United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Thirteen - Cry

Cry opens his eyes and immediately grimaces, the lights too bright and the wounds on his body throbbing with a vengeance. He groans and covers his face, which leads to shuffling elsewhere in the room. He gropes at his side table and grabs his mask, shoving it on his face to stop the glowing in his skin and eyes.

"Thank God you're awake. I was worried you'd never get up," a familiar voice comments with a weak laugh. Cry can't seem to piece together who the person speaking is. Between the ache in his cranium and his temporary blindness from the lights, his brain is more than confused.

"Wha—?" the masked villain murmurs, although is isn't exactly sure what he was going to ask. There seem to be too many questions for his brain to sift through.

"Shh. You had a pretty rough time yesterday, so I suggest just focusing on rest."

Cry blinks a few times and rubs his eyes, finally recognizing the dark brown hair and familiar face. A light bruise lines his jaw which definitely wasn't there before. "Matthew, the lights..."

"Oh, sorry. Give me a second." Matthew sets the metal box in his hand down and moves towards the light switch, and in a second the lights have dimmed significantly. He returns to his seat and Cry forces himself upright, blinking to get rid of the vertigo.

"What are you working on?" he asks, glancing at the metal box in the villain's hands.

Matthew shrugs a bit, his cheeks turning a pale pink. "It's a projector of sorts. You can plug it into a computer and then project out whatever you download onto it."

Cry nods a bit, his eyes travelling to the bruise on Matthew's jawline. He gestures to his own jaw. "What happened?"

Matthew's fingers tense around the metal cube and he shrugs lightly. "Um, your dad wanted to talk to you, but I told him you were sleeping. He didn't like that much." He pauses, fiddling with the tech in his hands. "You... you should probably go talk to him soon."

"I'm sorry." Cry exhales heavily and ruffles his hair. "I'll go talk to him."

"Are you sure you don't want to rest some more?"

"I'm sure." The masked villain heads towards the door but pauses before he grabs the handle. "Let me guess... Jack is with Mark again?"

"Yeah. He left after you went to sleep." Matthew exhales, glancing at the box in his hands. "He was pretty emotional when he left. He's been having a really hard time lately."

"I know." He sighs heavily and opens the door. "I'll be back soon."

He moves towards the boss' living quarters, his heart thudding in his ears. He never knows what to expect when it comes to his father. Will he get beaten again? Will his dad be totally listless and have barely enough energy to talk?

Cry knocks softly before entering, his hands shaking at his sides. His father lies on his bed, his face gaunt and yellowed. When he sees his son, he gestures him over.

"What is it, Father?" Cry asks softly.

"I'm dying. You know that. However, I've always been afraid that after I'm gone, you will fail to continue this institute.  My legacy." The boss' eyes close for a moment, his breathing slow. "I hope you don't disappoint me by letting my life's work fall apart."

Cry bites his lip, although his father can't see that. "I won't disappoint you."

"Good. I have hired an advisor for you named Mr. Vincent, and he will start working after I'm gone. He will help you." The boss pauses, and when Cry says nothing he continues. "Because the number of villains I possess has gone down so dramatically, I have arranged that after I'm gone, Mr. Vincent will help you collect and mutate more villains."