United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Fifty-Nine - Anti

"Stop it!" Felix yells, sending a living dumpster charging in their direction. Anti drops Mark and jumps out of the way of danger, and Felix stops his minion before it crashes into the downed hero. In the distance, the anti-heroes peer around the corner of a building, notice what's going on, and silently slip away.

"Try to knock him out. Be careful," Matthias orders into their earpieces.

"Lili, Phil, be ready," Gunner adds.

The medics back away from the fight and Felix moves his dumpster to cover them. Meanwhile, Mark stumbles to his feet and faces off against Anti, his hands shaking.

"Oh, little hero... Trying to be brave when you're obviously weak," Anti says with a grin. Mark feels his muscles constrict slightly, a sure sign that the demon is controlling him, and with a flick of his wrist Anti brings him to his knees.

"Jack is crying, Markimoo. He's crying and screaming because he didn't want this," Anti taunts, starting to circle him in that new, twitchy way. "He's going to watch me kill you!"

Mark tries to move his arms, to lunge out and attack Anti, but his arms snap to his sides with a wave of the demon's finger. Hudson races forward, but in a split second Anti has him on the ground too.

"Brave, stupid heroes," Anti says, his tone almost sing-songy. He moves past Mark and takes Hudson's chin in his hand, grinning madly. "I guess you're a rebel, though. Brave, stupid rebel."

Red charges towards him and he sits her down in one movement, his head twitching to the side. She stares at him, fear and pure hatred obvious in her eyes as she struggles against his hold.

"If you would all stop running at me like it will accomplish anything, I'd appreciate that." Anti smiles again and straightens up, moving back to Mark. "I've waited a long time to play with you again, Markimoo. It's been AGES."

"Fuck you," Mark replies. "I killed you."

"Ooh, he's FIESTY. I love that. And no, you tried to kill me and failed. And apparently, you just got your will to fight back. How did that happen, Markimoo?" He gasps and puts a hand over his heart. "It wouldn't be because I stole little ol' Jackaboy from you, would it?"

"Let him go!" Mark yells.

"You know, this would be a lot more fun if you had a dark side, Marky. He wouldn't be crazy like me, though. He'd be sophisticated and calculated and dark," Anti says, sighing dramatically. "Wouldn't that be the dream? I would love him more than I love Jack!"

Mark grits his teeth and shuts his eyes, wishing himself anywhere but here. He can hear Hudson breathing heavily though his nose and he can hear Red still struggling, but his headcount is off. Lili and Phil are behind the dumpster, the three of them are at the mercy of a psychopath...

Where's Felix?

He opens his eyes, peering past Anti to see Matthew crouched against a wall, trembling and alone. Cry and Felix are both nowhere to be seen. Panic rises in his chest and he takes a shuddering breath, unable to regulate his breathing.

"Your little healers are hiding right now, aren't they? Behind that dumpster over there. My, Philly is positively shaking! He wants to die a lot of the time." Anti claps his hand over his mouth, but when he lowers it he's grinning maniacally. "Whoops! That was a secret for Jack and him. Oh well!" He locks eyes with Mark and forces him to his feet with a flick of his finger. "Come on, Markimoo, it's playtime!"

Just as he's about to slam Mark into the ground, Felix appears out of thin air and clubs Anti over the head. Anti's eyes flash back to blue as Jack crumples, the monster replaced in an instant by the pale, scrawny Irishman Mark knows and loves. Cry lifts his hand from Felix's shoulder and sways, taking a step back before sinking to the ground. Mark lowers himself to the ground as well, his heart racing and breaking at the same time. Anti was released most likely by Mr. Vincent, Jack got hurt, and now Mark is afraid to even touch him. He pushes past the bubble of anxiety that rises in his heart and pulls Jack into his lap, cradling the unconscious villain against his chest.

"Mark?" Lili asks quietly. He didn't even hear her come up behind him.

"Leave him be," Felix replies.

"How did you turn invisible?" Red demands, turning to the Swede.

Felix looks to Cry, who sits, slumped, on the ground nearby. The masked villain glances up at the heroes and rebels, shaking considerably.

"I've never done that before," he says, his voice trembling. "Turned anyone else invisible with me."

"Well, your hidden ability saved our lives," Felix replies.

Cry shrugs a bit. Matthew approaches and helps him stand, the masked villain swaying slightly. Mark watches the two of them, then glances down at the Irishman in his arms. They really are the good people Jack said they are.

"Get back here and get an eyepatch on Jack before he wakes up," Matthias says into their earpieces. "Let the two villains go."

His words seem to snap the heroes and rebels out of their trance and Mark allows Felix to take Jack for a moment as he stands. He straightens up and reaches out to take the villain in his arms again, but Felix hesitates.

"You don't have to carry him, Mark. I can do it."

"I want to."

"You're completely pale and you're still shaking."

"I'm fine. Give me my boyfriend."

Felix sighs heavily and gently lowers Jack into Mark's arms. A stab of fear passes through the American's heart and he's distinctly aware that if Jack so much as stirs, he'll have an armful of a demon, but he does his best to ignore those facts. Jack is in his arms and he's hurt, and Mark wants to protect him. 

He needs to.