"I've been waiting for you." Jack's voice filled the room as soon as Mark, Tyler, Amy, Signe, and Steve entered. Kathryn and Ethan was staying with the car, ready to alert them if anything went wrong. Peter was already waiting for the others in the room.
"Jack-"
"You should know by now I'm not Jack." Jack chuckled, interrupting Signe.
"Captain." Peter nodded in acknowledgment.
"You've learned to talk less." Steve remarked teasingly.
"And you smile more." Peter countered as together the group walked towards the first set of stairs.
They were surprised to see Jack standing at the top of the stairs. A thin horizontal line of blood stretched across his neck, blood dripping down on his black hoodie. His neon green hair had changed to a darker emerald green shade, his head occasionally snapping around in various directions.
"Aw, you're all here to see little ol' Anti? How kind." Jack grinned maliciously, walking down towards them.
"Get behind me." Steve ordered Signe and Amy softly, raising his shield up in defense.
"Move." Jack growled, touching the shield. A green substance flowed freely from his hand across the surface, causing Steve to drop it in case it was dangerous. The substance bubbled and hissed, but did nothing to the shield.
"Vibranium. Good choice." Jack remarked.
Jack easily shoved Steve with enough force to send him flying into the wall.
"Signe." Jack smiled, the maliciousness gone from it as he slowly walked towards her as if floating on air.
"You don't think I'm a freak like everyone else, do you?" He held out his hand towards her.
"Don't touch her." Peter warned him. Mark was by Steve's side, making sure he was okay.
"Hello to you too daddy dearest. So you finally decide to reveal the truth. How much longer were you going to hide it from me? Weeks? Months? Years?" Jack circled around Peter like a lion around its prey.
"I did it to protect you!" Peter protested.
"Protect me from what? The only thing evil in this city is you. You could save so many people, yet you choose not to. You chose the wrong side of the battle to be on-"
"He did what he thought was right, and I respect that." Steve interjected, glancing over at Peter.
"Then I'll do what I think is right." Jack suddenly lunged at Signe, grabbing her hand and then disappearing.
"Damn it!" Mark cursed, kicking the wall.
"Language." Steve reminded him instinctively, picking his shield back up again. Whatever green substance that was on there had dripped off onto the floor, burning a hole through it.
"At least we know how dangerous he is." Peter muttered, staring at the steadily growing hole before following the others up the stairs.
"I-I'm scared." Signe stuttered, trying to look anywhere but the ground they were standing nearly over one thousand feet over. She had to admit that the sky was beautiful, the sun getting ready to set and the sky a collage of vibrant colors.
"Don't be, I'm right here." Jack assured her, squeezing her hand as they stared at the horizon.
"He can see this too. He's terrified, just like you." Jack continued, pressing a finger against the side of his head.
"Bring Jack back, please." She pleaded. She already missed his bubbly personality and multicolored eyes.
"So you don't like me either, do you?" Jack frowned, seeming more disappointed than angry.
"No-"
"Liar!" Jack shouted, pushing her away from him.
She screamed as she stumbled back, nearly falling off of the roof.
"Leave her alone!" Peter demanded.
"Why should I? She hates me, just like the rest of you." Jack snarled, his black eyes burning with fury.
"This is the police, come down from the roof immediately or I will be forced to fire!" A police chopper rose up above them.
"We aren't criminals!" Peter yelled up at them.
"Tell that to Captain Rogers, he's wanted by the government for helping a dangerous known convict." The person shouted back.
"You didn't tell me that." Peter looked over at Steve. Steve only shrugged in response as if it wasn't a big deal, mouthing that he would explain later.
"This isn't you, this is!" Signe shakily retrieved a crumpled up drawing out of her pocket. It was the one she made of Jack when he had one blue eye and one green eye.
Jack's expression softened, looking into Signe's tear filled blue eyes as all of the anger seemed to drain out of him.
"Thank you." Jack's voice changed from the higher pitch back down to its original pitch, his black eyes flickering before changing to two sapphire eyes.
From above, Jack heard the sound of a machine gun warming up.
"Look out!" Jack warned the group as a barrage of bullets rained down on them from the chopper. Steve had Amy behind his shield and Peter had swung out of the way with Signe, both groups disappearing inside.
Jack shoved Mark out of the way just in time as a bullet whirled towards them, the bullet missing Mark's chest and instead hitting Jack in between the ribs. His knees buckled as he hissed in pain, but he forced himself forward. He had to make sure his friends were okay, it was his fault they were up here in the first place.
"Everyone okay?" Steve's eyes scanned over everyone for signs of injury once they stopped at the stairs.
"Fine." Jack spoke through gritted teeth, holding his side as blood ran through his fingers.
"That bullet hit you instead, didn't it?" Mark realized, looking at Jack's side. The hoodie somewhat protected him, but not nearly enough. Blood ran freely down his side, dripping on the tiled floor.
"I-" Jack broke off as he felt a fresh wave of pain in his side, causing him to lean against the wall for support.
Peter helped ease him to the floor, removing his mask as he knelt down by Jack.
"This doesn't feel the same as a dodgeball." Jack joked as he looked at Mark, his smile looking more like a grimace as he focused on keeping the black spots at bay.
"It's not the same as a dodgeball, you saved my life." Mark swallowed hard, feeling Steve rest a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"We have to get you to a hospital." Steve carefully scooped the boy up in his arms.
"At least I'm out of school." Jack chuckled weakly, a thin line of blood trailing down the corner of his mouth.
"You may not have your father's spider sense, but you definitely have his sense of humor." Steve smirked.
"Thank you." Steve whispered in Jack's ear before he lost consciousness, allowing him to feel safe in Steve's arms as he was carried down the stairs.
YOU ARE READING
Sons of Legends
Fanfiction"Ew, you can't sit here septic eye." A kid shoved Jack away from the lunch table he was about to sit at, making him drop his tray of food. "What, you gonna cry septic eye?" Another kid teased him, kicking him behind the knees so he fell to the grou...
