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"Sooo... everything all good now?" Mark bounces on his heels while watching Cecil's men cart out the hardened steel like alien body twice their size on a stretcher. The man raises a curious eyebrow.
"I'd say everything's under control now. Why?" William's crestfallen face flashes through Mark's mind, remembering the way he practically deflated like a balloon when Mark had to leave before their burgers even touched the table. William understood and he never blamed Mark or made him feel bad. In fact he only ever supported Invincible's endeavors, but anyone could still see the residual sadness in those expressive eyes, even Mark who's oblivious on his best days.
He understands though, he's been missing William badly. Thinking about what he's up to when Mark flies back home from a mission or has to miss classes for the rest of the day, when they could spend more than an hour together next- if Mark worked hard enough he could dorm with William, all sorts of thoughts about William have been filling Mark's head recently, more than usual.
"Just.. left someone waiting is all."
Cecil nods. "Well, you're free to go. Thanks for-" wind blasts through white hair and whips Cecil's tie up against his face as the sound barrier breaks to his side. "..the good work." he finishes with a sigh.
"Later, Cecil!" calls Mark while flying away and back towards the Burger Mart. He's only some 100 odd miles off the coast of the Philippines and if his math is right he should still have at least 15 minutes to eat with William. On the way through the city one of the large screens plastered along a skyscraper flashes a burning scene, but it's the reporter's voice that halts Mark mid air.
"A devastating attack with multiple casualties already, warning; this footage is graphic and may be shocking. Luckily the New Guardians are on the scene-" a wave of sickness festers through his stomach when a familiar purple and yellow sign splattered with red comes into frame, broken over a car with various bodies scattered around it. Large spider-like creatures appear next to the victims but the aerial footage doesn't provide a better definition. It's more than enough for Mark though.
"William-" he chokes back bile, hand pressed to the mouth in a mix of protection and horror. Casualties, blood, William's disappointed face where he sits alone- it all builds to a panic inside Mark who flies as fast as he can physically propel himself in a desperate attempt to reach his best friend. Mentally berating himself for leaving William alone again and wishing he could've stayed just a little longer, told Cecil to call the New Guardians instead so he would've been there for the spider attack. Mark knows none of these thoughts help but that doesn't stop him from having them, he still curses himself, still thinks that maybe if Mark had stayed he could've saved everyone, stopped any of this from happening in the first place.
Heart pounding like a drum from the adrenaline and fear, it's like he can't get there fast enough and when he finally does the first thing he looks for is a familiar crop of brown hair and tri toned shirt.
"Invincible, nice of you to drop by." Black Samson calls as he mashes the abdomen of a huge spider-like alien- if spiders dripped a strange violet goop, had 12 legs instead of eight, and were the size of a rich girl's pony. It splatters deep violet guts across the pavement, other members of the species scuttling through the gore without care, lunging at the New Guardians scattered around the area. Mark takes his turn to kick one against a wall, off of an old man cowering in fear who cringes when the spider splats like an egg.
"I was busy-" Mark doesn't have time to get into it with Samson right now. "Eve!" The pink suited woman came into sight from behind a building, throwing off a spider that jumped from the wall towards her. Mark meets her halfway. "Eve! Where's William? Did you see him?" Mark's voice edges on frantic as he still can't find William, thankfully not recognizing any of the half webbed up limp bodies laying around the ground in lumps.
He doesn't like the confusion twisting across her face. "William? I didn't see him, I didn't even know he was here-"
Mark curses, flying down towards the ground. "He was here! Right before the attack- where is he-" he turns back and approaches the ground, flying low enough to take out any spider he sees while looking around the rubble of the Burger Mart. "William!?" Shouts Mark as loud as he can, increasingly more desperate with every second passing.
He moves past the building and finds a lilac web walling the alleyway so thickly it almost cuts off the sunlight, the building's overhang webbed too, blocking more sky and leaving it a nearly dark tunnel. But even through the layers he can hear a responding cry of "Mark!"
The hero huffs an angry breath through his nose, smashing through some of the webbing with his fist. "William! I'm coming!" Sticky strands attempt to pull his fist apart so Mark claws through the web instead, using both hands and a ridiculous amount of strength to push through. It feels like he's trying to attack a fortified trampoline, breaking through one thread but bouncing off the other 99.
"Mark! Help!" Panic shakes William's voice, it's something Mark never wanted to hear again after the echoes of terror in the sewers haunted his nightmares for weeks. They still sometimes do. It triggers an ice cold chill up his spine as well as a flare of anger in his gut. Mark growls in frustration as his fingers bind together, no longer snapping through the webbing as much as stretching it with the thick layers building on his digits. He tries to pull the excess off but it only clings to the palms of his hands.
"I'm coming! This shit is strong, ugh-" It feels like time is ticking and Mark's hands simply aren't doing the trick. Pulling them back entirely Mark decides on a different method, crouching down before propelling off the ground in flight- Mark tries to rocket himself through the rest of the webbing. He expects to shoot straight through it and is shocked to find resistance at all, sputtering out some sticky web that clung to his lips. Mark pulls back with a loud suction sound, the fabric of his suit pulling and snapping against his skin with a harsh sting once the silk finally lets go. A final burst of strength against the wall allows Mark through but not without lilac webbed around his body, throwing off his equilibrium and sending him tumbling across the pavement.
Shards of Mark's goggles pitter across the ground but allow him an even clearer sight of William, who's not on the rough pavement like Mark. He's being held mid air, a grotesquely large spider that pulsates it's massive spinnerets on the end of a bulging abdomen, wrapping William with four legs. It's started to restrain him up from the legs while William flails his arms, trying to break away from the trap but only succeeding in pulling the stretchy material. The web shakes a few other webbed human bodies who are long dead by the looks of their hollowed out sockets which used to hold tongues, eyes, as well as the four massive holes in their necks that drip a purple liquid. William himself looks relatively unharmed beside some scratches along his sickly pale, horrified face. "Mark!" Against all circumstances a half smile of relief actually pulls on William's lips when he sees Mark, curling something deep in his heart that makes him feel breathless for a second. But the haunting, empty hollows of bodies ground him.
The sight of William's potential fate spurs him into action, launching up in the air towards William and what he assumes is the mother spider like a bullet. But before he can bridge the distance between them a sudden shifting mass of weight brings him back to the ground. He recognizes it as at least nine or 10 of the baby spiders, kicking one off his leg that has immediately attempted to web it to the ground, punching straight through another that's trying the same maneuver on his hand. But the second he gets through one another just takes its place, overwhelming Mark in seconds. "Get off! Dammit, William!"
Tears are glossing over in William's eyes, legs fully restrained with silk up to his mid torso now, hands trapped to the web but still weakly fighting. "Mark! Don't let them bite you!"
The man struggles around the spiders that keep him pinned down, a mix of the combined weight as well as Mark's fractured focus. Some try to bite him, he can tell from pressure against his suit even ripping the tough fabric, but none puncture the durable Viltrumite skin. A thick glob of purple goop drips down from a set of fangs inches over Mark's face who cringes and crashes his head against the monster. Mark's sturdy skull prevails, smashing straight through the alien before it can attempt to bite into his mouth. He spits a harsh, tart tasting sludge from his lips, snarling himself from the rising rage inside, thrashing even harder and more wild than before. Mark almost sounds like a rabid dog with his effort, rolling and kicking his way through spider pedipalps and silk alike, but it's not enough. There's still a layer being spun around him, strong silk adhering him to the ground.
Out of the corner of his eye Mark can see William and he fights to turn his head when he notices that the largest spider is moving, approaching William who's utterly still on the web with only his shoulders up exposed. Tears streak his blotchy cheeks and when Mark focuses he can hear broken cries too. "Mark.."
"No, William!" He pressed against the silk with all his might and even hears the sound of tearing but achieves no freedom. Not even an inch. "Stop! Stop it! Come for me! Come get me!" Screeching pleas go unanswered to the alien, it probably doesn't even fucking understand him. Brown eyes sting with the anger, frustration needling his heart like a thousand knives, and the hopelessness starting to sink in. Culminating in a fight to no avail while the spider pulls William's body towards it with six long, black spindly legs. Images flash before Mark of William's head, utterly empty, sickening black voids where there used to be such expressive blue eyes. A hollow tunnel where William used to laugh, purple dribbling out of it instead. Nausea churns in Mark's stomach like a hot coal while he's choking out an agonized cry.
"Mark, I- I'm sorry-'' Cries William, thick through tears and craning his head back as far as he can from the death descending upon him in the form of four dripping fangs longer than William's head. "I love you, Ma-aah!!" The shout transitions into a harrowing scream of pain when the fangs pierce William's skin, crashing through Mark's ears like a siren and shaking him down to his core with a cacophony of emotions.
Sorrow, anguish, rage, love, feelings Mark doesn't even know how to name. They all collide like stars inside Mark, going supernova and devouring his entire being like a white hot inferno. Enraged screaming filters through the pounding of blood in his ears, so strong it feels like his skull may just explode. Mark barely feels his arms as they swing wildly, raining silk and guts upon him like a storm of slaughter with the way he massacres. Once Mark is free his sight zeroes in on the mother spider like a tactical scope, as if he were a machine. And this time when he shoots towards the spider feeding on William, he doesn't miss. Nothing comes between Mark and his target. He can feel parts of the body crunch and smush beneath the force of his own, tearing them through thick web and crashing layers of pavement. Purple skids along the ground, shrill and piercing shrieks bleed from the monster that spike Mark's eardrums but don't slow him down. He's yowling himself, like a hurt and crazed animal, vision going black around the edges and only allowing him to see the bundle of purple guts he tears through with his bare hands.
"No, no, no! No!! William!!" The rough scratch of howling aches his throat but Mark barely notices it, can still hardly hear himself over his own thundering heartbeat. Clawing turns to punching, fists driving straight through the spider and into the cement creating sloppy craters beneath them. The wet slap and crunch belongs to both the street and the alien but can not be separated with Mark's ferocity. The twelve clawing legs have long since fallen limp, only moved by Mark's force. The outside shell of the spider is really the only thing left, a muddled purple and red mush of viscera where the cephalothorax used to reside.
"Fuuuck!!" Bellows Mark, using both his hands to just slam against the ground now, dripping rubble shooting up from the crunching stone beneath his fists. "Fuck! Fuck fuck fffuucck!!" Mark can't see, there's only blackness consuming his vision, an empty, aching abyss without William-
"...-ark!.. Mark! Stop it! Enough!"
Solid hands grasp his shoulders, physically shaking him from his mournful trance. Mark actually can see, he just has to blink away the mess of gore hanging off his eyelashes before he can see Cecil standing there beside him. His right side is splattered with violet splotches.
"Come on.. it's already dead.. Breathe, Mark. You gotta breathe, kid. Look at me.. Can you hear me?" The smooth, calm tone helps tether Mark back down to the present, looking at the familiar face before his gaze flits down to the mess of purple beneath him.
"It's dead, you got it. Got it real good."
Marks eyes go wide when he notices one of the webbed up bodies being dragged away, to his side, one he pulled down when he attacked the big one that had-
"William?!" harsh panting breaths cushion the increasing shouts as Mark scans the spot William had been hung before, finding nothing more than various humans and alien bodies being carted away. "Where's William?!"
Cecil has already squeezed Mark's shoulders in a reassuring manner, holding up his other hand. "We got him, my team already took him to the hospital while you.." A quick glance to the purple gore. "took care of this one. Eve filled us in on the M.O. and captured a smaller one for us. So the doctors are already working on making him an antivenom."
Mark swallows past a thick lump in his throat. "Will he be ok?"
"...Let's get you up." Cecil tries to pull Mark to his feet but the young man just pushes the arm off of him, standing on his own.
"No, get off! And answer me! Is William going to live?"
Cecil's lips twitch downwards, even his eyebrows furrow for a moment. "... I can't answer that right now, Mark, unless you want me to lie. I just don't know. But I can tell you that he's got the best medical team money can buy working on him in the most advanced facility this world knows. And I can tell you that, with all due respect, you look like shit."
Mark deflates, all left over anger rushing out of him like he was a flat tire. He knows Cecil is right on every account.
"Go home, take a shower. Then you can come up to the hospital. You can report back when things have settled down."
Mark just nods. "Thanks, Cecil." He muttered soft and simple before taking off towards home this time.
With newly cleaned skin he wastes no time flying to the hospital, led back towards William's room by Cecil who long expected him.
Mark looks through the window first, struck by the sight of William lain in a hospital bed. He's never seen William like this, with breathing tubes up his nose and various i.v.s connected to bared arms. The panic strikes inside him again like flint on coal threatening to spark another fire inside. "What's with the tubes- up his nose? He can't breathe? Is he dying?!" Hysteria climbs with every word, Cecil reaching a hand out to lightly grasp Mark's shoulder and halt the derailing train of thought.
"No, well, not anymore. He was there for a minute. The way the venom works is by dissolving the soft tissue organs once injected, lungs, kidneys, all of it. Thankfully it didn't get the chance to inject him with much, only a few drops as far as we can tell, but it was still enough to start shutting down his organs." Cecil explains, looking through the glass at William with Mark who's fighting the urge to cry, tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of William's body shutting down.
"No permanent damage, doctors are confident he'll be back to normal within a few days." Cool relief washes through any remaining ember of fear like ice cold water, rushing through his veins and soothing him. "I'll let you have your privacy."
Pulling the seat as close to the bed as he can get Mark just watches William. He doesn't look nearly as pale as he did before, he almost looks healthy besides some slight dark rings under his eyes. Mark can't fight an instinctive chuckle, he can already hear William bemoaning his complexion next time he sees a reflection of himself. It's one of the things he loves about William, Mark realizes this now. There are so many things he has loved about William since they were children, things he never truly understood how much he needed until the threat to take them away almost came true. A day without William's smile, bright ringing laughter, witty quips, strong heart, a day without William- it's hell to Mark. Imagining a life without him? Losing the chance to ever feel how William might fit between his arms- what his heart sounds like beneath Mark's ear?
That's even worse.
So hours later when William starts to stir Mark's entire body straighens in alert, scooting even closer and leaning over the small distance between them. "Heyy.." Mark immediately chokes on a thick lump in his throat and the many different questions that want to rush out at once. But he settles on "you feel ok?"
William bubbles out a laugh, smiling. "Yeah, better than I thought I would feel at least." William blinks looking around "Hospital? I can sort of remember a bunch of those people in helmets, like in the sewers, grabbing me while it went black."
Mark nods in agreement. "Yeah, it's technically the next day now but only like 2 a.m."
"Ah, that must be why I feel like shit. It's too early. Or late. Whichever."
Mark can't help but laugh. "Yeah, definitely not that eventful lunch without me, huh?"
William scoffs. "No way. Only one of the top five most interesting lunches I've had, that's for sure. Not even the first though."
"Not sure I want to know about the other four."
They laugh at their jokes together for a moment before Mark scoots closer, the smile falling into a more somber expression. "What happened? I swear, I couldn't have been gone longer than an hour. I got back and it already looked so bad.."
William sighs softly. "It was kinda ironic, actually. I'm not sure how fast exactly but it happened really soon after you left. I was just scrolling on my phone when I heard people start screaming from outside. I looked out the window and I saw- ugh.. so many of the smaller spider things coming out of one sewer hole. By the time I got outside there were already more crawling out of other holes along the street. It seemed like all they wanted was to eat because they immediately started jumping people."
His body is starting to tremble, gaze taking on a distant look where they stare at a blank spot on the wall across from them. "They'd spin them up so they couldn't move, or stick them to the ground. They bite you and the venom or whatever they'd inject would, I don't know," William shakes his head, tone a little hystic at the end. "eat you or something. I got trapped on the web there and had to watch a woman for so l-long cause the stuff didn't work that fa-fast." His words are starting to jumble as he panics, chest heaving stringer now with a more labored breath.. "God, Mark, the way she screamed-, a-and the sounds she made as her tongue- her eyes they st-started melting-"
Mark can't bear to see tears well up in those normally happy blues, reaching out to gently grasp William's arms. "Breathe, William, you gotta breathe. You don't have to keep going, it's ok. I get it. I'm sorry- I shouldn't have asked.. I'm sorry I had to leave at all.."
William shakes his head. "No, don't do that- don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. It's not like you left for fun, you had to go save another part of the world. I don't blame you, ok? You came back, like you always do." He assures Mark combined with a soft, genuine smile that makes the man nod and twist around the next questions in his head before continuing.
"Do you.. do you remember what happened after I showed up?"
It's William's turn to swallow hard, Mark can hear him gulping audibly, eyes darting away towards a generic skyline painting. "I told you not to get bit.."
Mark perks up as William clearly remembers that. "Yeah.. and.."
"Then you saved me."
His shoulders deflate. "Well, I don't know about that. Cecil's team made the anti venom, they regenerated your organs when they started to shut down. When I saw it bite you I- I couldn't think about anything besides killing. I thought you were gonna die and end up a hollowed husk like the others- I couldn't- I just acted. I tore through that fucking thing like a moron while Cecil's men grabbed you instead. Who knows how long you were laying there in pain-"
William cuts off Mark's self hate again, always. He never let Mark blame himself for anything he didn't actually do. Mark feels like he can tell when he's actually fucked up just by William's reaction, but that doesn't stop the feelings from creeping in of course. Not that they stand a chance against William. "What were you gonna do, Mark? Fly me to the hospital yourself? You did the best thing, distract all of them and kill the big one before it could hurt anyone else. Don't beat yourself up so much, ok?"
Mark's stomach flutters, knots up with warmth that spreads up through his chest. The utter ferocity and truth in William's expression and tone threaten to leave Mark utterly speechless.
The intensity dies down into something more gentle, but nonetheless convicted. And now that Mark knows, he can see it- loving. "You set a weirdly high expectation for yourself, Invincible and while I agree it's a cool name, remember, you're still Mark Grayson. You're still a person who can make mistakes. And you didn't even mess up here so save the self hate for when you actually do, ok?" William's reaches over, hesitating his hand in the air and flicking to Mark's eyes for a sign of rejection, worry flashing over them. When Mark smiles to reassure him silently William completes the movement by reaching out to squeeze Mark's bicep. "You did good, Mark. You did save me. I believe that, can you?"
Fighting the misting over his vision has never been harder, Mark presses his eyes against the back of his sleeves to absorb the unshed tears, nodding and sniffling.
"I can try."
He moves to take William's hand once more, an itch to feel William's skin against his own finally unwilling to settle. "Do you remember what else you said?"
William's eyes fill with a wave of uncertainty again, trying to pull away from Mark's hand who holds it instead. "..I thought you'd want to forget about it."
Mark's eyebrows furrow. "What? Why?"
William's expression matched Mark's now. It would be hilarious to Mark in any other scenario. "Because.. I'm your best friend. You're straight. This is gonna make it weird. I mean.. don't you feel weird now?"
A puff of amused air flares Mark's nostrils. "Yeah, but not in the way you think."
"What do you mean?"
Mark squeezes William's hand. "I feel weird because I think I've felt the same way for you too this whole time. And I just realized it when you told me."
William blinks blankly for a long moment. "Sorry- my brain is still kind of processing the whole alien spider attack thing so I'm not sure it's working really well. Did you say you- that- really?"
Mark bites his lip in a nervous manner. "Yeah. Really. When I thought you were gonna die.. I honestly went a little crazy. I thought I was gonna lose you and I just wanted to kill that thing. When you said you love me it all just hit me in the face like a brick." He chuckles a bit, trying to lighten the weight behind some of his words. "I just felt it. I thought about losing you and all these emotions hit me, but I was so angry above all. Angry I messed up, angry I was gonna lose you, angry you were being taken away, angry I didn't realize until then.."
"Realize that.. you love me?" As if to confirm, a hopeful look in his eyes. Mark hadn't explicitly said it and he can tell it's what William needs. It's obviously not something he ever thought Mark would say so it's hard to believe this isn't some poison induced fever dream.
"Yeah, that I love you, William. When Cecil pulled me away from the thing I only thought about you, he basically forced me to take a shower before coming here. Once he told me you'd be ok it felt like everything lifted, like I could breathe again. I wanted to tell you right away but I figured barging into the room shouting "I love you too!" wasn't the move." Chuckles Mark while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Heh, I actually might've enjoyed it, but this is good I'll admit. Though.. I know what would be even better."
Mark tilts his head. "Oh? What's that?"
"If we went on a date once I'm outta here.." William's expression has turned bashful, eyes flitting between Mark and the hospital blanket over his lap.
Mark takes William's hand in both of his now, hopefully taking away any trace of doubt lingering in William. "We'll go on a date, and not just the Burger Mart. I'll take you somewhere nice. I know this place in Germany with the best bratwurst." He grins, excitement beginning to spark up in his stomach just from the thought of showing William around the streets of the foreign country and treating him to a nice meal. The bright sparkles lighting up William's eyes are exactly what Mark looks forward to, the smile pulling on the corners of pink lips, nearly taking up his whole face. Mark's heart twists in a warm way, squeezing William's fingers to get out this excess feeling of love thrumming through his veins right now.
"Germany-? Talk about fancy! I thought you were gonna say Olive Garden or something-" William leans forward with a happily laugh, soft blues meeting Mark's warm browns and drawing a chuckle from Mark as well. Their laughs dissolve into little giggles ending with their foreheads landed together and hands clasped, matching easy smiles on their lips. It's the natural step to close any remaining distance next and they both do so on instinct, lips molding together in a soft motion.
The kiss remains gentle for a moment before their passion starts to edge in- just a little bit, both men holding themselves back from pouring it all out. That doesn't mean they don't deepen the kiss though, one of William's hands coming up to cup the back of Mark's neck while one of Mark's hands slides down to William's hip, grasping it and rubbing a thumb over the bone. They just enjoy the feeling of their lips fitting together so naturally, like they should've been doing this all along, only the sounds of their moving lips and little breathes audible besides the beeping of William's fast heart.
It's the most whole and natural Mark has ever felt, no effort or pushing necessary. It feels so easy to fit his lips against William's soft warm ones, not a hint of chapping- Mark really hates that they haven't done this sooner. But he'll double his effort to make up for all the lost time. A smile pulls at his lips with the thought, thinking about how often he'll kiss William now he has, now that he can-
Eventually William pulls away with a smile, "As much as I want to sit here and kiss you, I do need to breathe. And it's 2 am? Where's the remote? They should have Bad Girls Club re-runs on and if I missed them I'll actually be hurt. Physically, emotionally, mentally-"
"Didn't you just literally say they're re-runs?" Mark rolls his eyes but grabs the remote attached to the hospital bed anyways, handing it to William.
"Do I literally look like I care?" William grins, using his far hand for the remote while his other takes Mark's. Their fingers wind together, intertwined and resting on the empty space of the hospital bed between.
Mark reflects back his own warm grin, squeezing William's hand. "So gay." But then again, so's Mark. Just a little bit.