in no time. But she couldn't. Not now - not when there was still a chance of ushering this strange man out of town before he suspected anything. ...Of course, two entire weeks of keeping him in the dark was easier said than done, and Regina actually cringed a little at the very thought. "Two weeks?" she repeated dubiously, trying to suppress the urge to sigh in exasperation. And now she was going to have to get him settled in here - well, that was just wonderful. "I...well, I suppose you'll have to stay somewhere. But there are no...motels in this town." Regina spoke the word 'motels' distastefully, as if he'd just suggested he was looking for some sort of brothel instead of a cheap place to stay. "There's a woman who owns an inn a little further into town, however, and I'm sure she'd be happy to accommodate you. ..Once you've...cleaned yourself up a little." She couldn't resist throwing that last comment in there, and she quickly had to suppress a smirk - although it was true. 'Granny', as the townsfolk so affectionately referred to Red Riding Hood's grandmother, would tolerate no grease or grime being tracked into her place of business.

"As for your other question, we do have a fairly decent mechanic in town as well. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to offer any services he could to help send you on your way, Mr. ...?" Under the guise of a polite pause, she waited tensely for him to introduce himself.

[Jax]

Jax looked down at himself sure enough he was coated in grease up to his elbows. He could understand someone not wanting him to track grease and grime all over her floors. Sounded like a small place, probably might get waffles in the mornings maybe. And while Jax wasn't much for small towns there was no way he would say no to waffles. The king of breakfast food. Jax paused wondering why his mind was tracking mostly waffles and realized it probably had to do with the fact he hadn't eaten since... last night. He put that on his list of things to do. Eat. But as he heard her mention a 'fairly decent mechanic' he resisted the urge to laugh. He instead reached down and started pack up his tools. The smile on his face quietly mocking. He reached through the window and grabbed a back pack as well. He rightly figured this place she mentioned had to be in walking distance so shouldering the back pack he tilted his head at the woman.

"Oh? Don't call ma a mistah, Ah don't da titles. Ah am called Jax Gardener. Ya can call me Jax, Or Gardener if ya wanna be dat way... or ya can call ma 'dat sexy guy' if ya perfer."

"While ah appreciate da offer despite how dis car looks... it's not mine by da way, I fix things like this for a living. But..."

He tilted his head in thought.

"Maybe ah can use him ta get the parts ah need. Or borrow some tools sa... tanks for da advice."

He gave her a more sincere looking smile which slowly morphed into a frown as he regarded his dripping self and he tilted his head to look at the woman and looked back down at himself.

"Well... if she will na ma ta da place until ah get cleaned up... how da ya expect ma get cleaned up?... Ah don't suppose ya will let ma borrow a shower?"

He forced himself not to grin at what would doubtless be a look of utter horror and perhaps madness on her face. This would be entertaining at least.

[Regina Mills]

Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed slightly in a clear show of disapproval as this...Jax character insisted she not call him by any sort of title. Well that was terribly informal - though at this point she couldn't really say she was surprised. Determined not to be fazed by his jokingly flirtatious comment, she fixed him with a level stare and proceeded to introduce herself in turn as if this he hadn't just said anything out of the ordinary. "Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke." she responded curtly, emphasizing her title - though if anything, that would probably only encourage his continual habit of speaking to her in ways that were either defiant or inappropriate. "I'd say it's a pleasure, but...at this point I'm not so sure." That was putting it nicely. She arched an eyebrow in an unapologetic gesture, however - apparently manners were being thrown out the window in this situation anyway.

It was at least slightly reassuring to know that the car wasn't his - perhaps, then, he wasn't entirely responsible for the condition it was in now. Still, she blinked in mild irritation at his refusal to accept help from the local mechanic - although she hadn't really expected to be thanked with any real sincerity. When his thanks did seem genuine, her expression softened slightly for a moment - and she gave a brief sigh. "If you insist on doing it your way, then fine." She just hoped his refusal of any help wasn't going to delay his progress significantly. If he wasn't out of here in two weeks, then -

Hold on.

...What had he just asked her?

In the next moment, Regina's glare was back in full force - though this time her irritation mingled with something akin to that of someone who'd just woken up from a particularly horrific nightmare. "Oh, no. No way in hell - " It had been her instinctive reaction, and she voiced it almost automatically - only managing to catch herself halfway through. Ridiculous as this entire thing was, she needed to remain composed. But...the image of him traipsing into her home looking like that - probably not even bothering to remove his shoes, breaking things and leaving a complete mess no doubt - actually made her shudder slightly. There was absolutely no way that was going to happen...but what else was she going to do with them? It wasn't as if she could just make him someone else's prob.....lem....

And suddenly, she found herself remembering the very useful set of skeleton keys she still had.

And the fact that they'd already proven more than capable of allowing her to break into Emma and Snow White's shared apartment.

And that neither of the previously mentioned women were ever typically home during these hours of the day because of all the commotion they had to take care of in town - with Emma having been put in 'charge' and Snow being a former queen herself.

As she formed a plan, Regina gave a slow smirk - one that really wouldn't have made the whole 'evil queen' thing so far-fetched after all. "I'll tell you what." she said at length, her tone almost...sweet. Like poisoned honey, that was. "I do have a couple of friends living in an apartment not too far from here, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind you...borrowing their shower, as you say, while they're out. God knows their place is already a mess." That was probably a little harsh - but Emma, at least, wasn't known for her neatness. And if the pair happened to walk in while Jax was still on the premises - well, then perhaps Regina really would get a laugh out of this whole thing.

[Jax]

The mayor... the town's freaking mother @^*#@ing mayor. He had greased the town of the mayor without even doing it on purpose. Jax resisted the urge to tilt his head back and laugh at the sky. It had to be all this fresh air that was making him feel so giddy. He was finding so much of this hilarious but he didn't want he to know that he merely nodded and grunted though a slight smirk hinted at his own mirthful messiahs. Realizing since she was walking and his car was down he began to gather things as he brain was shut down. He picked up the smaller toolbox and opening the back of the hatchback slid it into a larger home made steel tool box he placed one hand on the back of it away from it and put his power to work. A small rune briefly glowed under his hand and he lightened the box long enough to get it out of the car, grunting so it seemed heavy. Putting it down he grabbed a handle and extended it for easy transport. Then he reached down and picked up a golf bag with various handles sticking out and shouldered it on one shoulder and shouldered a backpack on the other.

By the time her mind was gathered he was ready to go and he listened. He could almost hear the quotation marks around the word 'friend' as she spoke. A 'friend' that wouldn't mind him uses their shower, and the mayor had a key for it. He thought for a moment as he started to move... it was kinda like watching a fridge walk. It took a moment to get up to steam but would probably run down anyone in it's way. His momentum with all that was on him was pretty high. But walking helped his thinking and as he nodded he had to ask.

"Ya sure ya friend will not mind. Ah mean ah would hate for him ta get mad at ya ovah dis. Nah point ya sacrificing ya relationship wit him... or her."

He looked over to the mayor. So she could see his sincirity... or rather lack of caring.

"Ah mean it doesn't matter to ma if ya are seeing a girl or a guy. Ah donna care. Not ma business... as long as dis isn't ya way of inviting ma into a threesome or someding. Ah don't da casual sex. Too much drama"

[Regina Mills]

She only briefly stopped to marvel at the amount Jax insisted on carrying with him. At this point, she wasn't sure why she even let it surprise her. Rather then comment, she settled for merely rolling her eyes and continuing on her way - she'd just...go ahead and assume he'd be able to keep up, despite her notorious ability to walk faster in heels than any woman should be able to. Admittedly this stranger's presence had ruffled her feathers a bit at first...but in the end, he was nothing more than another delinquent to be dealt with. She'd become desensitized to his crudeness soon enough, and then it was only a matter of getting him out of time before....

...And then she stopped dead in her tracks at his next words. Well that was extremely inappropriate - not to mention that he'd gotten the completely wrong idea. Incredulously turning around with every intention of correcting him, Regina fixed him with a stern look and opened her mouth to speak - only to be cut off by his next, even more appalling words. By this point the former queen was practically bristling in response, all too aware that she was probably only making this worse by giving him such a strong reaction. It couldn't be helped at the moment, though. Her indignation was preventing her from being as rational as she wanted to be, and, realizing this, she took a moment to swallow her anger before even attempting any sort of response.

"Well fortunately for you, dear," she spat, her words dripping with sarcasm. "I don't foresee any casual sex in our future.. And since you seem to be incapable of being anything but crude, I suppose there's little point in informing you that the word 'friend' was not a euphemism!" And with that, she turned on here heel and began walking again. Hell if she was going to tolerate being spoken to like that - it was like the man had no filter whatsoever! Although, to be fair...perhaps her offer had sounded a little suspicious. And that was because it was suspicious. But not even remotely in the way that he'd suggested. As she stormed along, the mayor's entire being seemed to reflect her agitation - her walk was practically violent now (in fact, given her reputation as the 'evil queen' that was probably going to frighten any onlookers unnecessarily), her shoulders were tense, even her lightly layered dark hair seemed to fluff out in irritation.

She cast a somewhat disdainful look over her shoulder. "If you wouldn't mind hurrying - I'd rather get you in and out of the apartment before either of them get home, lest your 'charming personality' somehow manage to offend them as well." Not that she particularly cared whether or not Emma or Snow were offended - but it didn't make venting her anger any less satisfying at the moment.

[Jax]

Jax listened to the woman as she was just short of boiling over. He seemed to have hit a sore point and she did not seem calmed by his attempt to calm things down. In fact it seemed to him he shut her brain down for a moment in mid stride as he had to admit that she walked faster in heels then any woman he had ever met. By all rights she should have tripped and broken her neck. He followed the fuming and soon-to-be-dead-if-she-didn't-slow-down-and-watch-her-step woman and thought on what he said. His mouth creases as he tried to understand. What he didn't say out loud as his brain followed what she had said was....

"Da two?.... oooooooohhhh Ah get ya. One of dem is da one ya want but since they are both your friends and rooming ya don't want ta break things up... either that or are ya in denial."

Instead of saying what might or might not have been the last thing he ever said he followed quietly besides whistling a loud and violent sounding song. It was a song that rang out it's sound like a battle hymn. The song seemed to speak that the world had done it's best but you were still alive, raise your fist and scream. His expression seemed to change as he whistled this song. His head slightly banging, his steel toed boot occasionally tapping the ground with his toe. His heel shot out and thumped the ground, and his fingers tapping the handle of his toolbox in accompanying rhythm. He even from time to time biting the air adding that staccato sound to his self made concert. It was... beautiful in an obscene way as he thrust out his hips from time to time. Normally he didn't feel this way but... the sunset, the fresh air... the smell of cookies baking in the distance... he wondered if he is high. Shrugging the thought away he asked as they arrived at a apartment building.

"Dis the place?.... good. Ma armpits are itching..."

As he moved by the mayor he stopped, and looked her sincerely in the eye and patted her on the shoulder.

"Donna worry. Dings between ya will work out. Donna worry."

With that he whistled farther as he entered the unlocked apartment.

[Regina Mills]

Oh honestly, the man couldn't even complete the simple task of following her down the street without making a commotion! Regina grit her teeth slightly in response to Jax's humming and tapping and thumping and...being-irritating-in-general. She had half a mind to snap at him for that, too - but then it occurred to her that this was probably better than him continuing their previous conversation. At least he was keeping himself entertained, allowing her a moment to compose herself and attempt to wrap her thoughts around the complete insanity that was Storybrooke's newest visitor. Nobody else in town behaved this way. Was this what the rest of this world was like? If so, Regina very much doubted she'd be spending any extensive length of time outside of Storybrooke in the near future.

Once they'd traveled up the stairs and reached the apartment, Regina busied herself with pulling the skeleton key from her bag and unlocking the door, making every attempt to ignore the man behind her at all costs. After she'd succeeded in opening the door, she paused for a moment and listened attentively to any noise that might be coming from inside. Only satisfied when she heard nothing but silence through the absurdly thin walls, she stepped out of the way, signalling that she was allowing Jax to enter first. On the off chance that the pair who were probably among her least favorite people in the world were home, hell if she'd be walking into that apartment first.

His gruff patting her on the shoulder made Regina tense, her automatic response a defensive one. It was a couple of seconds before she forced herself to relax again - though she probably would have preferred him trying to attack her over the next words that left his mouth. Ugh. He was absolutely impossible. She shot a venomous glare at...his back, since he was already walking into the apartment. Stalking in after him, Regina was careful to close the door quietly (though it was dangerously tempting to slam it at this point) before finally responding. "Would you let it go? I've already told you, you're delusional. Now please clean yourself up so we can get the hell out of here?" This idea was already beginning to seem worse and worse - satisfying as it would be to see the looks on Snow and Emma's faces if they discovered this, she was already stressed and she really didn't particularly want to confront them right now.

And if she hurried Jax along, there was an even greater chance that he'd make a complete mess of the place. Which, really, was entirely enough to make this little plot worthwhile as far as she was concerned.

[Jax]

Jones took the golf bag off his shoulder as he walked, looking around the apartment as the same mind that noticed details that allowed him to survive in the pits of society picked up details and it came up with certain details. Two women for sure, and from children's drawings, school work, etc around the place he would bet at least one was a school teacher. He smiled at the thought as he put the bag down. As he moved he let go of the toolbox long enough to rip off his t-shirt as he walked towards the bathroom, revealing more tattoos then the average person sees in a tattoo parlor and put it on the tool box as he walked into the bathroom with it. He let go and shut the door as his other hand went for his belt buckle as he spoke out.

"Na peeking unless ya pay first."

Unnoticed by Jax as he was in there his golf bag fell over and the top popped up revealing a collection of... objects that could only be explained so many ways. Pieces of rebar with welded metal balls on the ends, axes, swords, blades, blunt objects. Some carved with holy symbols, some carved with runes, and a couple with silver etched into their blades. While this was going on Jax was popping open his large tool box. For two reasons, one a plastic bag inside had a change of clothes for emergencies and the other looked up at him as purple orbs lit up casting an unearthly pallor upon Jax. He held up a finger silencing the being before it started to move.

It was a small figure made up from parts a junkyard, welded together neatly and professional manner. It's joints made from lamp parts, it's eyes spark plugs that glowed purple. Jax smiled at his little friend as it looked around and Jax started to pull off his clothed. He looked in a closet and seeing some cleaning compounds pointed at them, and at his greasy hand point on the door knob and nodded. In response the small being went to work, as he pulled off his boots it was cleaning them, preventing them from staining the floor, as he took off his socks it was folding them and sticking them in a bag for him. To cover the extra movement Jax restarted his whistling as his shorter then average but muscled form was revealed he took the time pull out a bottle of hand soap from his tool box and entered the shower... he would rather use hand soap in his hair then smell of lavender.

It wasn't a long shower, Jax was an expert at cleaning off grease and when he was done he changed into his clean shirt and pants and stepped out. His hair at the moment wasn't spiked so it laid nicely on his head, spreading out so it appeared rather normal, almost classy, countered nicely by his new shirt proclaiming

Get Angry
And
Change
The World

His jeans were nicer looking, relatively stain free and while he didn't reek of dirt and sweat he instead filled the room with the scent of gasoline, burning metal, copper, and the smell of electrical discharge. His little friend was stored in his toolbox and behind him ty he bathroom positively sparkled. Smirking her frowned when he saw his backpack laying down. He reclosed the top and looked at the mayor.

"Dis... is exactly what it looked like."

With that he effortlessly shouldered the bag.

[Regina Mills]

The last words Jax spoke as he headed into the bathroom did not amuse Regina in the slightest. Fixing him with a glare that was vaguely reminiscent of the evil queen she'd once been, she icily responded, "Don't flatter yourself." before turning on her heel and heading into the living room while she waited for him to clean himself up. ..An act which, seconds later, she realized was a mistake. The only other time she'd ever been inside this apartment was also without the knowledge of its inhabitants - when she'd been attempting to frame her stepdaughter for a murder that hadn't even actually occurred. She hadn't given intrusion much thought then, it had been necessary. ..But now that she was here with purpose that wasn't nearly as dark, and far more time on her hands, she was given the opportunity to really think about where she was. The apartment was so disgustingly home-y and personal, and to know who had personalized it? Well, it made the mayor bristle, and immediately she wanted to be anywhere else.

She ended up just standing stiffly in the middle of the room, scowling around at the decor, until her gaze unintentionally dropped to the picture frame that sat on a nearby table. Immediately, she looked away again in disinterest...until a moment later, almost against her will, her eyes slid back to it. It was a picture of Emma and Snow - or, well, Emma and Mary Margaret; it seemed fairly obvious that the picture had been taken before the breaking of the curse. Yet even before they had known they were mother and daughter, there was something so...familial about them at the bond they had, something that was so painfully obvious to look at. Something that Regina and Snow had never had. Regina had made sure of that.

...No, Snow had, she reminded herself, biting down hard on the inside of her cheek and turning away. She'd had just about enough of all of this. She'd take her chances waiting in the kitchen, even if she ended up looking silly just standing around. Storming back out into the other room, she was brought to a screeching halt when she realized that the contents of Jax's bag had spilled out all over the floor. ...And that said 'contents' included what looked to be a large variety of murder weapons. Her jaw dropped a little at the sight - because despite all of the insane behavior Jax had displayed thus far, she honestly hadn't quite pegged him as a psychopath. But now - what other possible explanation could there be for a man who made casual roadtrips with a bag full of over a dozen different creative ways to maim someone?

Even as she was reflecting on this, the door swung open and out Jax walked - looking relatively cleaner than he had previously, at least. If Regina had been paying attention, she might have stopped to gape at the now-spotless bathroom, but at the moment her thoughts were most certainly directed elsewhere. Her eyes locked on Jax coldly and calculatingly, her posture tense and - for the first time - actually aggressive now. She had allowed this man into her town, where her son lived - and she'd come dangerously close to letting him lose here. His casual reaction and his comment about this being exactly what it looked like finally caused something in Regina to snap. She clenched her jaw and took a shaky breath before trusting herself enough to speak. "I would pray that's not the case, Mr. Gardener." The former queen hissed out. "Because if it is, you will not be able to run out of this town fast enough to escape what I'm prepared to do, and no amount of murder weapons will be able to save you. "

[Jax]

Jax looked at the woman before him blankly. His face utterly without emotion for a moment before he started looking around before it occurred to him that she was referring to his 'handy helpers' it his golf bag. He looked at her incredulously for a moment and thought how best to deal with this. True... he had an inborn hatred for authority figures most time but she didn't seem so bad. A bit stiff but okay and her situation was kinda sad and truth be told he was rooting for her just a bit so instead of laughing at her or yelling at her he instead decided to explain.

"Look Regina... ya seem ta have da wrong idea about ma... am ah a saint... #^*@ na. Ah have na halo but.. neither am ah evil. Ah am not a murde~"

Jax stopped... and tilted his head in a way that was not the most reassuring in this juncture of a conversation he grimaced at the almost flat out lie he had told.

"Okay... let's just say... ah spent several years in... a... very very bad part of da city of Gotham. I survived dat and when everyding went @$$ up wit da zombies and all dat. Ah will admit dere were... incidents dat required less tact and more action and dings happened. Messy dings. And if ya had lived dere and lived through dat ya might want a few dependable objects nearby. Dat is why ah have deem... plus ah worked hard making all these and ah don't want some jack hole stealing dem while ah was gone."

He nodded. All this was true. Granted alot of it was understatement to the level of almost lying... but it was all true. But despite that he figured more explanation was needed.

"Have ah got in fights... yes. But if it makes ya feel better ah didn't start dem. Ah just finished dem. So des are not murder weapons dey are if anything weapons of self defense... which granted I doubt ah would need here but hey... ya survive zombies like ah said ya like ya weapons."

He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

[Regina Mills]

Regina's mood did not improve much as she listened to Jax's explanation - but by the end of it, at least she didn't look quite so murderous anymore. Her gaze dropped back down to the bag again, and she eyed it suspiciously for a moment longer before meeting his gaze again. Self-defense. Right. Well, he was correct about one thing at least: there'd be very little need for weapons like those in a place like Storybrooke. Most of the residents here were hardly what you'd call dangerous, and those that were...Rumpelstiltskin, herself, her mother...well, weapons didn't really help much against any of them. But she was hardly about to start explaining to him the nature of the powerful dark magic that some of this town's less-friendly residents wielded - god forbid he find out about any of that, because she had the feeling that rather than scaring him off, it would provoke some foolish sort of curiosity and only prompt him to stick around longer.

Another moment passed in silence as she made her decision. As much fun as it would have been to have Emma and Snow walk in on a strange man with a bag full of deadly weapons, Regina got the feeling that that would have been going a little far. Snow would probably dropkick someone first and ask questions later, and Emma...well, Emma had a gun. And God knew she didn't always think before using it. Yes, she really wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, at this point. Eyes narrowed still, she eventually spoke. "One wrong move," Regina growled, somewhat resigned in her decision of allowing him to stay. "One - and you're gone, understood? I don't care about your car, I'll have you walk out of Storybrooke if I have to." The people of Storybrooke might have infuriated her to no end - some of them more than others - but more and more she was finding that she felt instinctively protective of them when it came to outsiders. That, and her son was here in town. If Jax did anything that might threaten Henry, she'd do more than throw him out of town.

For now, though, she was reluctantly giving him the benefit of the doubt - but she still wanted to keep him in her sight at all times. Regina tilted her head expectantly towards the door to the apartment. "Now let's get you to the inn, before I find out about the pipe bomb you're no doubt hiding in the trunk of your car and change my mind." She was only half-joking, because at this point? Nothing really would have surprised her. As she waited for him to start heading out, her gaze finally drifted back towards the bathroom...and she paused, tilting her head to one side. From what she could see from here, it was far from the mess she'd expected it to be...in fact, it looked sparkling clean. She stared blankly for a moment, half-tempted to walk over to the nearest wall and slam her head against it repeatedly. Well, fantastic. The one time she'd been counting on him doing something wrong, he'd done something right. She didn't even want to think about Snow and Emma's reactions to this when they got home.