United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Five - The Boss' Anger

Cry and Jack head down the hallway and away from the cameras, completely tense.  Matthew joins them, looking equally anxious.

"This is by far the worst part of my day," Matthew grumbles, shoving his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"I second that," Jack replies. Cuddling with Mark had been so nice. Now, he's here. It makes him want to scream.

"Where did you go, anyway?" Cry asks, glancing at him. "The note was super vague."

Jack shrugs a bit, bowing his head in order to stare at his runners. "Nowhere."

"Oh come on, Jack. We're not idiots," Matthew says, some of the tension draining from him as he nudges the Irishman's shoulder. "You can tell us."

"If I tell you, you can't let anyone else know." Jack sends a pointed look towards the masked villain. "Especially your father, Cry."

"Deal. Now tell us, the suspense is killing me," Cry replies, a hint of playful dramatics entering his tone.

Jack takes a deep breath, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It just so happens that Mark isn't dead," he mumbles. His face turns bright red and he hunches even more, as though it will hide him from the shocked gazes of his brothers.

Cry's mouth opens and closes a few times. "How."

"That's impossible," Matthew states. "He was dead..."

Jack shakes his head. "He was nearly dead. Phil saved him."

Matthew nods, but before he can say anything they reach the door to the boss' office. Cry tenses once again as he reaches out and takes the door handle. Before he opens it, he turns to the other villains.

"Um... I don't want this. He may be my father, but—"

"Cry." Matthew reaches out and touches his shoulder gently, a pained smile on his face. "We don't blame you. We never have."

The masked villain exhales heavily, nodding a little as he turns the handle of the door. The moment they step inside the boss spins to face them, his face purple with rage.

"What took you so long!? I demanded that you come to my office immediately! What about that is so hard to understand!?" he screams, picking up a picture frame from his desk and chucking it at their heads. The three villains dodge it narrowly, sending each other nervous glances.  The boss leans against his desk, more emaciated and sickly than Jack has ever seen him. His hair is almost completely gone, and the last strands fall out in clumps.

"Son, get over here," he demands with a wheeze.

With rigid steps, Cry walks towards his father. The moment he's close enough, the boss rips his mask off and slaps him across the face, sending him stumbling to the floor. His skin flashes and his grey eyes turn gold almost immediately, showcasing the pain that he could hide easily before. Matthew and Jack run to his side, and as they're kneeling beside him two of the boss' cronies enter the room. They glance at the boss and, at his nod of approval, grab Matthew and Jack from the ground and hold them still. Jack struggles and kicks, but he can't free himself. He's fast, not strong.

The boss staggers over to his son and kicks him, inducing a strangled yell from Cry's lips. He glows like a lightbulb, brightening his dark little spot on the floor.

"This is your punishment..." the boss states, the wheezing in his voice growing more and more prominent the more he exerts himself. "...for being late..."

With all the strength he can muster, he punches Jack in the gut before doing the same to Matthew. The Irishman yelps and nearly crumples, coughs instantly ravaging his lungs. He can almost feel the imprints of where the boss has hit him in the past like a scar. This pain is so familiar that at this point, Jack believes he shouldn't be able to feel anything at all.

The boss uses two of the three villains as punching bags before turning on his own son, pouring the last of his energy into kicks and stomps. Cry emits an exclamation of pain with every blow, tears streaming down his agonized face. By the time he's on the brink of unconsciousness, the boss finally stumbles back to his desk chair and collapses, panting and coughing.

"Take them out and let them lick their own wounds," he croaks to his cronies.

The men nod and drag Matthew and Jack out, tossing them in the hallway before retrieving Cry and doing the same to him. The villain holds his mask in his hands, wiping the tears from his eyes before hastily cramming the covering back over his face and stopping the glowing. Jack holds his stomach, a black border dancing on the edges of his vision.

"Come on," Matthew gasps, clutching at his own stomach with one arm while using the other to hoist himself up. A constant flow of blood trickles from his nose, which he doesn't even bother to wipe away. "Let's get as far away from him as possible."

"Y-yeah," Jack stammers. Slowly and painfully, he pulls himself to his feet before helping Cry up. He can already feel bruises forming around his scars. What will Mark think if he ever sees his torso now?

The three villains move slowly down the hallway and into Dan's old room, which is now a makeshift hospital ward. There, they grab icepacks and attempt to soothe their wounds, saying little to each other as they lie down on the three spare beds.

Jack stares up at the ceiling, tears swimming in his eyes. I should have stayed with Mark.