Multifandom Oneshots

Not the Right Mark (ADWM Universe)

(Collab by myself and DeviantArt user MantaDrifter)

    It had finally happened.

Whether it was fate, God, luck, or what have you... after years of searching, after decades of whispers and taunts, the actor had shown too much of his hand. They'd tracked him down- they had finally found Mark. Hell, it was like he wasn't even trying to hide. This fake name that was so half-assed that it made Will's earlier aliases look down right genius.

'Mark Edward Fischbach'. He was just messing with them now. The name alone was almost enough to make Dark go to Mark's address alone, snuff the man out then and there, like a candle from a birthday cake. However, that would have been far too easy, and nowhere near what their most hated enemy deserved. Not after what he had put them through. Besides. Dark wasn't the only one having a bone to pick with him.

When he told the others, Abe wisely pointed out they didn't need to blunder into another trap. Not all of them were invincible, so they would have to play it carefully.

Dark scanned the area around the house; while seemingly normal, it wasn't to his tastes. Modern architecture had taken so many steps back in his opinion. Concentrating, he could feel no words or the supernatural equivalent of a trip mine waiting for him or the wraith... not like last time.

Abe was right. They needed to pay more attention.

"I don't believe he's been expecting us."

"Good" Will said with a smirk, polishing his pistol like it were a trophy. Technically, it could be. "He'll be surprised when he answers the door."

He would have marched up the path then and there, only for Abe to yank him back. "You want the cops on your tail again?" The detective pointed to a camera that passively sat on the gate wall. "Just because there's no hoodoo around, doesn't mean there aren't other problems!"

The wraith, hanging back behind Dark's shadow, hummed quietly. "Let me see what I can do." A camera was, in many ways, quite like a fancy mirror. Focusing, she stepped forward and reached in, twisting the reflective surface as easily as one might flip over the pages in a book. Now, all it would see was an empty street and drive.

A bark from inside the house had everyone's attention. Ruptures of giggles and baby talk followed, spoken by an all-too familiar voice.

Surprisingly it was Will who had to hold Dark back, and not the other way around. He looked livid at the figure who followed the golden retriever, bounding into view with a happy bark... a happy bark that tuned into a confused whine as the dog's head turned in their direction. "Crap, didn't you say animals have a thing about you two?" Abe asked the demon and the wraith.

Dark cursed internally, dragging the wraith behind him. "Distract them. We need him back in the house."

"Already ahead of you." Will grinned, a small toy materialized in his hand. It made an obnoxious noise as it sailed in the air, landing with an innocent squeak right in front of the dog's nose.

She sniffed it curiously, giving the toy a confused look. "Will... please tell me it won't explode?"As little as he cared for Mark, Abe had no interest in seeing an innocent animal get blown into meaty chunks.

This had Will gave the detective a funny look. "What do you take me for?" he asked. The toy popped the moment the canine picked it up; spraying her with a liberal amount of pink glitter.

Looking quite pleased, she turned her head and wagged her tail at her master, slightly hidden behind the bushes. "What'd you find there, Chica-bica? Hm?" He picked up the deflated toy, rubbing his fingers to remove some lingering glitter before looking around. The area was quiet and deserted. Considering how close they were to the fence, he could only assume some prankster had lobbed it over and legged it.

"Real mature, guys." He let out a tired moan, looking down at his now sparkly pooch. "And you just had a bath yesterday..." Chica barked innocently. Sighing, he pats the dog's head, her tongue lolling happily. "This stuff better be nontoxic. I'd hate to see you get sick, sweetie."

In response, the dog nuzzled a glittery nose in his pant leg. "Alright, alright. Let's get you in the tub, missy." She gave him a reproachful look. "Don't worry, there isn't any fluffer this time."

When they got to the door she paused, looking back behind her at the people in the bushes. Chica whined quietly. Mark looked down at her with the beginnings of a frown. "What's , girl?" The pooch whined softly again, looking up at her master in a way that made all wonder if she wished she could speak. Mark's eyes followed her line of sight. "Don't worry, the mean old pranksters are gone now."

As he closed the door, he had no clue how wrong he was.

Shifting with impatience, Dark waited until the door was firmly closed before speaking. "The dog is going to complicate things. She clearly loves him."

"Which is odd," Abe noted. "Mark always hated dogs." And hate was a polite word. The wraith winced, remembering all too well the last time she'd seen him near one. There was only so much you could blame on a phobia. After all, the poor little shih tzu was little more than a puppy when it had approached the actor.

Shrugging, Wilford pointed out, "Time can change a man in certain respects."

"Not him," Dark snarled, looking at the door. "Something strange is going on here," he continued. "And I intend to find out what."

"Not on your own," the wraith whispered, clasping his wrist. The others shared a nod before Dark teleported them in, landing in the living room of the house. The decoration had them all double-take... this was not at all what they'd remembered as his taste.

In this house, the air was too light, too simple. He looked well off, true, but the Mark they knew lived in a way that showed off that wealth. Made the visitor feel conscious and ashamed of their own lack of wealth. This.... this was bashful, like someone trying to hide their good fortune.

"This feels wrong," the wraith whispered. She was looking at a few photos on a mantle- Mark, with various people. He looked happy... like, proper happy. The type they hadn't seen on his face since Celine. His whole being seemed to be lit up- glowingly, like he couldn't possibly contain all that happiness at once; yet, there he was. Abe looked at another photo of the man with a group of friends. "Are you sure this is our guy?" The activities in the pictures looked like something their Mark would not be caught dead doing.

Will snorted from the background. The kind of sound he made when he heard a bad joke. "Charity work, my ass."

Oh, they had to see this. Peering over his shoulder, the wraith frowned. "Nope, that's definitely the Make a Wish foundation. This getting weird," she noted, looking over to Dark, who was peering at a wall of family photographs thoughtfully. Could it be Mark had taken over the life of an identical stranger?

We've got to be out of our minds, Damien told him.

We have to be sure, Dark argued.

Celine was silent.

A loud fwump had Dark look over to the couches. "Well, this could give us answers..." Will mused, plopping himself in front of a laptop in the lounge. He poked it with the butt of his pistol, as if he were trying to wake a sleeping cat. At their looks, he asked, "What? The man's busy with the , so we cant ask him."

This had the wraith giggle. "Yeah, that would be an interesting conversation."

Dark, who had gone back to the pictures, snorted. "'Hi, sorry about turning your dog into a glitter ball and breaking in, but, you wouldn't happen to be a body hopping ghoul?'" He fell back into silence as he came over to join them, scooping up the laptop before Will broke it with his prodding. It wasn't password protected, which helped. What they noticed first was the computer's window being open in a video editing software, a couple of clips and sound bites already loaded.

"Man, it just gets weirder," Abe noted, reaching for a smoke as they looked through the clips. "Mark likes acting, but this..." Picking up a notebook he'd found on the table, Abe trailed off.

Will dashed to the window, pulling up a curtain. "No fire raining from the sky, so it's not judgment day." Mark had once said it would be the end times before he did comedy.

Running his hands through his hair, Dark turned away from the group for a moment. "This... doesn't make any sense. It makes no sense."

The detective cleared his throat. "Neither does this, Chief." Abe muttered, handing the notebook over. It may have looked like a simple thing, but the contents were more than troubling. "Its a project he's working on.... your not gonna..."

Dark snatched it up, scanning the first few pages. It was a story.

Not just any story.... it was their story.

It's surprising how quiet a person can become when absolute rage takes over their system- Dark only saw a blinding white as he attempted to pull himself together. His hands shook as he flipped through, but he stopped when he got to a bit where the narrative halted, the margins scrawled with doodles and questions Mark should have known the answers to.

Turning the page once again was a drawing of the wraith- when she wasn't a wraith- but what had him truly still was the staggering amount of names around her, all of them crossed out. Under her, in almost illegible handwriting, was yet another question. Who in the world is she?