Chapter 6
Their sleeping arrangements since that night had changed entirely. Their habits and behaviors around one another in general had changed. The three had come to the agreement that sharing the bed was something they were all on board with, although the aforementioned agreement was said without words, as none of them dared to agitate the other - namely Marc and Jake - by admitting aloud that they enjoyed, no, craved such closeness.
Marc and Jake had actively made an effort to find jobs, though they both found it a bit difficult. Being a mercenary didn’t exactly look fantastic on a resume for a job at, well… anywhere, really, resulting in the two of them picking up an odd job here and there until they finally landed jobs as waiters at a nearby restaurant. It seemed their likeness was appealing to the customers. Oh, how they loved to point out “how similar the two of you look!,” unaware of the true circumstances of their physical situation.
Truthfully, however, as they all grew to become more comfortable with it all, they found themselves straying away from similar appearances. Although at their core, as blank slates, they’d always resemble one another, they no longer entirely looked the same. Marc continued with the clean-shaven look, his curls raked back messily most days as he had before. Both his and Jake’s hair were graying a bit, a salt-and-pepper look that Steven couldn’t help but gush over and babble compliments to them almost on a daily basis since they’d begun to just let it be. Jake, opposite of Marc, had let his facial hair grow; he kept it well trimmed, but it was a definitive visible change. He was fully bearded and ‘stached, with his hair typically combed back and out of his face. While they remained with their fit physical routines, Steven had lacked behind a bit, becoming notably leaner than the other two, but just as agile, if not more. Although his curls were a bit longer now, and he now donned a pair of glasses most days, claiming he wanted to make sure his sight wasn’t to be ruined too soon, Steven surprised the other two by making the decision to grow out his own facial hair a bit; not as much as Jake did, he had noticeable well-kept whiskers.
Since the other two had found a stable enough job, the income of the household had increased and, much to Steven’s relief, had also been removed from his shoulders. In the months since they had been placed into their own separate bodies, the three men finally realized what peace could be, felt what it was, for once in a long time. The chaos in their head that they once shared had quieted down since they separated, and although none of them had ever mentioned it, it was mutually known and accepted that it simply didn’t feel right. It had once been their peace, and since severance, they hadn’t felt it. Once they had accepted that they needed each other like a thirsty man needed water, it all suddenly became easier for them. Sleeping became easier, waking up every morning became easier, living became easier. Existence was no longer a task that they had to silently struggle with any longer. Instead, it was something they got to experience together all at once without fighting each other for control to do so or feeling like one was missing out. They, of course, still lived their separate lives, even made friends with people who the others wouldn’t particularly pick to hang around, but at the end of the day, they found comfort and solace in each others’ arms.
Always the ones to get assigned the closing shifts when possible, that night was no exception. Marc and Jake were swiftly cleaning up the tables from their designated sections with an agility that would surprise nobody who knew their background and history with having to move quickly. They now knew their way around the ever-bustling restaurant, swerving around others and tables and chairs and anything that was in their path. Even at the late hours of 10:30pm, only thirty minutes until the restaurant was to close, the restaurant continued to sound lively with people entering, eating, and leaving. Their winning smiles rarely failed to get the two men a wonderful array of tips, as well as plenty of phone numbers from customers, of which they would pocket with a smile, then promptly forget or throw away later.
Jake wasn’t too keen on the job as a waiter from the start, and despite having worked there for a while now and earning a generous cumulation in tips once he’d picked up on how he should behave towards customers, he still wasn’t very fond of it. It was a fairly higher end restaurant at which they were employed. They’d been lucky to have gotten the job, they figured, considering they had a severe lack of experience, but it seemed their determination and, if they were going to be honest, their handsome looks got them the job. All they had to do was prove they could keep up with it, and prove themselves they did. In spite of the fact that he had complained the whole time to Marc about the job, Jake was one of their best waiters because, by gods, was that man anything but a quitter.
As he brought a table their order, he flashed them a smile, made sure they didn’t need anything else, then hurried around to check the rest. Once in the clear, he made his way to the back, where he found Marc already there, arms crossed, eyes closed, leaning against the kitchen wall by the entrance. Despite the noise, he seemed oddly peaceful. Jake leaned against the wall beside him with a sigh. They’d made a futile prayer earlier in the day, right before their shifts had started, that the night would be easy on them, but it had evidently fallen onto unhearing ears. As though feeling his presence, Marc’s eyes fluttered open and he glanced over at Jake, his eyes tired beyond his years. Without a word, he pushed himself off the wall and back out onto the floor to check his tables again. Jake watched him go, knowing full well that Marc felt the same guilt he was feeling, knowing it had been Steven’s day off, that they had promised a night of watching the stars from the fire escape, one of Steven’s favorite small moments the three of them could share now that they were busy, with schedules that often clashed and rarely aligned.
“We don’t see much of each other awake anymore, do we?” Steven had laughed about it, but the sadness that edged his voice had not gone unnoticed by Jake and Marc. The two did everything in their power to be able to make it to these commitments and up until then, they had never failed Steven. Tonight, however, was looking like it would be their first time. The exhaustion was catching up to them, Marc more than Jake; in fact, he seemed like he was beginning to grow irritated, especially with the customers, Jake noted, when he saw Marc reenter the kitchen, his brows pinched into a tight glare at nobody in particular.
“Que te pasa, muñeco?” Jake asked, uncharacteristically gentle, pulling Marc aside.
“I want to go home.” He knew he sounded like a whiny child, but he was unbearably tired. He felt as though he’d been through the wringer, getting pulled left and right, forcing a smile all night when all he could feel was an awful ache in his lower back region, when all he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and sleep for a century, when all he wanted to do was tell that man who complained about every little thing to fuck right off.
“It’s almost time for us to go,” Jake said, giving Marc’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Once all these folks leave, it’ll be quick and easy.”
Those were truly his last words, which he would end up eating and swallowing as if they were thorns. The remaining clientele stayed until the very last minute, even past the closing time as Jake, Marc, and the other waiters and waitresses cleaned around them in a silent effort to tell them that they were overstaying their welcome. Marc nearly snapped at them, having to be swept into the back to take a breather. Their closing manager went to them instead, kindly letting them know it was well past closing time and they were welcome back during tomorrow’s hours. The customers were seemingly pleased to have been approached in such a manner, and promptly left with an apology and a thanks to the staff. It was near midnight when everything finally got done, and Marc and Jake said their goodbyes to their coworkers as they all tiredly departed, leaving with a to-go box of leftovers that the cooks had set aside for them as they did most nights.
The streets were still busy with people, a usual scene that they were greeted by. Jake quickly hailed the pair a taxi, opening the door for Marc to enter first, then sitting inside beside him. He gave the driver the direction to their flat, then settled back in the worn seat, his body aching. Marc’s head was leaning on his hand, his elbow propped up against the car door grab handle. His eyes were half-lidded, clearly fighting to stay awake. Jake reached over and wrapped his hand around Marc’s other hand that lay on the seat between them. Marc shifted slightly to hold his hand, his eyes closing fully.
Once they made it to the building, Jake paid the taxi fare, then exited the car, helping Marc out after him. The two wordlessly made their way into the building, then the elevator. They made it to their floor and made their way to the door of their shared flat. Most of the apartments were already silent, save for a few where they could hear the faint sounds of somebody watching something on the television. Marc handed Jake his keys when he saw Jake patting around his pockets, unable to find his own set, and the two wearily entered, shutting and locking the door behind them. Steven was curled up on the single-person couch they had set up by Gus and the other two fish (Steven was still waiting on Jake and Marc to name their fish) with the lamp on. A book lay on his lap, but the man had fallen asleep, looking as peaceful as ever.
Marc quietly walked over to where Steven was sitting and crouched down in front of him, gently placing his hands on Steven’s knees and shaking him. Steven woke after a moment and blinked sleepily until his blurry sight adjusted to the shape of Marc. He smiles softly down at him.
“Oh… you’re home,” he murmured. Jake was kicking off his shoes by the entrance, watching as Steven carefully placed a hand on Marc’s cheek. Marc leaned into the touch as Steven spoke. “It’s late, isn’t it? You both must be so tired.”
“We’re too late, aren’t we…?,” Marc whispered, his eyes glazed with sadness as he looked up at Steven. Steven’s smile didn’t waver as his thumb brushed at his cheek.
“It's okay,” he replied. He looked over at Jake as he approached. “Let’s go to bed.” He carefully pushed Marc away and stood up, stumbling a bit from sleepiness. Marc stood up and stabilized Steven, and the three made their way to the bedroom. Jake turned the lamp off, muttered an almost unheard goodnight to the fish. While Marc helped Steven sit at the bed, Jake made quick work of his work clothing, tossing it aside into their clothing hamper, remaining only in his boxers. He grabbed his towel off a hook from the door and made his way into the bathroom. Marc pressed a quick kiss to Steven’s temple, then followed suit. It was no longer a rare occurrence for any combination of the three to share the shower at the same time, especially on nights like these, when it was a time saver so one wouldn’t have to wait on the other to finish.
Jake flicked on the shower to let it run for a moment while Marc stripped out of his clothes behind him. The bathroom was still as small as ever, but none of them seemed to mind clamoring over one another. Jake removed his undergarments and stepped into the now warm water stream, Marc stepping in after him. The water stream was enough for one person only, so the two took turns under it. Jake massaged shampoo into a tired Marc’s hair, relaxing at the sound of Marc’s relieved sigh at the soothing touch. After months of this type of living, their showers had surprisingly become less than sensual, leaning more towards a comforting thing that they looked forward to. Their shower was quick, Marc stepping out before Jake as he felt like he would collapse if he had to stay standing any longer than he had to. He pulled on a pair of clean pajamas and heavily trudged back into the bedroom, where Steven was still sat, looking dazed as he stared at the floor at nothing in particular.
Marc sat down beside him and leaned towards Steven, catching his mouth with his own in a sloppy, exhausted, open-mouthed kiss. Steven snapped back to reality and was more than happy to let Marc take the lead. Marc brought his hands up to hold Steven’s face, trying to pull him deeper into the kiss. They didn’t notice Jake exit the bathroom until he was standing in front of them. Marc pulled away begrudgingly and looked up at Jake through stupefied eyes. Steven’s face was flush, a slight pant escaping his lips. Jake shook his head as he ran a hand through his still wet hair.
“Go to sleep,” he said. “Look at the time.” He moved around the bed, pulling at the covers. Steven and Marc didn’t argue. They followed his actions, and the three were quickly cuddled up against one another. They had since bought a bigger bed, yet they found they still enjoyed being pressed against one another as they slept. Really, the bigger bed was moreso so they wouldn’t fall off on accident during the night if they so much as shifted slightly. Steven wound up warmly between the other two. His back was pressed against Jake’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around Marc tightly, pulling him closer, and he quickly snoozed off once more. Jake closed his eyes, nearly asleep, when Marc’s soft touch caused him to immediately open them once more. His eyes now fully adjusted to the darkness of the room, he could make out Marc looking at him through half-lidded eyes. “What?” he whispered.
Marc leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Jake’s. Jake caught him glancing down at his lips and couldn’t resist rolling his eyes, not so much in an annoyed manner, but rather in a knowing, affectionate way.
“Really?” he muttered. “I thought you were tired.”
“‘M tired of work.” Marc’s breath was warm against Jake’s face. “Not of you guys.” He pressed his lips against Jake’s, grunting softly at the feeling of his beard scratch against his face. Jake was rougher than Steven, quickly taking control, something that Marc was still getting used to him doing. Jake’s hand brushed past Steven’s sleeping form between them, weaving its way under the hem of Marc’s shirt, causing Marc to shiver at the touch of Jake’s cold hand against his warm skin. His thumb trailed lazy circles on his side as the two carelessly kissed. Finally, Jake pulled away, causing Marc to whine slightly as they parted.
“Ya,” Jake said. “We need to sleep or we’ll wake Steven up.” Marc looked like he wanted to argue, but he only grumbled in defeat, sinking deeper into the pillows, eyes closing. Jake watched him for a moment until he was sure he would stay put, then relaxed again, letting sleep engulf him.
***
Morning felt like it had come too soon. Marc was the first to wake up, hearing the first birds beginning to chirp outside. He groaned quietly, rolling over after untangling himself from Steven and Jake’s grips. He lay there, motionless, for what felt like several minutes before he finally sat up. The sun wasn’t entirely out yet, but the faint rays of the pale blue morning light was beginning to stream in between the curtains. He leaned back against the headboard and sighed. Looking over at the other two laying there peacefully made his heart ache; he wanted nothing more than to be able to not have a worry in the world and just be able to be free of any kind of work and just be with them, but he knew he couldn’t. His nose wrinkled as the thoughts entered his mind. He had never been one to enjoy settling down and doing anything really domestic - that was, after all, what broke the camel’s back with Layla, the fact that he just couldn’t see himself relishing in a life like that. Yet, when he looked at Steven and Jake, his heart clenched at the idea of getting the chance to do just that.
Jake shifted, his eyes opening, blinking against the gradually growing light in the room. He arched his back backwards, groaning at the stretch. He sat up, rubbing the remaining sleep out of his eyes. His curls bobbed messily as he did so. He looked over at Marc, nodding at him slightly.
“You feel rested?” he asked, leaning back as well.
Marc shook his head. “I never do.” A breath escaped through Jake’s nose as he nodded in understanding. They sat in comfortable silence, the sound of the birds outside and Steven’s gentle snores filling the room as the rest of the world began to rise as well. The sounds of traffic and people making their way to school, work, and various other places could be heard.
Jake stood up first, disappearing in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Marc to sit with Steven. Their options for food at home were far more plentiful than they had been when they first began to live this way, yet Jake still had no idea what he could do for breakfast. He found some frozen instant waffles in the freezer that didn’t seem like they were any time close to expiring, so he popped some of those into the toaster, satisfied with that decision. He pulled the milk out of the refrigerator - almond milk, per Steven’s request - and poured himself a glass. He took a sip and winced slightly at the sweetness of it, then adjusted to the taste, taking a larger swig of it. The waffles popped out of the toaster and he pulled them out, placing one on top of the toaster and holding the other in his hand, taking a bite out of it, followed by another swig of the milk.
“Use a plate like a decent person,” Steven hummed as he trailed out of the bedroom. Jake grunted in response, but complied, reaching for a plate from the cupboard and placing his remaining waffle on it. Steven flicked on the electric kettle, a purchase he had been uncertain about until they actually owned one. He quickly made his usual morning tea, and, mug in hand, he went around the small flat, opening up the curtains to let the light in.
Marc was the last one to exit the bedroom, fully dressed and cleaned up. He had a morning shift - more of a mid shift that began in the morning, really - and would be on his way out in a bit. Steven clicked the television on, letting some morning talk show play as the three held light conversation as they prepared their breakfasts. Marc was scarfing down a bowl of cereal quickly and Steven had prepared himself a bowl of oatmeal.
“I’ll have to pass by the grocery after work later to pick more up,” Steven was saying mindlessly as he shoved another spoonful of his oatmeal into his mouth in response to something Marc had commented on. He was about to add on, when his attention was caught by something on the T.V. The three of them looked up at it inquisitively.
”Sightings of an enhanced person attacking various businesses and locals have been reported last night. Casualties are yet to be released to the public, and there are no named suspects as of right now. Reid Winters is currently at the site: Reid, can you tell us what you’re seeing?”
”Well, Shauna, as you can see behind me, it seems as though the perpetrator really only had one goal, and that was to, well, destroy these places. It doesn’t seem like there’s any sort of pattern as of right now, but as more details are released, I’m sure we’ll see some hero stepping in to put an end to this before it gets any worse.”
As the reporters continued covering the story, the three men exchanged concerned looks. Ever since Harrow and Ammit, there really hadn’t been any kind of incident. In fact, everything had been rather calm, much to their surprise, and even Khonshu had been oddly silent. The wreckage they were showing on the report was recognizable to them, it wasn’t too far from where Jake and Marc worked.
“Can’t you call in?” Steven fretted. “What if they attack again, and we’re too far or something and you can’t summon your suit?”
“Wouldn’t the guy be kinda stupid to attack the same spot twice?” Marc asked in an attempt to reassure Steven. “He probably knows there’ll be cops there and won’t do it.” Even he didn’t really believe his own words, and judging by the look Steven gave him, he didn’t either. “I’ll be fine,” he said. He glanced down at his watch and set his bowl aside. “I also gotta get goin’ now.” He stood up, grabbing his jacket on his way out, calling out to Jake, “I’ll see ya later.”
Steven looked over at Jake, who was finishing off the last of his now cold waffle.
“He’ll be fine,” Jake said around his chewing. He went and sat down beside Steven on the sofa, sinking comfortably into the cushions. He grabbed the remote, changing the channel to some morning cooking show to try and ease Steven’s concerns. It worked only slightly until it was time for Steven to up and leave for work as well.
“Maybe we all should have just stayed home,” Steven was saying as he pulled on his shoes. “If something were to happen, we might be too far from each other and we won’t be able to help ourselves or anyone else…”
“We don’t work far enough away from each other to not be able to summon our suits while we’re at work,” Jake reminded him. “We did that on purpose, remember?” He ruffled Steven’s hair. “You’re worrying yourself too much, mi vida. Marc and I can handle ourselves, and even if you don’t think so, I know you can, too.” Steven looked up at him gratefully. He finally seemed to have relaxed a little bit.
“Alright…,” he murmured. “Well, I’m off, then. I don’t want to be late.”
“No, you do not.”
Jake gave him a small pat on the back. Steven leaned forward, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, then headed out of the apartment, the door slamming lightly shut behind him. Jake stood alone in the apartment for a moment, the buzzing sound of commercials playing on the T.V. the only sound around him. Finally, he tore himself away from staring at the door and began to clean up the small mess the three of them had created during their breakfast. Having been scheduled to another closing shift, he had several hours before he had to go in, so he busied himself with anything that would keep him moving; washing the dishes, feeding the fish, dusting the shelves, etc. Honestly, he disliked these kinds of tasks, but he didn’t really have anything else to do, so he sucked it up and did them simply because they would have to get done anyway.
He couldn’t pry his mind away from the news they’d heard, and found himself switching the channel back through the news channels and stopping on the first one that was still actively covering it, the channel being the same one they’d been on earlier.
On the screen, that reporter, the cameraman was panning over the rubble left behind from the attack as Reid interviewed a witness.
”It was awful!” the man was saying, shaking his head in disbelief. ”One second we were just driving past to get home, and the next thing you know, chunks of concrete are just flyin’ everywhere!”
”Did you see anyone who could have possibly been the attacker?”
”No, sir, not a single soul. There was dust everywhere and, and chunks flyin’, all you could hear was screams of people in those- well, those used to be apartments right there, you see, all you could hear was the people inside screamin’ for help!”
Jake leaned forward. Well, since he had time…
***
Although he was making sure he was out of line from the camera’s view, Jake pulled his hood over his head tighter around himself to cover his face. He didn’t know what heroes around here weren’t busy out of their minds, and although he wasn’t too comfortable describing himself as a “hero,” he figured it wouldn’t hurt to investigate the scene and maybe get a feel of what kind of person they might have to end up facing. After all, this was awfully near their home, and he sure didn’t want their flat to be the next one being blown up.
He glanced around before ducking under the police tape, quickly making his way through the rubble towards the center, where the wreckage would cover him from view. He sifted through it with his shoes, kicking aside broken bricks here and there in an attempt to find some sort of clue as to who or what could have done this, but it all just looked like a bunch of explosives or something had gone off. He frowned. There had been witness reports of “an enhanced individual” being behind it, hadn’t there? He shook his head as he continued to inspect the rubble. He was no investigator, he knew that much. He would happily leave that up to Steven or Marc, whichever of the two wanted to do it, but they weren’t available at the moment. If he could, he would just go right for the offender and confront them, but with not even the vaguest idea of who it could be, he relented. As he began to sneak away, something caught his eye.
Buried in the remains of the disaster was something bright blue. His frown deepened as he leaned down to pick it up. He wiped the dust off and held it in his hand for a moment, confused. It was a chunk of some sort of metal, he noted. However, it looked as though it had some sort of technology still connected to it despite it looking like it was just a piece of scrap metal that was blown off of something. It had veins of data glowing on it, flashing in different patterns, and as he brought his face closer to it to inspect it further, he felt it twitch in his hand.
“Fuck,” he spat out as he threw it at the ground. It landed flatly on the ground where it appeared to convulse slightly before falling still again, looking like a piece of blue metal on the ground again. He scowled at him, a bit disgusted. He reached down again, picking it up once more, and almost instantly, it began to twitch again. Perturbed, he shoved it into his pocket and slunk away, making sure nobody saw him leaving. This thing was definitely not a part of the buildings that had been destroyed, he knew that much. Figuring out what it was, now that was the million dollar question. Once he was past the police tape, he stopped and looked around. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He didn’t think he’d actually find any sort of evidence worth looking into, and now he had a spasming piece of… something that thrashed whenever he touched it with zero plans. He pinched the bridge of his nose with an agitated sigh. This was exactly why he left the investigating to literally anyone else.
***
Jake stared at the piece of blue metal that now sat on the dining table. He’d taken a picture and sent it to both Steven and Marc, telling them what he’d discovered. Needless to say, neither of them were pleased that one, he’d gone alone, and two, he’d brought some foreign thing into their home.
What if that shit blows up???, Marc had texted back. He had a point.
I’ll come home. Wait for me. Jake quickly shut that down, telling Steven there was no point. In the end, Jake told them he would return it where he found it before he went in to work. Feeling a bit disappointed that his efforts weren’t appreciated, Jake sulked until it was time for him to head to work. He wrapped the piece of metal in several napkins and shoved it into his pants pocket, took a taxi to the restaurant, and walked the few blocks down that was taped off by the police. He looked around before unraveling the napkins and letting the blue metal fall onto the ground. He hurried away, back to the restaurant. As he entered, he was surprised to find it nearly empty. He was greeted by one of his coworkers as he made his way to the back to punch in. He found Marc chatting with the cooks and one of the waitresses, catching his eye quizzically. Marc excused himself from the conversation to fall into step with Jake.
“Did you get rid of it?” Marc immediately asked.
“Yeah.” Jake nodded towards the kitchen door that led out to the floor. “Why’s it so empty?”
Marc followed his gaze, then looked back at Jake. “No one wants to dine at a place that’s just two blocks away where some kind of attack happened just the night before.” Jake frowned. It made sense, sure, but it felt like nothing was being done. “What?” Marc asked. He watched Jake for a moment, and when he didn’t respond, he took a small step closer to Jake, adding, “We’re gonna figure it out, and you’ll get to be back in action, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He broke out into a small, playful smile. “It’s just better for all of us to go together. Safer, I guess.”
Jake caught his eye and nodded in agreement. He supposed it was easier to be agreeable than to argue, especially since, as usual, Marc had a point.
Marc’s shift was only a few hours off from being over and overtime wasn’t happening due to lack of business, but for the most part, they were blessed with an easier time than they had gotten the day before. The time went by slowly, but it gave them a chance to discuss what Jake had found.
“I don’t know, it just felt like metal, but it moved like flesh,” Jake was saying as he waited for the dishes his table had ordered to be prepared.
“Eugh,” Marc remarked, wrinkling his nose. “So, it was sentient?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you see any more of it? Around it or anything?”
“I didn’t check,” Jake admitted. “Shit freaked me out, I just got out of there.” Marc nodded; from the sounds of it, he wasn’t sure he’d be too keen on touching such a foreign sounding object either.
“Let’s go back tonight, then, if we can. I’ll be off soon, Steven’s shift ends at, what, seven? Do you think you can leave early?” He glanced around. “I really don’t think they’ll mind, you just gotta ask whoever is closing tonight.”
“Sure. They don’t gotta know why.” Jake shrugged.
“Great. I’ll text Steven and let him know, then.” Marc turned away and pulled out his phone as Jake received the dishes from the cooks and made his way out of the kitchen. He pulled up his messages with Steven and shot him a quick text to let him know the plan, then tucked his phone away again. He headed to the sinks and washed his hands, then headed out to the floor again to check on his tables again, though there wasn’t much to do or see to. He busied himself with fixing up the tables around them until finally it was time for his shift to be over. He hurried to the back to clock out once all of his duties were finished, saying a quick goodbye to Jake and the others, then headed out of the restaurant.
Upon exiting, he turned to look in the direction of the wreckage and shook his head in disbelief. Jake had been right; the police didn’t look like they had made any effort to do anything. It looked untouched, just taped off, and they were surrounding the area, but just stood around, making sure no one was entering the scene. The sun was lowering a bit and the chilly breeze nipped at his skin as he pulled his jacket around him. He glanced around, suddenly understanding why Jake had felt the need to go ahead and figure things out himself; he was feeling the same way.
He thought for a moment before deciding to follow what Jake had done. Instead, however, he summoned his suit, letting the ceremonial armor wrap around him. Passerby looked over at him in surprise as he did so. Confidence in his step, he walked past the police tape, pace steady until he heard one of the policemen shout out to him. He stopped, turning to look at them as they ran up to him, guns drawn.
“Who are you?!” one shouted.
“Step away!” another one snapped.
Marc fully turned to them, holding his hands up lamely in surrender. “I’m just tryna help you guys out,” he said simply. “Considering none of you seem very eager to actually investigate.”
“Who are you?!” the same officer repeated.
Marc raised his brows (not that they could see his face). Seriously? They didn’t recognize him? He was the same guy that helped save the world from Ammit’s judgment back in Egypt! But, sure. He was just some guy here. He should have known better.
“Moon Knight,” he said, cringing immediately. “I’m Moon Knight.”
“What are you, like… An Avenger, or something…?!”
Marc thought for a second, then half nodded. “I mean. I could be. Not… exactly. I never actually met them, but I think it could work out-” He was cut off as one of the officer’s guns went off, and a bullet bounced off of him. Marc looked over at who’s gun it had been and gave him an incredulous hand wave. “What the hell, dude?!”
The officer paled.
“Okay, this is ridiculous,” Marc muttered. He turned away from them, feeling an array of bullets hitting his back. He ignored it and continued to walk towards where Jake had described finding the blue metal. Shouts from behind him continued, but they didn’t deter him. He crunched through the rubble, sifting through it as quickly as he could; he truly didn’t want to be a nuisance, but this really was ridiculous. The shouts behind him continued as he pushed back huge parts of the fallen buildings until finally something unusually blue was spotted. “There we go…” He snatched it up and made a face as it began to squirm in his hand. “Oh, gross…”
“Put it down!” An officer was only a few feet behind him. Marc slowly turned to look over his shoulder at him. The poor man was visibly trembling.
“You guys will thank us later. Probably.” It was the perfect time to make his leave, so he did just that, swiftly making his way away from the scene of the crime. More cries of alarm were sounded from the cops, but he didn’t stop until he was sure he was far enough away. It wasn’t until he was stopped on a rooftop that he pulled out his phone and realized he had missed calls and texts from Jake. He grimaced.
J: What the hell did you just do
J: Answer me
J: I swear I’m gonna skin you alive what is wrong with you
J: That shit is supposed to be my job not yours
J: Where are you I’m coming to find you right now
Nice.
M: It’s fine. Nothing happened.
Almost immediately, he got a response.
J: Bullshit I saw the fuckign cops and heard them shooting
Marc groaned inwardly. He pocketed his phone away, opting to answer Jake later. From the sound of his notifications going off, Jake didn’t like that decision. He ignored it, getting his suit to go away as he pulled out the blue metal. It squirmed in his hand and as much as he didn’t want to touch it, he held onto it, resisting the urge to chuck it aside. Bringing it up to his face for further inspection, he noted the same things Jake had said about the piece he had found earlier. He pursed his lips in thought when he felt a woosh of air as someone landed beside him. Startled, he turned, expecting to see Jake, who likely found him already, but instead, he was met with a man clad in a dark blue, red, and white suit. Large metal wings were tucked away in an instant, and Marc stared at him, mouth agape.
That was Captain America. Right in front of him.
This couldn’t be good.
“Something tells me you took that from a crime scene.” Marc looked at the blue metal in his hand then back at Captain America.
“I’m just helping.” Marc mentally kicked himself as his voice came out as almost a squeak. He was just caught off guard, he told himself, which was mostly true! He hadn’t expected him of all people to show up. In fact, he didn’t think any of the Avengers would show up. It wasn’t everyday that an Avenger would come down there to see what was up. This kind of thing tended to happen, where something would blow up and some local hero or just the police would handle it.
“Helping?” Captain America echoed. He didn’t sound convinced. “Who are you?”
“... Moon Knight.” Marc held back a scowl as a skeptical brow was raised towards him.
“Okay, Moon Knight. What exactly were you planning on doing with that?” He gestured to the blue metal.
Oh, that was easy. “Find out what it is and track down the perpetrator.”
“I think I can handle this from here.” Captain America took a step closer to Marc, his hand outstretched for Marc to put it in his hand. Marc found himself tightening his grip on the wriggling piece. Captain America narrowed his eyes at him, noticing the action. “Don’t make me do this the hard way, man.” His voice held a hint of warning.
“This is my home,” Marc replied. “We’re gonna fix it ourselves.” He gave Captain America a critical look. “It seems like you guys tend to just worry about what’s going on with yourselves anyway, I don’t know why you bothered to come out here this time.”
“Guess we’re doin’ this the hard way.” Captain America suddenly ran at Marc. Marc jumped out of the way at the last second, grunting as he hit the ground. Using his metal wings, Captain America made a swift turn to grab at Marc again. This time, Marc was ready for it and he resummoned his suit. He leapt out of the way, reaching for his chest, retrieving two crescent darts that he thrust towards the other. Captain America’s wings came up across himself, blocking the darts. Marc used that as a chance to make his escape. Marc wasn’t one to run from a fight, but he didn’t want to fight Captain America - although it was admittedly kind of cool. He had just wanted to help, honest, but it looked like it wasn’t going to pan out that way.
He hopped off of the building and hurriedly hunkered down into an alleyway, crouching behind a dumpster. He retracted his suit and huddled in the shadows, looking up as he heard Captain America speak into some sort of communicator he had on.
“I don’t know who he was, he called himself ‘Moon Knight’- no, I’ve never heard of him. Okay. Yeah. I’ll meet you down there and we can go from there.” There was the sound of his metal wings whirring alive, and Marc saw him taking off into the sky. Marc stayed put for a moment longer, then checked his watch. It was a little past 6pm. Steven would be out of work soon. That was, he decided, his next stop. He stood up and stepped out of the alley, quickly blending into the crowd of people that were walking by, to and fro. He kept his head low to avoid being seen by the police or Captain America and remained that way until he was finally going up the steps into the museum that Steven worked at. He made haste in getting inside; once he was sure no one in there was anyone who was currently out to get him, he allowed himself to properly stand up straighter and look around for Steven. He spotted him sorting through a few boxes of merchandise, setting it up in their set spots behind the gift shop counter.
“Steven,” Marc hissed to him. “Steven!” He reached the counter, and Steven finally turned around, looking mildly surprised to see him.
“Marc! What’s going on?” He gave Marc his usual smile and Marc stared for a moment; he couldn’t help it. Although he saw Steven everyday, that same smile, that same happy attitude, it never failed to entrance him. Snapping himself out of it, Marc shook his head.
“Jake didn’t… no, it doesn’t matter. Look, I kinda did the same thing Jake did, but worse.” He winced at his own words. Steven’s expression immediately fell, and he leaned towards Marc over the counter, waiting for him to elaborate. “I wasn’t careful. The cops and… and Captain America? Yeah, they’re after me right now.” Steven’s jaw went slack with shock.
“Captain America?” he breathed out in disbelief. “Are you sure, Marc? You aren’t just havin’ an episode or something?”
“‘An episode’? Wha- Steven, no, it was him. And I don’t think he’s here alone. He was talking to someone else over his comm.” Marc shook his head, still annoyed with himself for being so reckless.
Steven leaned away from him; his mind was clearly already racing, trying to come up with some sort of solution. “Okay…,” he said slowly. “I’m sure if we explain to Captain America that you were just trying to help stop the attacker, he’ll understand; he seems like a very understanding man.”
“Yeah, about that. I told him that, then refused to give him this.” He placed the blue metal onto the counter. “And then we started fighting.” He looked at Steven expectantly, his brows furrowed. Steven looked at the blue metal, then at Marc.
“Why… did you refuse…?” Steven clearly wasn’t following, and Marc was beginning to feel a little stupid.
“I wanted us to solve this together. You, me, ‘n’ Jake.” His voice was uncharacteristically small. Steven’s expression softened for a moment before it hardened again.
“Marc. You must be dafter than I thought. You don’t go picking fights with Avengers!” He crossed his arms. “I suppose now we have to find him and apologize, hand this thing over…” Marc’s head hung, and Steven felt a bit bad for chastising him. “I know you meant well in your own way, Marc, but if we ever get the chance to prove ourselves as heroes, I think this is the moment. I’m sure-”
Steven’s words were cut off by a loud crunching, crashing noise. The ground beneath them rumbled. Marc and Steven looked at each other with wide eyes as screams could be heard outside in the not-so-far distance. Forgetting entirely about his work that he had been doing, Steven joined Marc in running outside the museum. Dust and soot obscured their view. They both brought hands up to their mouths to reduce the amount of it they breathed in, but as much as they squinted, their eyes filled with tears from it. They couldn’t make out a single thing, only hearing people around them panicking. They looked at one another through watery eyes, then simultaneously called upon their suits. Their masks made quick work of letting them breathe and see without struggling, and they both urgently looked around. The sun was already gone overhead, and the streetlights were too shrouded to provide any useful visuals on what had happened.
Steven took the first steps away from the front of the museum, breaking out into a run towards where he heard most of the shouting coming from. As he got closer, he felt people pushing around all sides of him, trying to get away from whatever had happened. Someone bumped into him head-on, so he took the chance to grab them by the shoulders and asked them, “What’s happened?!” He could make out the faint features of a panicked man.
“S-somebody attacked the Peninsula Hotel,” the man gasped. He tore away from Steven’s grip and scrambled away in a coughing fit. Steven looked around for Marc, but didn’t see him among the flying dust and the flailing people trying to flee. He turned his attention back to trying to get towards the source when the ground rumbled again and another explosion of bricks was sent flying around him. Steven gasped and grabbed the first people around that he could, trying to shield them. He felt the rubble hit his back, the people he’d grabbed screaming and cowering beneath him.
“Go! Get out of here!” Steven yelled at the people around him. He pulled some to their feet, hoping the adrenaline would get them to run. “Go!” He pushed them towards where he hoped was safety, then continued on his way towards the destruction.
He suddenly felt someone grab his forearm and he nearly jumped out of skin until he heard Marc’s voice say into his ear, “Look!” Although he couldn’t see where Marc was pointing, he knew exactly what he was pointing out. He could see the distinct glowing blue several feet ahead of them, this time larger than the tiny pieces Jake and Marc had each found. Marc’s grip on Steven was tight. Steven himself was tense. They had no idea what they were about to face, but there was no turning back anymore, Steven supposed. By now, most of the civilians had dispersed, their screams of fear more distant now. Steven could only hear a ringing in his ears from the explosions being so dangerously close. Together, the two moved forward, slinking down to try and not be seen by this unknown foe.
The dust, although still heavy, had subsided enough for Marc and Steven to see each other now due to their proximity to one another, and Marc used this chance to signal to Steven to go in one direction while he went in the other so they could make their way around the attacker and catch them by surprise. Steven nodded, inching away from Marc as Marc did the same, opposite of him. Steven quickly lost sight of Marc through the wreckage, but the glowing blue metal was never lost on him. It looked like it was just swaying there now, a large rectangular block moving back and forth. He kept moving forward, ducking behind chunks of the destroyed buildings whenever he felt like he was being watched. As he got closer, he squinted, trying to make out any type of form that was there with the blue, but he just couldn’t make anything out. His frustration grew, but he knew he had to be patient and careful over anything else, or he could put more people at risk.
Even though they weren’t directly inhaling the dust anymore, it was becoming increasingly obvious that their oxygen wasn’t exactly clean, and Steven had to fight the need to cough or clear his throat. Finally, he was only about 15 feet away from whoever this was when he could finally see the distinct figure of a man. Upon inspection, Steven realized the large blue metal masses were a part of him, elongating from his arms as they lolled at his side. The man was still, his chest heaving. It felt as though Steven was watching him for hours when a scream of what he could only identify as agony was suddenly ripped from the man. Steven flinched, the sudden noise alarming him. The blue metal began to glow brighter and the man swung. It morphed before his eyes, into fists, large, blue metal fists, that pummeled into another nearby building that was already in shambles. At this, Steven saw Marc’s crescent darts shoot out opposite of him and dug into the man’s back. The man stopped swinging if only to scream in pain. His back arched backwards as he fell to his knees. Marc ran forward towards him, and Steven followed suit.
“Why are you doing this?!” Steven asked as soon as they were in front of the man. The dust had built up again, but being up close to him, Steven examined his face. He was young, maybe his 20s; light, long hair swept across his face, and, oh, that face; it was contorted into an expression of pain and hatred. His face twisted agonizingly as the blue metal shrunk down. Some kind of technological veins - the same ones Jake had shown them in the picture - were prominent in the man’s skin as it shrunk away, glowing the same blue as the metal.
“I can’t- I can’t control it,” the man panted. “I-” He groaned miserably, trembling. Steven looked over at Marc. Despite not being able to see his face, Steven could tell Marc was pensive, and he knew he was on the same boat. If this man was telling the truth, that he couldn’t control this, he needed help.
“Come on.” Marc spoke first. He reached for the man, intending to grasp his arm and pull him to his feet, but the guy reacted violently. He swung again, the blue metal remorphing and just barely missing Marc and Steven as the two jumped backwards. “We’re trying to help you!” Marc said, dodging another swing.
“I don’t need your help!” the man shot back.
“So, you’re doing all this on purpose?!” Steven smacked his arm away with one of his batons.
“No! I can’t control this!”
So he’s stupid, Marc thought, scowling.
“Let us help you!” Steven insisted.
“I can handle this myself!”
“Clearly not.” Marc got ahold of one of the man’s arms and used all his strength to pin it down onto the ground. Steven jumped into action as soon as he saw Marc doing this, and grabbed at his other arm. The man tried to thrash out of their grips, but to no avail. Just as they thought they had him, it morphed back into the man, causing him to let out another cry of pain, but it also caused Marc and Steven to lose their hold of him, and the man used it as his chance to get away from them. He stumbled backwards, glaring at them.
“I did this to myself, I can fix it on my own,” he snarled at them, then turned tail and ran into the dust, out of view. Marc and Steven had fallen forward and watched as he ran off.
“He’s off his rocker,” Steven said, catching his breath.
“You’re tellin’ me.”
Footsteps running towards them had them on their feet in an instant; Steven’s heart was in his throat when he saw Marc had been telling him the truth. Captain America was quickly approaching them through the rubble.
“Mr. America, sir! Captain- sir-,” Steven babbled.
“I got two of them in sight,” Captain America was saying into his comm. “No one else is around… Looks like Moon Knight and his friend are behind this.”
Marc’s hackles rose. “Us?! No, no, no, no, no, we didn’t do this,” he said. “We were fighting the guy who did this- we weren’t even over here when it happened!”
“It’s true!” Steven piped up. “I was actually at work, down over there-” He pointed in the direction of the museum.
“I have plenty reason to suspect it was you, Moon Knight,” Captain America replied coolly. “Come with me, talk to my partner and I, and we’ll see what we can determine. Don’t put up a fight, or it’ll just end up hurting more innocent people.”
“He’s not lying, Mr. Captain,” Steven said, his tone hardening. “There was a man here, a man who had these odd metal arms. If you’ll let us help you, we can work together-”
“Everyone wants to be a hero, and I’m all for it. Unless they’re hurting people. The only enhanced people we’ve come across here are you two. If you really want to work with us like you say you do, just come with us.”
Marc and Steven looked at each other. Steven let his mask fall to reveal his face. His eyes immediately stung from the dust, but he managed to shoot Marc a pleading look. Finally, Marc relented. He let his hood fall onto his shoulders, and his own mask fell as well. Captain America looked a bit stunned to see how similar the two looked, but he made no remark about it. Both Marc and Steven walked towards Captain America.
“What do you need from us?” Steven asked earnestly.
***
After hearing horrible explosions from the distance, Jake knew Marc had fucked up. First the gunshots, and then the following rumbles of an explosion? Jake shouted something along the lines of going on break early as he ran out of the restaurant. He could hear people screaming and he could see the dust beginning to rise in the distance. Sirens even further were wailing, and the scene a few blocks from the attack the night prior was crowded with confused, frazzled policemen. Cursing under his breath, Jake summoned his armor and ran towards the fray of fright.
People pushed past him and he couldn’t see anything past the ashes and fragments and crowd, so he settled upon checking things out from the top of the surrounding buildings. He leapt up, launching himself from wall to wall until he was atop the roofs. He jumped across them, trying to get closer, as close as he could. He tensed when he realized how close it had been to the museum that Steven worked at. Keeping his cool, he continued to make his way closer, as close as he could. He narrowed his eyes when he saw something glowing blue leaving, running off in a separate direction. He knew he couldn’t go after it or he would be risking fighting with no suit, typically something he wouldn’t be worried about doing, but if this was something superpowered, he would likely regret not having Khonshu’s powers on his side to help him.
Steven and/or Marc were close enough, he just had to find them.
He deliberated for a moment. He should go find whichever one was around, get together to figure this out and put this destruction to rest. Surely the three of them could-
A punch to the back of his head sent him flying forward, landing to the ground with a grunt. He was immediately back on his feet, guard up, the pain on the back of his head piercing. He was face-to-face with a man who was glaring right back at him.
“I found a third Moon Knight, Sam. I’ll bring him back in a bit.”
The man’s glossy black metal arm shone in the dull moonlight. Jake eyed him carefully. He knew Marc’s alias.
“You got some way of makin’ new friends,” Jake said wryly, tilting his head slightly. The man didn’t reply, he just began marching towards Jake. Jake waited until he was in front of him to strike at him. The man blocked him blow for blow. This guy clearly wasn’t going to be an easy fight, Jake noted. He gave him a swift kick to the stomach, sending him backwards enough for Jake to jump off the building and onto the next, his crescent cape flowing behind him. The man quickly gave chase.
On the ground, the dust was finally settling enough for Marc, Steven and Captain America to spot the chase.
“Jake!” Steven gasped.
“Sorry, Cap, we gotta go.”
“Wait-”
Steven and Marc didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. They launched themselves towards the same direction as Jake and the stranger. The man was fast, faster than any normal human they’d ever met. Marc shot a crescent dart at him. The sound of scraping metal sounded as it brushed his arm, tinkering to the ground. The man glanced over his shoulder, his eyes glinting with annoyance. He was gaining on Jake faster than they had anticipated.
“Jake!” Marc shouted. Jake turned around, seemingly surprised to see the other two behind him and the man. “Catch!” Knowing immediately what to do, Jake stopped on his tracks, spinning around. As he did so, Marc pulled out two more crescent darts and hurled them towards Jake. He caught them with ease just as the man rushed at him. Iron grip on them, he thrust the darts into the man’s chest, digging them in as deep as he could. The man grunted in pain. His eyes were wide and round and hateful, and Jake thought they’d gotten him until the man reached down and ripped the crescent darts out of his chest, prying them from Jake’s hands. He was clearly shaken and still feeling the agony of having had them driven into his chest, but with vigor, he turned and propelled them right back at Marc and Steven. With a yelp, Steven ducked away, but it still managed to tear into his arm. Marc didn’t move in time, and it dug directly into his shoulder. He stumbled backwards, Steven catching him and stabilizing him. The wounds didn’t heal as quickly as any other typically would, something the three of them had actually learned: the crescent darts were one of the few things that could actually hurt them for a longer period of time while they were under Khonshu’s protection. It wasn’t something that happened often, but unfortunately, it happened at the worst moment.
The man grabbed Jake’s throat with his metal arm, tilting him off of the building. Jake tore at his arm, punching at him, but the man didn’t yield. Marc turned to Steven.
“We gotta do the thing,” he croaked. Steven shook his head in terror.
“It won’t work, Marc, we only managed to do it once,” he whispered back. “All the other times failed. A-and you’re hurt, you won’t heal if you release Khonshu-”
“He’ll kill him.” These words convinced Steven. They closed their eyes and took in a deep breath, doing their best to calm their racing hearts. Slowly releasing the breath, they felt their suits fall away entirely, the energy given to them by the god Khonshu seeping away from them. Marc’s pain intensified and both of them felt their aches and blows they had taken suddenly feel harsher than they had before. Jake, on the other hand, felt a surge of power. He grinned as he found breathing just a bit easier. He stopped flailing, reaching up to grab the man by his metal wrist. The man watched him in horror as Jake’s grip tightened around him, almost crushing, and he twisted his arm away, flipping the man so that he was now hanging off the building while Jake found his footing again. The man slid down the building, his metal arm caving into the building to stop his fall. He jumped onto the nearest fire escape and was quickly back on the roof once again. Jake was ready for him this time, the two engaging in strike after strike, each landing an occasional hit, but both were resilient.
Steven was knelt down beside Marc, who was breathing heavily, his black shirt now glossy with the gushing blood. Between Jake and the man fighting on the next rooftop over, and Marc fighting for his life, Steven didn’t even know where to look. A whir of wind alerted him of Captain America landing down on the same rooftop as him.
“Buck!” he shouted across to Jake and the man. He turned to Steven and Marc, shooting them a confused and alarmed look. Steven opened his mouth to explain, but Captain America launched towards the other rooftop. He swerved, kicking Jake off his feet, ordering, “Stay down!,” then swooping back down to grab the stranger. The man shouted in protest, but Captain America kept him in the air despite the man’s struggling. Jake looked like he wanted to jump at them and attack them as though they were a piñata, but when he turned and saw Marc laying on the other side with a terrified Steven, he ran to them instead.
He was on his knees on Marc’s other side, his hand under his head to hold it up. “Cariño…,” he whispered, his mask and hood falling away. He closed his eyes, leaning his head down to touch his forehead to Marc’s, letting the intense, surging energy leave him. Beside him, Steven and Marc both felt it returning to them. Marc’s labored breathing ceased as he felt his wound slowly mending itself once again. Steven let out a sigh of relief as he leaned his own head into the crook of Jake’s neck. “Is that Captain America?” Jake breathed out. Steven let out a small, breathy chuckle.
“It is, yeah,” he confirmed. He pulled away to look over at the other rooftop, where said hero was lowering the man back onto solid ground, saying something he couldn’t quite hear. “Looks like he knows the other guy, too…”
As though on cue, Captain America and the other man hopped across to them. Captain America reached them first, looking worn out. “Steven, was it? And Marc?” Steven nodded hesitantly.
“And this is Jake.” Steven nodded at Jake, who gave the Captain a grim look.
“Right… I think we got off on the wrong foot, and that’s partially my own fault. I’m sorry about that. Bucky and I-” he pointed at the other man, who had stationed himself a few feet behind him “- weren’t expecting any other… heroes in the area. It wasn’t brought to our attention.” He offered a smile. “Let’s work together and put an end to this.” Steven’s expression brightened, but Jake couldn’t fight the glare with which he met Captain America's smile. His friend had hurt Marc.
“Will… he be okay?” Steven asked, glancing over at the other man.
“He’ll recover,” the Captain reassured. “He’s taken worse. Right, Buck?”
The other man grunted in response.
“Well, once Marc and your friend are ready to be fully back in action, we’d be happy to work alongside you, Captain,” Steven said. He gently petted Marc’s hair. “He’ll be right as rain in the morning.”
“Call me Sam,” he responded. He winced at the wound on Marc’s arm. “It looks pretty bad…”
“I’ll be fine.” Marc strained to sit up. Steven and Jake helped him. “Steven and I saw the guy,” he continued. “Never seen him in my life, but he said he did that shit to himself.”
“He turned himself into some sort of… half robot man-thing,” Steven said. “But he could retract the robot bit into himself. It looked like it hurt him. though. “
“He said so himself that he couldn’t control it.”
Sam looked thoughtful, nodding as he listened to the two recount their run in with the attacker.
“Here.” Marc groaned softly as he turned slightly to reach into his pocket. He pulled out the piece of blue metal he had collected earlier, handing it over to Sam. “I… should have given this to you earlier.”
Sam accepted it from him, his nose wrinkling the same way Jake and Marc had expressed their disgust, as the thing squirmed in his hand. “It reached us regardless. Don’t sweat it,” he said. “We’ll see if we can use this to find any tracks to follow, some sort of lead so we’re not aimlessly wandering around here trying to find this guy. Thank you.”
He passed it off to Bucky, who received it in his metal hand, his expression showing no revelation of the shared perturbation of the object that they now knew to identify as part of whatever experiment the man had performed on himself.
“We’ll come by and find you guys tomorrow until we come up with some sort of lead,” Sam said decidedly. The three agreed, exchanging contact info with him, then turning down an offer to help bring Marc down, Jake insisting he could bring him down himself. Sam and Bucky made their leave with Sam promising to let them know as soon as possible if there were any urgent updates before the morning.
The three were left alone on the rooftop, Steven gently caressing Marc’s cheek with his thumb soothingly until Marc finally felt the energy to be able to make it into a taxi once Jake had successfully brought him back to the main ground, and back to their flat they went. It felt like an eternity until they were finally back home, the weariness dragging at them. Together, Steven and Jake cleaned and dressed Marc’s wound, then left him to rest in the bed as they helped one another with their own injuries. When they were finished, Steven was the first one to curl up against Marc, sighing against his skin. Jake finally came a little bit after, laying down on Marc’s other side, careful not to touch his freshly dressed wound. He wrapped an arm around his waist lazily, burying his face in his hair. It was still dusty, and he pulled away, sneezing.
“You need a shower,” he said flatly, and Marc let out a short bark of a laugh.
“I think we all do. It’s been a day.” Steven hummed in agreement. The idea of standing up again really wasn’t appealing, Jake being the first to cave in and get up, pulling his shirt off over his head. Steven was already half asleep, but Marc watched Jake through half-lidded eyes. Jake’s lack of clothes convinced Marc to sit up, too, waking Steven up in the process. Steven mumbled something sleepily as he perched himself upwards as well, his face flushing when he saw Jake and Marc both shirtless in front of him.
“Come on,” Jake coaxed as he headed into the bathroom. Steven scrambled after him almost immediately, stumbling as he entered the bathroom. Jake caught him in his arms, his eyes gleaming. “Careful. You’re still tired.”
Steven leaned back against the bathroom sink, unbuttoning his shirt as Jake turned the shower on. It warmed up quickly, fogging up the mirror quickly. Steven’s face was still flush, the growing heat in the bathroom not helping much with that. He leapt at Jake, pulling him into a sloppy kiss, one which Jake gratefully responded to. Marc entered the bathroom, grunting softly to make his presence known. He brushed past the two, already stripped entirely of his clothing, sliding into the shower and under the hot water. He hissed softly at the feeling of it against his skin.
He nearly jumped when he felt cold hands grab his hips. Jake slipped into the shower with him, followed by Steven, both now undressed as well. It was cramped, but the proximity was something they desperately craved, something they hadn’t had for what felt like a long time now. Steven moved around them so he was in front of Marc. Marc’s breath hitched when he felt Jake press his lips against his neck, his beard scratching at his skin in that way that he had grown to love so much. He leaned back into him, tilting his head onto his shoulder to expose more of his neck to Jake. At the same time, Steven leaned forward to catch Marc’s lips with his own. Marc could feel Steven smiling against him.
Jake’s thumbs rubbed circles against his hips while Steven’s wandered around his back, nimble fingers gently working at the tight knots of tension he didn’t realize he’d been carrying. He groaned against Steven’s lips, weak under their touch. Literally. He felt his legs fold under him. Jake caught him and carefully lowered him.
“Shit…,” Marc groaned.
“It’s okay,” Steven soothed. He reached up, grabbing the shampoo off of the shower shelving, carefully lathering his hair with it. Jake washed his body down, and Marc found himself dozing off as they cleaned him up.
***
Steven’s phone ringing loudly woke him up. It was still dark out, the only light flickering in through the gaps of the curtains being that of the streetlights. He sat up, untangling himself from Marc and Jake, scrambling to grab it off the bedside table. He was startled at first, confused, to see Sam calling him, then remembered the events of the night before. He hurriedly answered before the call could be sent to voicemail.
“Capta- Sam, hello! How can I help you?” he fumbled, doing his best to blink away his sleep.
“Steven, sorry to wake you up so late.” Sam sounded tired on the other end. “I’ve had a friend looking into it for us and he thinks he’s narrowed down the location of where this guy is. He’s managed to track the energy the blue metal gives off, but if we don’t act soon, there’s a chance he’ll strike again. Do you think Marc is good to go yet?”
Steven looked over at Marc, who was being hugged tightly by Jake. He carefully shifted Jake over to get a look at Marc’s arm. The cut still looked a bit tender, but it was healing over well.
“I think he’ll be okay. I mean, I don’t think he’ll say otherwise if I ask anyway.”
“Great. Bucky and I can meet you guys at tonight’s explosion scene, the one by the museum.”
“Alright, we’ll be there. Thank you for the call.” Steven ended the call and sighed as the time shined brightly back at him in the darkness; 3:46am.
Marc was already shifting awake beside him, breathing in a sigh as he woke up. “What’s goin’ on?” he mumbled.
“Sam just called. He says we have to go after this guy now.”
Marc groaned, but nodded. “Okay.” He rolled out of bed, dragging his feet to get dressed. Jake had woken up, too, though he stayed laying in bed, arms behind his head to prop himself up. Steven had gone ahead and flicked on their bedside lamp to give them a bit of lighting. He sat on the edge of the bed as he pulled on his pants. Marc stood by their clothing drawer, getting dressed.
“Come on, Jake,” Steven said as he stood up to button up his pants. Jake sighed, but complied. The three got ready in silence, a tension in the air; who knew what they were about to go through, if they would even be able to stop this guy who seemingly didn’t want to be stopped, or at the very least, who didn’t want help.
Whatever happened, though, they all knew one thing: they were glad they would be doing this together.
***
Sam had gone over the plan with them, making sure they were all on the same page, yet somehow, everything had managed to go wrong. Well, not everything, Steven had pointed out, as they had at least succeeded in getting the man into an open area where nobody except for those fighting him would get hurt.
So at least they had that going on.
Sam grabbed Marc under his arms, hoisting him up into the air, then dropped him directly above the man. He landed square on his shoulders, as the man had been too distracted trying to fight off Jake, Steven, and Bucky. He roared in anger, reaching up to grab at Marc, but Bucky and Sam intercepted him first, Bucky’s metal arm an easy match against the man’s own metal arms, and Sam grabbed his other arm and dug his wings into the ground to stabilize himself. Marc crossed his legs around the man’s neck and reached towards his chest to retrieve a pair of crescent darts, but before he could jab them into the man’s shoulders to try and put an end to the use of his arms, a ring of blue energy exploded from him, sending Bucky and Marc flying. Sam managed to stay put thanks to his wings, but his grip on the man loosened.
Jake and Steven didn’t hesitate to jump forward, taking Bucky and Marc’s place, Steven immediately grabbing the man’s other arm, and Jake leaping up to wrangle the man again. Sam readjusted his hold before he could slip away. Steven tossed one of his batons to Jake, who caught it with ease and began bashing it into the man’s head.
This wasn’t the first time they’d switched spots, unfortunately. In fact, they’d been going at it for a while now that the sun was beginning to rise, and the field around them was absolutely decimated. They were fighting in a ditch at this point, and their aches were starting to really feel arduous as they kept trying. The man truly was relentless, fighting back, but they were finally starting to feel him stagger. They, too, however, were tiring.
Marc and Bucky had scrambled back to their feet and jumped towards the man as well, helping Steven and Sam hold him while Jake pummeled at him. Jake pulled out another dart and tossed it to Bucky, pulled one out himself, and shouted, “Cut the middle of his arm!” He didn’t respond to Bucky’s confused expression, instead leaning forward and cutting down hard just above where his arm bent. The loud crunching, screeching sound of metal could be heard, mixed with the man’s scream, but Marc didn’t stop until he felt it dig into soft flesh. Bucky mirrored him on the other side, and almost instantly, his arms fell limp. Jake hobbled away from him, tossing the now bloodied baton aside. The three Moon Knights let their masks fall as they reconvened.
“What did you do to me?!” the man spat as he crumbled onto the ground. Bucky looked at Marc, also waiting for that answer.
“Cut the radial nerve,” Marc replied simply, panting to catch his breath. His ears were still ringing. “Numbs the arms if you hit it; cut it, and well.” He gestured to the man’s limp arms. “It should heal. Eventually.”
Sam had leaned back against his wings to catch his own breath. Sweat beaded down his forehead as he looked at Marc. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.” He glanced at Jake, who was wiping the blood off his hands on his cape. “You, too.”
Bucky flicked his arm around in a circle as though to readjust it. “Sam and I are gonna take him to the Raft and find out what the hell he did to himself.” He looked at the man, his eyes glazing over for a moment before he refocused again.
“We’ll make sure we clear your names, too,” Sam added. “You guys are Avengers. The world should know.”
***
Post fight living was something else. After Captain America and Sergeant Barnes made a national television appearance to praise Moon Knight, Mister Knight, and Lunar Legionnaire, people who had seen them summoning the suit were quick to jump online and point out they’d seen them and their identities were quickly found out, very much to their dismay. People flocked the museum, and the restaurant that Jake and Marc worked at, hoping for a chance to take pictures with or of the heroes who saved them all. It got to the point where the owner had to come in and announce that if they didn’t buy anything, they would have to leave. Steven, on the other hand, had gotten laid off.
“It’s just not fair!” Steven was wailing as he buried his face into the pillows. They’d managed to get home without being noticed too much, Jake and Marc having to leave early due to nearly getting harassed by onlookers. “I don’t blame Sam, but this is horrible.”
“If he hadn’t said something, we would have been fugitives,” Marc pointed out, though he looked agitated as well. He was peering out the window through the curtains, watching out for anyone who might have tracked down where they were living. Luckily for them, no one in their apartment building seemed to care who they were, treating them the same as they always had. Their landlord had tried to raise their rent, saying “You’re superheroes, you can afford it.” They had to show their pay stubs to prove they could not in fact afford it, and even then, Steven had to threaten legal action because he still insisted on the rent raise.
“I’d rather be a fugitive than live like this,” Jake said grimly. Steven rolled over onto his back.
“He called us Avengers…,” he murmured suddenly. Jake and Marc turned to look at him. “Captain America… deemed us fit to be Avengers…” He broke out into a smile. “We’re Avengers.”
“So what?” Jake asked.
Marc raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
“It means we’ve got a bigger purpose now, Jake. We can become greater than ourselves. This could be our ultimate chance to make a difference.”
Jake shrugged, a smirk on his face. “Sure, but do we really want to play hero? Sounds like a lot of pressure.” He leaned back, crossing his arms. “What’s in it for us?”
Steven leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “It’s about belonging, Jake! Being part of something… important!”
Marc nodded, sensing the weight of the moment. “We can handle whatever comes our way. Together.”