United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Aftermath

Strands of moonlight filter through the open ceiling, casting shadows across the headstones of the villain graveyard. The grass rustles softly as Jack shuffles towards Dan's stone and crumples, tears falling freely down his face. He tries to breathe and think but he can't. There are too many tears and too much heartache. Between sprinting and crying, something as second nature as breathing seems like too much of a task.

"Dan, they want to kill Cry. I tried to tell Mark that they couldn't do that, but he didn't listen. I yelled at him, Dan. I yelled at him and accused him of being heartless when I know that he cares more about everyone than anyone I've ever met," Jack rambles, wrapping his arms around his legs and burying his face in his knees. "He didn't deserve it. I don't deserve him. I moved away from him, Dan. But how could I let them kill Cry? I've already lost you. I don't know what to do..."

The stone stares blankly at him, the pale moonlight illuminating Dan's engraved name. Jack stares back before half-heartedly punching the ground beside him, a tired, frustrated huff escaping him.

"You're just a stone. I miss the Dan I could talk to and hug and punch playfully. You can probably hear me though, Dan's ghost. I'm not crazy, right?" Jack glances at the headstone for a moment before burying his face in his knees again, sniffling. "I'm totally crazy." He exhales heavily. "You never told me about you and Phil. I don't blame you, Dan, for keeping it a secret. I get it. He misses you a lot..."

His continuous babble is cut off by Cry and Matthew peeking their heads into the room. Matthew exhales, relieved. The masked villain stands quietly beside him, his unseen gaze trained on the Irishman.

"God, Jack. We've been looking everywhere for you," Matthew says, pressing a hand over his heart. "We saw you race in on the security cameras but didn't see you again after that."

"I'm fine," Jack mumbles, trying to wipe the last tear streaks from his face. Good lie there, Jack. They'll definitely believe that one.

"And I'm British," Matthew replies smoothly, sarcasm lacing his tone. "We can play the lying game all night, Jack. If you're talking to Dan, you're not fine."

"You talk to Stephanie..."

"And I never said I was fine." The villain sighs and settles on the grass beside the Irishman, Cry following suit. "What happened that made you come back here for the night?"

"Um... Mark and I had a fight about their plans," Jack replies softly. His lip wobbles, but he doesn't want to cry anymore. "I don't know what to do. I love him but he's dumb sometimes and he has a point but at the same time it's a stupid plan that will hurt all of us..."

"Shh," Matthew murmurs, putting an arm around his shoulder. "He loves you, Jack. He'll listen if you tell him what you're feeling."

The Irishman nods weakly and rests his head on Matthew's shoulder. Cry puts his arm around both of them, his invisible gaze trained on the headstones in front of them. Matthew's gaze travels to Stephanie's and stays there for a long time, his eyes welling with tears that he quietly wipes away. Jack exhales heavily, feeling more worn down than he's felt in a long time.

——

Mark releases the bridge of his nose from between tense fingers, his heart crumbling into pieces. He's an idiot. A total, complete IDIOT. He's hurting the person he loves more than anyone else in the world and he didn't try to stop him from leaving. He just told him that he's planning on killing his brother and then yelled at him. What kind of insensitive douche does that?!

He slowly walks to the spare room, where the heroes have set up a makeshift gym complete with weights, a punching bag, and some other equipment. It was intended to help them regain some of their strength after weeks of being hidden and stagnant, but Mark has a different goal in mind.

He channels all his anger and heartbreak and other painful emotions and puts them into his fists, slamming them into the punching bag over and over again. It hurts his knuckles, but the sting keeps him grounded. The sound of fists on leather fills the room as he whales on the bag, sending it swinging away from him before meeting his fury again. He punches until his adrenaline runs out, leaving him heartbroken and aching.

He stares at the bag for a moment before feeling his knees go weak, leading him to slowly sink to the floor. The moment he hits the ground, he bursts into tears. His heart aches, but there's nothing he can do about it. Punching a bag into oblivion won't make it go away. Jack left and most likely won't come back for a while. The villain won't sleep. He won't eat. He'll barely keep himself alive and Mark has no way of checking on him. Not that the Irishman will want to talk to him anyway...

Scrubbing uselessly at the tears pouring down his face, Mark hiccups and sobs and curls himself up into a ball. His brain runs a mile a minute but he can't seem to formulate a thought. The only word on his brain is Jack. He cries and shivers and clenches his bruising hands, growing weaker and more guilty as time passes. He wants Jack in his arms, but it's his own stupid fault that he can't.

Another broken sob escapes his lips and he buries his face in his knees. There has to be another way.