Anti is broken. That much is obvious.
His multicoloured eyes are exactly the same as they've always been; glinting and creepy by nature. His actual physical form, however, has taken a beating. He twitches and shakes, his very edges seeming to glitch in and out of reality.
Matthew and Cry watch him, their eyes wide and filled with horror. Anti glances from them to Mr. Vincent, his ever-present grin only growing. He flexes the fingers that once belonged to Jack, clearly enjoying the control.
"It's good to see that you haven't totally been destroyed," Mr. Vincent says, a smile stretching across his face. "Although you seem to be rough around the edges."
"They tried. Those heroes tried to destroy me! They can't get rid of me that easily. I am not so easily broken!" Anti cackles. "Antiseptic was such an obvious cure and they expected it to work! It hurt me, yes, but it did NOT kill me!"
"I'm glad. Now, go out and kill the heroes. Let the streets run red with their blood," Vincent orders.
Anti watches him for a moment, his body twitching violently as he steps towards him. His laugh echoes in the room. "Why would I listen to you?! You and the Boss Man were and are exactly the same. You think you own me, but you don't. Jack is my master, even if our love isn't mutual."
Mr. Vincent scowls. "So what, you'll side with them?!"
"Of course not! I'm not crazy!" Anti shrieks. His scream dissolves into high pitched laughter. "Never mind, I am crazy. I'm the craziest. But that doesn't mean I would side with them. I'll destroy them because I want to!"
"That's good enough for me. Now, do you know anything of their plans?"
"Of course I do. I have been in this body for a very long time, after all. I've been in every meeting, and you chose the right time to release me. As it turns out, they're heading here right now!"
Mr. Vincent grins. "Good. Take these two and wreck havoc."
Anti laughs, his eyes flashing with something that can easily be described as pure evil. "Why, havoc is my favourite thing!"
Then, much to the horror of the other villains, they're being dragged into the streets by a psychotic demon. Anti takes the lead, cackling manically the entire time, while Matthew takes an opportunity to lean against a building and dry-heave. Cry stays close, shaking noticeably and watching Anti through his mask.
"Heroes! Come out to play!" Anti calls, cupping his hands around his mouth and grinning like a clown. "Ooh, there they are!"
The heroes and rebels walk slowly towards the intersection where Anti stands, varying degrees of horror on their faces. Mark turns pale and accidentally backs into Felix, leading the Swede to steady him and murmur something into his ear.
"What is that!?" Hudson exclaims, ducking behind Red.
"I'm your worst nightmare!" Anti shrieks with a twitch of his head. "Mark can tell you all about it!"
Mark remains completely rigid beside Felix, the colour failing to return to his face. Red lifts her gun and Mark immediately smacks it down.
"You shoot him, you kill J-Jack," he squeaks, unable to get enough air into his lungs. "This... this isn't happening. I k-killed him. T-This isn't h-h-happening..."
"Oh, but it is!" Anti cackles. He steps forward, jerks violently, and takes control of Mark's body. The hero can't even struggle as the demon manipulates him in every way he wants. "Look at him dance! Isn't this great!?"
"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.