United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Epilogue

As Mark and Jack walk up the pathway to Matthew and Cry's cottage, the Irishman is pleasantly surprised at how cute it is. Large windows take up the whole front of the house, the sun making each pane glow. The coast is so close he can hear the waves crashing against the shore and see the ocean sparkling on the horizon.

The door opens to reveal Cry and a moment later, a Newfoundland dog charges towards Mark and Jack with its tongue lolling. Trailing it is a dachshund, and they both can't help but grin.

"Oh my gosh, hi!" Jack says, scratching the Newfoundlander behind the ears while the Dachshund jumps up against Mark's leg. They thoroughly greet both animals before getting to their feet and heading for the door, where Cry is waiting. His grey eyes still glow gold, but it's so much better than it ever was before. Him and Jack exchange a hug, and with a whistle Cry summons the dogs back inside.

"You got pets," Jack comments, kicking off his shoes.

"I know! Aren't they cute? The Newfie is Ross and the dachshund is Karen, by the way. My dad never let us get a dog before, so I figured why not get two?" Cry replies, scratching Ross' head.

"Whose idea was it to name the dachshund Karen?" Mark asks with a grin.

"Matthew. It was all Matthew's fault," Cry replies with a laugh. "Ah, speak of the devil."

Matthew rounds the corner and engulfs Jack in a hug, his brown eyes shimmering. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too," Jack says. "I mean, it hasn't been extremely long. You visited when my family was here."

"Very true. Anyway, want to head to the living room?"

The four move out of the entry and settle in plush seats, conversing easily in a room filled with light and warmth. Jack finds himself looking around, still having a hard time believing that any of this is real and permanent.

From the time he was ten years old, he's known nothing other than the life of a villain. He was forced to do horrible things for a boss who only cared about himself, and for the majority of his life he believed that that was all he would ever get. He never once believed that he would get a man like Mark. He fell in love, and after his "death" Jack thought he would never see him again. It seems that fate works in mysterious ways, however, and Mark came back and breathed new life into Jack.

Now, villains and heroes and antiheroes are a thing of the past. Four humans with supernatural abilities drink coffee together in a sunbathed room, no titles remaining that would hold them back or make them afraid. A former villain and a former hero sit side by side, their hands clasped together, and have jovial conversations with former villains.

Despite all of their losses and all the grief, it lead to this moment. It lead to their freedom and it lead to the end of the New Age Institute. All of the rough patches, all the times that things seemed too bad to carry on; it all worked out in the end. Even though Jack will always miss Dan and Matthew will always have Stephanie's guns hanging on the wall, the pain will decrease with time. It's not impossible to be alright.

The worst of the worst is over. All will be okay.

The End