Different [A Superhero AU] - Book One

Chapter Twelve - Thoughts and Reality

Mark kicks his feet in the air, peering over the edge of the building with his stomach flat against the ground. The other heroes watch the ground as well, although some of their eyes travel to the excited man beside them.

"Are we going to have to sit here all day?" Felix asks with a sigh.

"Hey, at least it's a mission!" Mark replies. "At least you didn't have to stay in bed and miss all the action!"

"He does have a point there," Phil comments, laughing a little.

The group falls silent, their focus once again on the street below them. Even Matthias is silent in their earpieces. Mark finds his mind wandering to the villain he had run into the other day. Whenever he had pictured them in his mind, he had seen monsters. Devils in human bodies. He had imagined their voices speaking to him in gravelly tones, and when they were dead, Mark would be the hero. He, Mark Fischbach, had saved the world from the evils that contaminated it!

Yesterday, he had been thrown for a loop. Jack is Irish and scrawny and pale, and his green hair falls in his face when the wind blows it. When he glanced at Mark, the hero could see that his regular eye was blue like sapphires and Californian waters. He wasn't a devil, he was almost completely human. He even separated Anti from himself, making the demonic creature a separate entity. How can Mark hurt him now? In his mind's eye, Jack looks like a human. Mark never wanted to kill humans.

Ken nudges his side, pulling him from his thoughts. His companions whisper with one another as they wait in suspense. The villains are definitely on a mission today, but when is the time to strike? Mark watches the street, and for a split second, he believes he's seeing things. In the blink of an eye, a green blur dashes past, invisible to the untrained eye. Apparently, Mark wasn't the only one who saw it, because in seconds the rest of the heroes are on their feet and sneaking towards the ground with Matthias giving quiet but firm orders into their ears.

As soon as his feet touch the ground, Mark is sprinting in Jack's direction. His muscles ache with the exertion, leaving him panting. As he pulls himself to a stop, an invisible force collides with his side, sending him tumbling to the ground. He pulls himself to his feet with a groan, only to be knocked down again. He opens his eyes slowly, seeing that the creature is now visible. Stray wisps of brunet hair flow with the breeze, right over the forehead of an unsmiling, unblinking mask. Mark gulps. This is a perfect example of the demon he had always pictured in his mind.

Mark raises his hand, effectively slowing time and giving him enough space to get away from the masked villain. He sprints down the block once again, the world around him moving in slow motion. His pace grows leisurely as he strolls through the various battles that his comrades have engaged in. Phil's hands are raised in the air, water moving and twisting towards them. An equally lean and pale man faces him, his palms aimed at Phil as the beginnings of fire engulf them. His eyes, which had once been brown, slowly turn to red, a sure sign of his power. Marzia and Felix stand side by side, their drawings and creations just starting to come to life as they face a woman with dark brown hair and brown eyes, determination on her countenance. His jaw nearly drops as he observes Ken, his transformation from human to tiger happening in slow motion.

The hero refocuses on his mission, realizing that the world is starting to speed up again. His power can only last for two minutes of continual usage at a time, and Mark sighs as he uses his last couple of seconds to find Jack. In slow motion, the Irishman skids to a stop and watches as the anti-heroes appear on the street, each carrying a weapon either in their hands or on their backs.

Everything around Mark returns to normal speed, his power having reached its full extent. Almost instantly the sounds of fighting resume, with the sounds of powers colliding echoing through the air. He dashes towards Jack, but soon realizes that he has no idea what he's going to do when he gets there. He instinctively clenches his fist and throws a punch, but the faster man spins around and dodges it. Upon seeing Mark, his face falls. He sprints to avoid another punch, his eye turning momentarily to green and black at the exertion of his power. The two duel, neither of them managing to land a blow.

The anti-heroes start firing their weapons, immediately alerting both the heroes and the villains. Jack and Mark leap away from each other in order to avoid a shot directed at them. The Irishman glares in the direction of the anti-heroes before racing off, leaving Mark in the dust. He locks eyes with the mixture of Arin and Danny, who spins his gun in his hand before waving, a grin on his face. Mark spins in place, trying to figure out what to do.

"What are we doing?" he demands, pressing his fingers to the electronic device in his ear.

"They're firing off tranquilizers," Matthias replies almost instantly. "They're trying to hit the villains. Do not engage."

"What are the villains doing?" Felix asks, his voice coming through Mark's earpiece.

Matthias is silent for a moment before speaking again. "I think they're targeting those former villains, Matt and Ryan."

Ken pipes up, his voice slightly skewed by the fact that he's a tiger. "What should we do?"

"Get Jack. That is your mission. Capture him, put a bag over his head, and get him out of there without injury."  With that, Matthias falls silent.