Work Text:
Mark was one of (probably) only three people in the world other than Jack who knew what had happened to him to make him plunge off that dangerous precipice between ‘good guy’ and ‘villain’.
The other two that he knew of were, of course, the fuckhead who had done it, who Mark did not know by name, and Chase.
And knowing what he knew, knowing that no one else knew, it wasn’t hard to say ‘yes’ when Jack came to him in the dead of night to ask him to join up with him and Chase. He hadn’t needed an explanation. He’d seen the reports of an up and coming new villain the locals were calling Septiceye, heard the rumors he was distinctly Irish-sounding, like the Glitch King, and he’d made the connection without much issue. Jack was spending a lot of time with his brother, after all, and all of it seemed to match up with Septiceye making appearances.
“― I know it’s short notice and all,” Jack had said, “But I need good backup, and―”
“Sure,” He’d replied, shrugging.
Jack hadn’t questioned his swift answer. Hadn’t questioned why he didn’t want more information.
He’d just thrown his arms around him and hugged him so tightly that Mark could feel the power buzzing under his skin.
He’d hugged back.
And that had been that, basically. That was how he joined up with Jack.
That was how Steel had joined up with Septiceye.
And that was how Steel, Septiceye, and Longshot ended up being known as the Triad as it was increasingly hard to find them away from each other when it wasn’t necessary. Even those who didn’t actually know who Steel and Longshot were (as villains or just in general) called the group the Triad.
Certainly had more of a ring to it than ‘the Committee’, which was the public nickname for The Mayor’s gaggle of bastards, not including The Mayor himself. Or the hundreds of weridass nicknames the public had thrown at Anti’s gaggle of bastards.
Not the point, of course.
No, see, the point was that he was one of only four people in the world who knew what had happened to Jack, and the list of people who wanted to know was growing to be concerningly long. Topping the list was always Anti, who wouldn’t dare press too hard for fear of crossing a boundary with his brother that couldn’t be undone. After him came The Mayor, who didn’t appear to want to ask, but Mark wasn’t naive enough to miss the obvious way his mouth set into a frown and his eyes lingered on Jack’s back when there was any reference to there being a reason he became a villain. Then there was Moon Halo, or Marvin, or whatever Mark was expected to call him. He hadn’t asked either, didn’t seem to have any desire to because he had been asked not to dig into it.
Then, of course, were the other friends Jack had who had any knowledge of his less than pure career interests. They all pried in frequently and it was Mark’s job, as what passed for his Enforcer, to beat them all off of his back with a stick and his teeth bared in a snarl.
He had never, not even once, expected for Anti to come to him.
“You know what happened.” Anti said, without any preamble.
“I do,” He said, somewhat cautiously, and already he was starting to reach for the brass knuckles Jack had gifted him a couple of months ago. “What about it?”
And Anti sort of glared for a moment, and Mark knew that not knowing, not being trusted with the information, must be absolutely burning the guy up. Jack and Anti used to be so close, they used to tell each other everything. But Anti had started keeping secrets first, and Jack had followed suit. And this was a secret Jack didn’t want anyone knowing unless they had to. Mark and Chase only even knew as a sort of occupational hazard of having been his friends for so long and having been around when it was all going down.
Finally, heaving a sigh, Anti’s shoulders sagged a bit. “Is he okay?” He asked.
Mark blinked.
He wanted to ask, for a fraction of a second, why Anti didn’t just ask him himself. But then he remembered that this was Jack they were talking about. Even if he wasn’t okay, it wasn’t like he would tell Anti that. Not this late in the game. He’d say he was fine and he’d move on with his life and it would drive everyone around him batty because they’d know it wasn’t true and that he didn’t want to tell them the truth and they couldn’t pry any further without getting into a fight with him.
So he sighed, and he said, “I don’t know. But he will be. We’re working on that part.”
And Anti stared at him for a moment once more, then slowly nodded.
He left without another word.
Mark breathed a sigh of relief.
… He was still one of only three people aside from Jack who knew what had happened.
And it was going to stay that way.
He wanted to tell Anti, don’t get him wrong. He had every right to want to know, to be concerned, to want to help. It wasn’t his fault it had happened and Jack chose not to say anything. Jack was just… Like that. And Mark wished he could just tell Anti, and The Mayor, and Marvin, and everyone else at least some semblance of the truth of the matter. It weighed pretty heavy on a motherfucker’s heart, you know?
But if all went well, they’d never have to know, and Jack and the rest of them could all move on and live happily ever after.
It was Mark’s job to make sure that happened.