United [A Superhero AU] - Book Two

Chapter Sixty-Two - Post-Surgery and Packing Up

When Jack wakes up for the first time after his surgery, he stares dazedly at the ceiling for a long time.  His eye throbs and aches, but he can see.  Out of both eyes.  Sure, it's all a bit fuzzy, but he can see!  He lifts his hand slowly and observes his fingers, completely fascinated.  Up close, everything is crystal clear, but if it gets too far away it becomes a blob of colour.  Weird.

He turns his head to one side to see Mark curled up in a chair, fast asleep. Jack wishes he was closer, but his brain is too tired and his eye is too sore to think of much. His eyes slip shut again and he's asleep in seconds.

The next time Jack wakes up Mark is by his side, holding his hand and resting his head on the bed beside him. Jack murmurs unintelligibly and Mark lifts his head immediately, his brown eyes boring into the villain's.

"M'rk..." Jack mumbles, suddenly wanting to cry but feeling far too tired to do so.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" Mark asks, his voice deep and gentle.

"My eye h'rts. It's all fuzzy."

"Phil said that you'll probably need glasses. Felix can make you a pair later, okay?"

"Mmkay."

Mark says something else, but Jack hears none of it as he slips off to sleep again.

On his third attempt to wake up, he actually manages to stay awake. The clock on the side table reads 9:48am and Jack blinks at it a few times. Today, the heroes want to take down the institute. Today could change everything.

Once again, Mark is at his side, one hand clasped firmly around Jack's while the other props up his head. He snaps to attention when the villain stirs, watching him carefully.

"Hi," Jack murmurs, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Hi there, Irish sleeping beauty," Mark replies. "How was your almost fifteen hour nap with slight intervals?"

"Have I really been out that long?"

"Yep."

Jack exhales. "Wow. Um, I guess it was good. I don't think I've slept that hard ever."

Mark laughs and leans down, kissing his cheek. "Anaesthetic will do that. You seemed peaceful, though."

"I was."

"That's good."  He smiles gently at him.  "Does your eye still hurt?"

Jack nods and Mark leans over, grabbing a small bottle of eyedrops from the bedside table. They're still in the makeshift hospital ward, and the Irishman feels the sudden urge to go back to their room. He keeps his mouth shut, however, and focuses instead on Mark.

"Phil made this. It's got 'magical' properties," the hero says with a flourish of his hands. He grins. "I would normally be kidding, but he used his powers to make this. It'll help your eye stop hurting, but it unfortunately won't bring your vision back."

"That's fine. I haven't been able to see out of that eye for years now, so this is an improvement" Jack replies.

Mark drips some of the water into his eye and the throbbing fades. The villain sighs with relief as the headache that had accompanied it disappears as well. When he's finished Mark puts the bottle on the side table again and laces his fingers with Jack's, a long breath escaping him.

"We're attacking the institute today," he says, watching the Irishman's gaze.

"I know. I need to go back and tell Matthew and Cry," Jack replies.

"Be careful, okay?"

"I will."

"And Jack..." Mark hesitates, nervousness filling his eyes for a moment before being replaced by a strange kind of confidence, "...When this is over, I'm going to marry you."

The Irishman's jaw drops and he sits up shakily, leaning over in order to press a kiss to the hero's lips.  It's all he can really think to do.  "That sounds perfect."

——

The last thing Cry expected to see was Jack walking into the institute with no eyepatch and a brand new pair of glasses. Cry stares, speechless, and the Irishman smiles a little.

"Phil did it. He fixed my eye," he says, and the masked villain can't help but pull him into a bear hug. Matthew rounds the corner, sees what's going on, and throws his arms around both of them.

"This is amazing, Jack! Anti's gone! You can see!" Matthew exclaims, smiling wider than he has in a long time.

"I know!" Jack replies, a grin on his face as well. He steps back and his smile falls a little. "I have something important to tell you, though. Is Mr. Vincent here right now?"

"No, he's coming by later. Why?" Cry asks.

"The heroes are attacking the institute again today. They planned this yesterday night. If Mr. Vincent isn't here, that gives us an opportunity to pack up our things and be ready to leave," Jack says.

Cry nearly laughs. "I mean, that won't be hard. We have barely any worldly possessions."

"Let's get going!" Matthew says.

The villains split off into their respective rooms, and Jack takes a moment to look around his. He can barely remember the last time he slept here. He's been staying with Mark for so long that this isn't his home anymore. Home is where Mark is. He grabs a backpack from the closet and starts digging around, looking for anything important that he hasn't already brought over to the hero base.

He turns up nothing except for a few clothes and a single, child-sized Irish flat cap. It was the one he was wearing the day he was kidnapped and it's the one he wore every day to school until it didn't fit anymore and was far too tattered for its own good. It's the one piece of Ireland he still has (besides his accent, of course), and he clutches it close to his heart.

With his single most precious belonging tucked in his bag, he goes to find the others. Cry's backpack contains a notebook, some pens, a book, and some other essentials while Matthew's bag holds his essentials and his laptop.

"I transferred all of the files from my desktop to my laptop and wiped it," Matthew explains. "Even if he tries, Mr. Vincent won't be able to find anything on that computer."

"Good," Cry says. He turns to Jack. "I've been working on something for the past couple of months, and I really hope it's going to work. Just, when the heroes get here, don't freak out if you hear explosions."

Jack frowns. "Wait, what?"

"Don't worry about it. I've got it under control." Cry flips his mask up and grins, his eyes turning gold but the actual glowing in his skin almost unnoticeable. "I think this is the best thing I've ever done, and I don't want to ruin the surprise."

"I helped!" Matthew pipes up, a grin on his face as well.

Jack raises an eyebrow, but can't help the smile that tugs at his lips. "Okay..."

Cry winks and puts his hands on his hips, and for the first time Jack notices the gun strapped to his waist. "And now we wait, gentlemen."