United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Fifty-Nine - Anti

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!?"