Different [A Superhero AU] - Book One

Chapter Thirty-One - It's Over

As soon as the alarm goes off, the heroes are in their suits and racing down the street. Mark, terrified about the mission at hand, trails behind the other heroes. The buildings tower overhead, high in the sky like the birds and the clouds. Marzia ushers civilians to safety, making sure there's nobody nearby that could get hurt. The anti-heroes stand in the intersection, holding their weapons over their shoulders.

"What do you have to gain from this?" Ken asks when the heroes get closer.

"We have a very specific goal in mind," Wade replies, his stance defensive.

"We don't have to fight," Felix says.

Arin and Danny's combined form tilts its head. "Why would we fight you? You aren't our target."

The heroes glance at each other. As they do, the anti-heroes lower their guns from their shoulders and cock them. Felix, Mark, Ken, and Phil look over in that direction, seeing the villains approaching them. Immediately, Mark's stomach flips.

Jack, Cry, Dan, and Stephanie approach the group with Cry in the lead, the girl twirling a gun in her hand and Dan tossing a ball of flame to himself. Jack trails behind, looking just as pale as the day he got tortured. The hero and the villain lock eyes and seem unable to tear themselves away.

"We could do this the easy way or the hard way," Wade says, his face serious. Behind him, Ryan shifts uncomfortably. "You can either send Cry and Jack with us without a fight, or we can take them by force."

Mark has to stop himself from stumbling back. His stomach churns like he's been punched in the gut, his heart immediately beginning to race. What are the anti-heroes going to do to Jack?  He looks over at the Irishman, who stands there completely frozen. Dan takes a defensive step forward, but Cry stops him.

"This is ridiculous. We will not hand ourselves over," he says, his voice dangerously calm.

"Then we'll have to do this the hard way," Wade concludes.

In an instant, guns are being fired. The heroes leap away from the gunfire and rejoin Marzia, who draws a protective shield around them. Mark's eyes are trained on Jack, who races away from the anti-heroes at the speed of light. When he stops running, he looks as though he might throw up. Dan creates a wall of fire between himself and the anti-heroes, his skin turning red and his eyes glowing.

Arin and Danny hoist a massive grenade launcher over their shoulder, firing the gun and sending a grenade flying through the air. It hits the ground and explodes, sending smoke billowing into the atmosphere. Among the smog and fire, the silhouette of an invisible Cry appears.

"Oh my gosh," Phil mumbles. "They've figured out how to find him when he's invisible."

"Do not get involved. This is not our fight," Matthias says into their earpieces. "Get back to headquarters."

With Marzia maintaining her shield, the heroes begin moving towards Curatrix. Mark's heart pounds almost painfully in his chest.  He doesn't want to leave the villain behind.  He's so close to the answers he so desires... 

"Mark, come on," Felix says, tugging on the edge of his uniform.

The red-haired hero glances at the Swede before nodding, hesitantly going with the rest of the heroes back to Curatrix.

—

Jack slows to a halt, gasping for breath and trying not to throw up. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the heroes escaping the scene under a shield. The thought of Mark leaving him to possibly get captured makes him feel even more ill.

A smoke grenade explodes near him, sending him tumbling to the pavement. With instinct kicking in, he scrambles to his feet and turns to see Arin and Danny coming toward him, their massive gun hoisted over their shoulder.

"Come on, Jack, coming with us is a lot easier than fighting," they say.

"In your dreams," the Irishman spits back.

"Ooo, we've got a sassy little speed-demon on our hands, don't we?"

Jack growls and races at them, throwing a punch towards their face. Before he can hit them, they split apart and cause the villain to miss. He stumbles forward and Arin elbows him in between the shoulder blades, causing him to crumple to the ground.

"Got him!" Arin laughs.

"Nice!" Danny replies. The two high five, merging into each other as their hands collide.

Jack snarls, all the anger and emotions that had been welling up inside of him for the past week finally reaching its breaking point. He jumps to his feet, speeding towards Arin and Danny's combined form. Before they can react, he knocks them to the ground and races off. He whips past Dan, his eyes focused on Wade. The anti-hero looks over, cocking his gun and aiming it at the villain. Jack stops running when the barrel of Wade's gun is pressed against his chest. The pressure hurts, but he finds that the pain helps him maintain his grip on reality.

"Pull the trigger. I dare you," he taunts, visible eye blazing.

"It wouldn't kill you. It's just a tranquilizer," Wade replies, raising an eyebrow.

"At this range, it could kill me."

The anti-hero clenches his jaw. "We don't want to kill you."

"You might as well!" Jack protests, yelling now. "I've been kidnapped three times! I'd rather die than be experimented on, or tortured, or forced to do things I don't want to do! So just KILL ME!"

Wade's mouth hangs open slightly as he watches the villain fall apart at the seams. Jack starts fighting for breath, trying to pull air into lungs that are too small. He sinks to his knees, gripping his chest as he tries to breathe and not throw up at the same time. His entire chest aches, leading him to believe that the cuts have gotten infected. Between the pain, the panic, and the utter loss of control over everything, Jack can't get air.  He's never felt this helpless before, and that terrifies him. 

Above him, Wade shifts and looks around, unsure of what to do. Jack focuses on the concrete below him, trying not to lose the small amount of food in his body. Wade presses a finger to his earpiece, listening to the voice on the other end before kneeling down. He pulls a pair of handcuffs from his belt and attaches them to the villain's wrists. Jack doesn't even jerk away from his touch.

Wade pulls the Irishman to his feet easily and holds him there, his eyes scanning for the rest of the anti-heroes. Danny and Arin's combined form corners Cry, who's now visible and backed against the wall of a building. Ryan holds Dan and Stephanie in place with his freeze vision, stopping them from saving Jack or Cry.

The Irishman hangs his head. It's all over.