Different [A Superhero AU] - Book One

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Scheming

Cry paces back and forth across the connected kitchen, dining room, and living room, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his face downcast. Dan extinguishes and relights the candle in front of him with the tip of his finger, his head in his hand and a bored expression plastered on his face. Matthew and Stephanie sit closely on the nearby couch, speaking to each other under their breath. Every once in a while, a frustrated huff comes from Cry, causing Dan to glare over at him.

"Jack's such a freaking moron!" the masked villain finally blurts, throwing his hands up in the air. "He's-he's just... UHG!"

"We get it," Matthew comments, glancing over. "Just give him a break, okay? He's been through a lot."

"He didn't even try to escape! Why does nobody but me care?!" Cry demands.

"Can we stop discussing Jack for three seconds?" Dan asks, lifting his head from his hand.

"I hope we get sent out soon so I can think of something other than Jack, but right now all I can think about is how BIG OF AN IDIOT JACK IS!" Cry groans and flops onto the nearest chair, running his hands down the side of his mask exasperatedly.

"Geez, you're whiny," Stephanie mumbles, causing Matthew to grin.

"Shut up, Steph," Cry snaps. "You don't know the struggle I'm going through!"

Dan makes a face, imitating his movements from behind the masked villain. Matthew and Stephanie both bite their lips, attempting not to laugh. Instantly, Cry whips around to face the Brit.

"I was doing nothing," Dan insists, trying not to laugh.

"You're imitating me again, you massive douche!" Cry exclaims.

The Brit shrieks as Cry leaps out of his chair, chasing the fire-bending villain around in circles. The two villains on the couch start laughing as they watch the younger men race around.

—

"What the hell?" Wade questions.

Bob shrugs, swivelling the hacked security camera ever so slightly. Two of the villains chase each other around the room while the other two watch them, laughing.

"Who knew villains could laugh?" Danny and Arin ask at the same time, grinning at their own humour.

Wade and Bob both ignore their comment, their eyes trained on the monitor. Ryan grows closer to the screen, his eyebrows furrowed.

"There are five villains. Where's Jack?"

"Let's check." Bob taps a few keys on his keyboard, switching cameras from room to room. Finally, they reach the one situated in the Irishman's room. There, they can see Jack tossing and turning restlessly before screaming. Instantly, the machine beside his bed beeps and his entire body goes rigid. Danny feels Ryan tense up beside him.

After a second or so, Jack sits bolt upright. Ryan reaches over, switching the camera back to the other villains.

"Are you alright?" Wade asks, glancing over at him. "What was that machine?"

Ryan shakes his head, swallowing hard. "I'm fine, yeah, just seeing that again, um..." He blinks a few times, taking a deep breath. "They use those to stop us from screaming during the night. Most of us have seen a lot of shit, so they trained our minds to think that screaming meant a shock. Since we were new, Matt and I..." He stops, his eyes flashing at the mention of his best friend's name. "It never really worked for us. We didn't see as much horror as the others."

Danny and Arin whistle in synchronization.

"They really do that?" Arin asks.

"Seems like a pretty cruel thing to do to someone on your side," Danny adds.

Ryan nods, sitting down in a nearby chair. Wade pats his shoulder, smiling a little.

"This is why we're here. We save people from this."

"The Villain Institute is corrupt and cruel," Danny states.

"And Curatrix is full of naïve, big-headed heroes. Who wants to live like that?" Arin asks.

They grin, speaking at the same time again. "We're the perfect in-between!"

Ryan nods, a smile finding its way onto his face.

Upon seeing his grin, Wade shakes his shoulder exuberantly. "See, we told you you'd warm up to this life!"

The former villain nods, turning to Bob with a new-found determination in his eyes. "So, what's the next step, boss?"

Bob purses his lips and presses a few keys, splitting the cameras between Jack's room and the other villains. After watching the screen for a moment, he turns towards his fellow anti-heroes. "Our primary mission is to kidnap villains and turn them into anti-heroes. We don't have a specific target, but I'd say that either the man with the mask or Jack." He motions towards their faces on the screen. "Ryan has told me that around the institute, they hold the most power."

Ryan nods in agreement. "Jack has super-speed and Cry can turn invisible. Out of everyone, those two have the strongest powers." He stands, gesturing to the screen with each name he says. "Dan can control fire. He's strong, but water and cold make him weaker than Jack and Cry. Matthew has superhuman mentality, as well as the ability to manipulate code. He's also pretty powerful, but he mainly stays at headquarters. Getting to him would be nearly impossible. Then there's Stephanie. She has the power of puppeteering. It's pretty dangerous, but if he gets her eyes covered she can't do anything."

Wade blinks a few times, amazed.  "This is really valuable information."

Bob nods in agreement and shuts off the monitor. "Good. Jack and Cry are our targets. If we get them, the institute will crumble."