AN: I would like to thank everyone for the support that I have received so far for this story. It is deeply appreciated and I can't thank everyone enough. I would like to thank my two cheerleaders who have been with me throughout the writing process of this fic, and to A.M. who with great patience endured my endless rants about the English language while she beta-ed this long chapter.
This chapter is... huge. I tried to shorten it but if I had done any more tinkering, the next chapter wouldn't have started the way I want it to. From this chapter onwards, some creepy things are going to start happening. Things that will definitely put the Clarks on edge.
Chapter Three
Marc woke to find bright sunlight streaming through his bedroom window, and to the sound of what seemed like hundreds of blackbirds as they took their rest in the trees and shrubs surrounding the Clark house. For a few minutes, he listened to the birds as he rubbed the tiredness from his eyes, and rolled slowly onto his back to gaze up at the bottom of the top bunk. The birds were enroute to their winter grounds somewhere in the southern States… or at least that's what Marc had read somewhere in a book about North American birds, and Marc was sorry to see them go as it meant that winter was fast approaching.
His gaze was drawn to the pictures that adorned the underside of the top bunk. Tony had decorated his space with pictures of his family and friends, along with some postcards that he had received from pen pals from around the world, and pictures of his favourite idols from television and movies. His eyes were immediately drawn to a picture of a blonde haired girl giving a toothy smile to the camera as she held up the box of maple sugar candies and a copy of Anne of Green Gables that Tony had sent her.
The package that had come from her contained a wide selection of British sweets and a copy of 'The Borrowers' by Mary Norton. Apparently, the book was a favourite of Tony's pen pal (who always signed her letters with 'Millie', which she explained was a pet name of her real name 'Amelia', and which was a name she preferred over such an 'outdated' and 'horrible' name as hers), but he had allowed Marc to put the book in his bookcase, and shared some of the candy that he had received.
Marc still felt weird sleeping on the bottom bunk as it was his brother's space, but his mother had been adamant in refusing to allow him to climb the ladder to his own bed, even expressing her wish to his father that the bunk beds be dismantled until he healed from his injuries. Cal had of course intervened and talked some sense into Karen, but despite being convinced that Marc was not going to get any more injured, Karen still was resolute in her decision and so sleeping arrangements were temporarily changed despite Marc's protests that he was fine and was able to climb up and down the ladder.
"You have suffered from a head injury," said his mother with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes flashed dangerously as Marc opened his mouth to argue. "Don't you dare argue with me, young man, don't you dare. What if you get dizzy and fall? What if you fall out of bed because you get light headed? Your wrist is in a brace because you sprained it during your fall off that skateboard! To think that you were even skateboarding in the rain…"
His mother had continued her scolding for what felt like hours, and Marc ducked his head and tried to think of other things. However, he caught phrases like 'You're supposed to be smart, Marc. Whatever made you think that skateboarding when the roads were wet was a good idea?' and 'If I have told you once, I have told you multiple times not to do something that dangerous' and 'You're so lucky that you didn't get even more injured'.
He bit back tears as he listened to his mother go on. Tony had, of course, told her some lie about how he had received his injuries- telling their mother that he had taken a nasty fall off his skateboard instead of the truth. Sometimes, he hated being a spy as it meant that he could not be fully honest with his parents, and sometimes he wanted to tell them what exactly was bothering him or telling the full truth on how and where he had gotten bruises or cuts. However, he bit his tongue and listened to his mother who continued to reprimand him for his carelessness.
"I think that he's had enough, Karen." Cal had pushed back his chair at the kitchen table and came to stand behind Marc. He took a protective stance behind his young son and put a hand on his uninjured shoulder, and gently squeezed it. When Marc chanced a look behind him, he saw his father smile reassuringly at him before he turned to face his wife. "Mistakes are made all the time. It's how we are able to learn and grow. Marc made a mistake today by doing something foolish and goodness knows that he has the cuts and bruises to show for it." He held up a hand when Karen went to interrupt him, his grey eyes locked onto Karen's and held the gaze. "For now, we will keep a close eye on him and I will set up an appointment with our family doctor so that he can go for a checkup."
Karen's eyes softened and she peered down at her second youngest son. She had forgotten in the heat of the moment that Marc hated confrontation and usually avoided conflict unless he was acting as peacekeeper between his siblings. Whereas her other children would speak up for themselves whenever they found that they had upset their mother, it was often that Marc would withdraw further into himself whenever voices were raised.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed before she took her seat beside Marc and pulled him into a hug. She reassured him that she loved him and that she had been upset at the knowledge that he had been injured. Marc raised his head and looked up at his mother's face, his hazel eyes seeking out his mother's. He saw the concern etched deep on her face before she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.
"Why don't you go upstairs while I make supper, Marc?" his mother said kindly, releasing him from the embrace and ruffling his hair. "Your brothers and sister are upstairs and I know that they are most likely hanging out at the top of the staircase to listen to…" she stopped talking and looked Marc up and down, tutting softly to herself when she caught sight of a scrape or a bruise. "I'll make some tacos for tonight. So go and tell your siblings about tonight's menu."
That had been a few days ago and still he noticed that his mother was constantly worried about him. She had pulled him aside the morning after the encounter with the robot manticore and told him that he was to remain home from school. He had protested vehemently about this, but his mother gave him a sad look and said that she had contacted the school to alert them of what had happened. Principal Shields had been most accommodating, she told him, but that they had to enact an action plan to ensure that Marc was to recover without making his concussion symptoms worse.
Marc nearly cried hearing the words. Outside of being sick with nasty colds that turned into a stomach bug, he had never missed a day of school. Even with his life as a secret agent and going on WOOHP missions, he had perfect attendance. His mother had looked at him sympathetically as Lee and Megan watched the scene from their seats at the kitchen table. However, the decision was final and there was nothing that Marc could do to change his mother's mind. Even his father, who was usually able to talk his mother down, agreed that Marc had to take time off from school and other activities for a while.
He had taken his seat at the table with a miserable look on his face. He had been looking forward to attending school that day. It was library day for his class, and he had been looking forward to getting a few books dealing with his new intellectual interest which happened to be forensics. He had even been looking forward to hanging out with Henriette who was the new girl at school, and who had taken a liking to him and Megan as they were fluent French speakers that had been assigned to showing her around the school.
He resigned himself to his fate when Lee and Megan pulled him into an embrace and told him that they would get him his schoolwork and would help him keep up with his subjects. Tony even said that he would brave the stacks of the library and get him some books to keep him occupied, which made Marc smile. His siblings had left for school soon after that, but his mother had to keep an appointment for a house viewing with a client and so his father stayed at home with him.
If Marc could use any word to explain how he felt over the last few days, he would have to say that he was absolutely bored. His teachers had given him his assigned work, but at a reduced workload so as not to overwhelm him, and Tony's foray into the library had produced a wide selection of books for him to read, but Marc had hardly been in the mood to read the past few days. He had managed to be entertained by the book on dinosaurs and had half heartedly flipped through a few comic books that Tony had managed to check out for both of them.
Much to Marc's amusement, both Lee and Megan had taken it upon themselves to visit the nearby public library and seemed to have a competition between themselves on who could find the most interesting covers or titles to bring back to their 'Nerdy Bro'... who apparently needed their help to keep his mind busy.
"Lee thought that the cover of Turn of the Screw was the most terrifying thing that he had ever seen," said Megan apologetically after she had set the large pile of books next to Marc's bed, and saw her twin's eyebrows raise at the sight of the book at the top of that pile. "I thought that you'd be most interested in the book on cat poetry…"
Marc had nearly spat out his hot chocolate. "Cat poetry…?" He finally managed to sputter out after a few seconds of coughing.
Megan had rolled her eyes before she dug into the pile of books and pulled one out, holding out the book for her brother to see. The cover had a cute fluffy cat on it and Marc could see why his twin had been drawn to the book as she was a huge animal lover. "Yeah, cat poetry. Besides, it contains a few poems from some of your favourite poets. That's why I got it out for you."
"I take it that you were also behind getting out the Warriors series by Erin Hunter?" Marc asked as he looked through the books, his attention upon a few books that had cats on the cover.
"Well, the image of cat warriors was just too cute to pass up," said Megan with a laugh. "I am sure that there's more to those books than cats! You might find them to become your absolute favourite books in the universe."
For a few minutes, Marc and Megan went through the pile of books and conversed with one another in low voices. They mostly spoke about books, school lessons, and how Henriette had pretended not to understand English for an entire day when she had been insulted by their substitute English teacher… and how she had an unexpected ally in Tami, who had stood to her feet to yell at the teacher at the same time as Megan had.
"Henriette really did that?" Marc asked with a laugh, his eyes twinkled with mirth as he imagined the scene that Megan had described. "She pretended to not understand English whatsoever? What about in other classes?"
"It was the entire day," explained Megan, wiping at her eyes as she clutched painfully at her sides and trying not to laugh and failing miserably. "I had to translate for Lee, of course… but Tony was able to understand and contribute to our conversations." She stopped and glanced at Marc, a proud glint in her eyes. "He's gotten very confident in his French. He's making mom proud- you know how she's always going on about how important it is for us to speak another language. Lee is also gaining his confidence, but we still have to translate for him."
"I imagine that Lee felt left out just the same," said Marc drily just as his two brothers walked into the room. Lee had raised his eyebrows at the sound of his name, but caught on to the conversation and laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah, goes to show that I have to focus more in French class, eh? Or at least to our mother when she speaks in the language." Lee raised a hand to put a hand through his hair, his blue eyes full of amusement as he gazed at the scene in front of him. He saw Marc with a book in his lap and changed the subject. "I can see that you're enjoying the books we got for you. Hope these keep you busy, Brainiac."
Marc had grinned up at him, his eyes betraying just how happy he was. "They will, Lee. Thanks guys… for everything."
Marc was brought back to the present by the sound of the blackbirds taking flight. Due to the number of birds, he could hear their departure even though the window was shut and he frowned when he saw that the sunlight was steadily creeping up the bedpost. It was easy for Marc to forget what day it was when he wasn't keeping track of them. He had gone on his last mission on Wednesday, and Thursday marked the day that he had to remain home from school… and Friday was spent either attempting to read or sleeping whenever he felt exhaustion creeping up on him. Yesterday was also the day that Megan had come home from school with a package from the school for Marc, containing next week's assignments from most of his classes. Which meant that today was Saturday, and judging by the position of the sun, it was late in the morning.
He felt a thrill of panic shoot through him and turned to look at the alarm clock beside him. The time read ten forty-five, and he shot out of bed. He rushed about the room, pulling on clothes and throwing his pyjamas into the laundry basket near the closet, and then rushed downstairs where he stopped short when he saw his parents sitting in the living room where they were watching a television movie.
"Sorry for waking up so late, mom." Marc moved swiftly into the living room where he saw his parents look at one another, confused expressions on their faces. "I didn't mean to oversleep…"
His mother muted the television and looked up at him, her keen eyes upon him as she studied him. Finally, she leaned forward on the sofa and motioned for Marc to sit down. He sat down between his parents and waited for the admonishment that was sure to come for waking up so late. Instead, his mother put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close to her in a one-armed hug before she released him only for her to gaze at him with an unreadable expression on her face.
"You don't need to apologise, sweetheart. We allowed you to sleep in today because of how sick you seemed this morning when I went to check up on you." With these words, his mother touched his forehead with the back of her hand and frowned. "You don't have a fever, but you looked so pale that I was worried. You haven't been over exerting yourself have you? You're allowing yourself to rest?"
Marc managed not to roll his eyes at his mother's concern, but answered her question just the same. "Mom, I've been doing nothing but resting. You don't need to worry so much about me. I am doing fine."
He caught sight of his mother's searching look as she peered at him critically. It wasn't easy trying to lie to his mother, especially when it was clear that he was far from feeling fine, and tried to change the subject.
"Where is everyone?" he asked, noticing for the first time that the house was silent, which was such a rare occurrence in the Clark household… and especially on weekends, that it was always noticeable.
"Lee and Tony went to the park to practise soccer. Tony has tryouts later next week and he's been practising a lot, but he's always so concerned that he's never good enough for the team," said his mother with a thoughtful frown on her face. "It's good of Lee to take him to the park to help him. Tony always listens to him when Lee says that he's an excellent soccer player."
"As for Megan, her new friend came today with her mother to pick her up for a sleepover," his father said as he looked across the top of Marc's head to where Karen sat and smiled knowingly. "If I remember correctly, you have mentioned this new classmate of yours a few times over the course of a few weeks. What's her name again, Karen? I seem to have momentarily forgotten."
Karen smiled widely as she watched Marc closely, looking for any kind of reaction. Sure enough, a flush of colour rose in Marc's cheeks and she dramatically said, "Henriette, right dear? She's quite the lovely girl. Very pretty, don't you think, Marc?"
"What?" Marc managed to yelp out as he glanced from one parent to the other. He felt the colour rise in his cheeks and felt his face burn with embarrassment. "No, I don't… I mean, yes, Henriette is… I mean, she's nice. However, I don't like her in that way. She's only a friend!"
His mother got up from the sofa and left the room only to reappear a moment later holding two brightly coloured envelopes. She handed these to Marc and resumed her seat beside him. At Marc's questioning look, she explained that his friend had dropped them off when she had come with her mother to collect Megan.
Marc opened the first envelope, this one a rosy pink colour and saw that it was a get well card from Madame Bélanger, his French teacher and his classmates. He smiled broadly when he saw the names of his classmates signed on his card, some with words of well wishes and a nice note in French from his teacher. He read the words out loud to his parents who had leaned over to see the card. His mother understood the French but his father didn't, and so Marc translated for him.
"Madame Bélanger said that she hopes I get well soon and that she and my classmates miss me in class, and that she looks forward to when I am well enough to return to school," said Marc happily as he looked down at the card. He set it down upon the table and opened the remaining envelope, which was a bright blue colour and his face turned pink. "This one is from Henriette and her family."
"Oh what a beautiful card!" his mother exclaimed at the sight of the homemade card. "What amazing detail to those gorgeous daffodils." Her light green eyes danced mischievously as she read the note included in the card, but she said nothing as Marc read the message out loud and then translated it for his father.
"Henriette says that she misses me at school and hopes that I feel better soon, and that she wishes for me to make a full recovery so that I can meet Britannicus." He looked up at his father and smiled. "That's her pony. She said that he was a gift from her father before… before… well…" he glanced down at the card, embarrassed- but continued on reading. "Then she says that she can't wait for me to return back to school so that she can finally beat me at crazy eight countdown during our long recess."
"It sounds like you made quite the friend," said his mother who beamed at him with a proud smile tugging at her mouth. She looked down at her watch and back at him. "It's too late for breakfast as it's nearly lunchtime, but why don't I make us all a nice brunch? Why don't we have pancakes with bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs?"
At Marc's nod, his mother got up and disappeared into the kitchen. After a moment, his father patted him on the shoulder before he followed after his mother to help prepare the meal. Marc set Henriette's card beside the get well card from his French class and grinned happily for a few minutes before he too got up and walked into the kitchen to help his parents.
The afternoon found Marc outside upon the porch and swinging back and forth in the canopy swing that his grandfather had made for his parents after they had gotten married. It was surprisingly warm for mid-November and Marc had taken the opportunity to escape the confines of the house to be out in the open air. He had taken a mug of Orange Pekoe tea that he made to soothe his headache and a copy of the latest issue of National Geographic. He leafed through the magazine slowly, taking special interest in the article on infectious agents and the immune response. It was an interesting feature, and he enjoyed looking at the diagrams and charts that allowed him to further understand the article's information visually.
Since it was a warm day, Marc's mother had opened the windows and the screen door to allow fresh air into the house, and sometimes he heard fragments of conversation from his parents as they passed by the windows. From somewhere in the house, a radio blared, and Marc repressed both the urge to laugh and groan when he heard his father's off key singing to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. He shook his head and returned back to his magazine, taking a sip of his tea before setting the mug back into the cup holder.
He had just settled back into reading his magazine, his attention drawn to an article about how archaeogenetics played a role in discovering an ancient ancestor of modern humans when a series of events started happening that caused his heart to feel as though it was about to jump from his chest, and made him stop cold at the same time. At first, he was so invested in his reading that he hadn't noticed that the bluejays who had been loudly calling out to one another had fallen silent- nor did he notice that the large grey and white tabby cat belonging to Miss Peverell from next door had become distracted from its hunt of a squirrel at the base of one of the old maple trees that were in the front yard of the Clark house. The cat stared at a spot in the lilac bushes, flattened its ears, and puffed up its tail before it took off for the safety of the rose bushes that Marc's mother had planted shortly after she and Cal had bought their house.
However, it wasn't the sudden stillness or the cat's retreat that put Marc on edge, it was a flash of movement from the corner of his eye that did. He looked up expecting to see Lee and Tony back from their trip to the park, but saw that the front yard was empty. For a moment, he couldn't say what had distracted him before he saw a flash of red in the lilac bushes that lined the fence row of the Clark property, and he felt himself go numb when he heard the sound of rustling from within the lilac trees.
At first, Marc could not see anything as the lilac bushes were too dense to make anything out. Normally, the lilacs were of great interest to him… not only because he liked watching them throughout the seasons to study their growth- but also because they provided interest in the study of ecology as many birds and animals built their nests and burrows within them. The lilacs had lost most of their leaves as it was now late autumn, but the bushes themselves were so thick with branches that it was difficult to see through them. Marc enjoyed hiding in the lilacs whenever he and his siblings played hide-and-seek… and it was often that Lee, Tony, and Megan teamed up to find him as he was usually the last one to be found.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the areas of the lilac bushes where their branches were the thinnest and peered through them. His keen hearing picked up the sound of rustling from a maple tree that had been surrounded by lilacs and his attention immediately went there. This area was the thickest with bushes, but through the branches and remaining leaves, he picked out something large and red hidden near the trunk of the tree. He felt all the colour drain from his face when he noticed that whatever… or whoever… was hiding in the bushes was not only staring straight at him, but was also slowly advancing towards where he stood on the porch.
Marc stood to his feet so quickly that he felt lightheaded, and his head began to pound to match the beating of his heart. The magazine that he had been reading moments earlier slipped through his fingers and landed on the floor of the porch. His mind had gone blank once more in his terror and so he stood there completely still, like a deer in headlights unable to move.
Get out of here! Run to safety. A voice in the back of Marc's head suddenly said. However, Marc found that he could not move. It was as though he had been hit by a freeze ray and he could not do anything but watch the events that were about to happen, and was completely helpless at preventing them.
The large figure was now on the edge of the bushes, still hidden from view but getting more distinct. Marc could see that it was human and not animal, but the features that made it human were indistinct. He wondered if that was because whoever it was was still in the shadows provided by the trees or if it was because they were wearing something that made it impossible for them to be identified.
It was as though his nightmares had been a foreshadowing of events. The terror that he felt rise in his chest had him completely paralysed. Despite the fact that his brain was screaming at him to run, to hide… to do anything but remain frozen and in a vulnerable position. However, he found himself staring at the hulking figure as it made its slow advance towards him and was unable to run.
Run! Run now! The voice in his head screamed. Remember your WOOHP training. Don't present yourself as an easy target. Fight if you've got to, but you need to move and now!
Marc saw the figure pause before it raised its arm with something held tightly in its hand. Two things happened in that moment, first all of his senses and training returned to him at the sight of the raised weapon- and second, he finally leaped into action. He threw himself down upon the porch, his head protected by his hands as he lay upon his stomach just as the figure pressed a button that caused a beam of light to shoot from the gadget. Marc felt the heat of the beam over him and harmlessly hit the wall of the house. His heart beat wildly in his chest at the realisation that he was now under attack, and he felt a moment of disbelief at the fact that the attack was happening at his home.
One thing became clear as Marc raised his head and looked about him. He had to move this battle away from the house… otherwise his parents would easily become casualties to something that didn't involve them. The wooden wall that closed in the porch hid him from view, but it also put him at a disadvantage as he could not see what was happening in the yard. His senses picked up the sound of footsteps approaching the porch and he quickly looked around to find a way to get away without being in the direct line of fire. However, he discovered that he had given the attacker the advantage of having him cornered with nowhere to go. The only way to get off the porch would mean to go past the threat in an open yard with nowhere to hide.
However, trying to get away would be better than allowing the attacker to continue bombarding his home. So Marc pushed himself up onto his feet and ran to the porch wall in order to leap over it and try to run to the road. Before he had a chance to even move, he saw Lee and Tony race down the driveway and across the yard towards the attacker. Tony kicked his soccer ball in the direction of the figure who had left the safety of its cover in its attack against Marc, only to freeze at the sight of the two boys. The ball made contact with the attacker's chest and caused the figure to double over wheezing.
Lee took advantage of the surprise brought on by Tony's attack by charging forward. He slammed into the figure with enough force that threw both of them into the lilac trees. Marc shouted Lee's name as he jumped off the porch, but Tony had grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and held him back.
"No, Marc!" gasped Tony as he struggled to keep his hold of Marc who was fighting hard to break away so that he could try to get to Lee. "You're not well enough to take on this fight…"
For a moment, the two brothers grappled with each other in the front yard. Tony had wrapped one of his arms around Marc's neck while his other hand seized his brother's elbow as he roughly dragged him away from the lilacs and back towards the porch steps. Marc fought just as hard to get away, but soon the hold around his neck started taking its toll and he was struggling to breathe.
Horrified, Tony released his hold of Marc who rubbed painfully at his throat as he took in deep breaths and glared at his younger brother. From the bushes, the struggle between Lee and the unknown assailant continued. Lee managed to hit the attacker in the face with a closed fist and went to hit the unwanted guest with a side kick before the attacker performed a counter-attack that found Lee on the ground nursing a hurt jaw. He looked up to where he saw the villain look towards the yard and gaze hungrily at Marc who had been dragged towards the house. For a moment, Lee was terrified that the attacker was going to step over him and continue the assault against his brother and moved quickly to his feet and into a defensive position.
"You're not going anywhere near my brother, pal!" Lee put himself between the unwanted visitor and his brothers, ensuring that he kept the threat in front of him but planted himself firmly so that he would not allow this person to get past him. "You'll be in a fight for your… Argh!"
Lee was once again struck in the face, and he fell backwards over a tree stump and out onto the lawn where he lay sprawled on his back with his hand held to his cheek where he had been hit. The blow had surprised him, but the images of his brothers' being left undefended while he was down, and he quickly scrambled to his feet and put himself directly between Marc and Tony… and whoever had decided to attack in the very place that should have been a safe haven.
He threw a look over his shoulder to where his brothers stood. Marc was white-faced and was shaking, something that immediately put Lee on edge as he was unsure of whether it was the knowledge that this had been a brazen attack against him or if it was because he had exacerbated his injuries when he had gone into defence mode. Beside him, Tony stood with an arm around Marc's elbow, preventing his brother from running to Lee's side.
"Tony, take Marc inside and make sure he lies down," said Lee sharply. "Call Jerry on your MPCom and tell him what happened."
Tony nodded resolutely before he started to pull Marc towards the house, tightening his hold of him when his brother glanced behind him to where their eldest brother stood watching them with a fierce expression on his face.
"What are you going to do, Lee?" He asked, his hazel eyes dark with worry. "You're not going to try going after this…" he stopped speaking and he bent over holding his head, a pained look on his face.
Lee took one look at Marc's pale face and knew exactly what he had to do. The villain had disappeared, jumping over the fence in one leap and had taken off down the road. However, Lee made the decision not to give chase as he figured that the threat was no longer there, and his brother's well-being took top priority. He gave one last look in the direction of the road before he turned and ran to his brothers, ducking under Marc's arm as he helped him up the stairs and finally into the safety of the house.
"It's okay, Marc. You're safe now. We'll go to my room and Tony can call the Boss Man," said Lee softly as he guided his brother down the hallway leading to the bedrooms. "So prepare for a WOOHP-ing."
At first when the Clark boys had gotten into contact with Jerry and alerted him of what had happened, the old spy was reluctant to WOOHP Marc, citing his injuries as the reason. The head of WOOHP had expressed concern for Marc when he saw how drawn and pale he appeared, but agreed with Lee that bringing him into headquarters was probably the best option given the circumstances. There would be a doctor waiting in his office for when the spies got there, but made it clear that this did not mean that the young spy was to return to the field, and that he was still on leave.
Marc was annoyed by this but understood why things had to be this way. He had realised during the fight that his injuries made him slow and that returning so soon to his job as a spy would only make things worse, but at the same time he felt that he needed to do something other than remain at home until he could return full time. However, he appreciated the concern that his boss had for him nonetheless.
Before they were WOOHP-ed, Lee and Marc had an argument about whether the younger spy should wear a helmet. Marc had protested against this as it would have been stupid and what harm could come from the WOOHP tunnel? After all, he had been WOOHP-ed many times without suffering injury… it was just like sliding down a long slide, and you couldn't get hurt on one of those. Lee disagreed and insisted, claiming that if Marc was injured even the slightest bit that their mother would have him (as the eldest, Lee added with emphasis) murdered in cold blood.
"She's our mother, Lee…" Marc began, but before he could finish the rest of his sentence, a vacuum was heard in the vent above them and they were lifted into the WOOHP tunnel. "Oh, man… I have nearly forgotten how fast these things are. I feel like I'm about to hurl…!"
"Oh yeah, just like a slide, eh Marc?" Lee called out sarcastically. "More like a rollercoaster… in a tube!"
"I hope that it is a cushioned WOOHP-ing this time!" Tony yelled, his voice coming from somewhere further down the tunnel. "Somebody needs to tell Jer that the hideous red sofa is the most… Whoa!"
Marc felt his heart plummet to his stomach when he saw Tony disappear ahead of him, but before he had a chance to react, Lee had caught up to him and grabbed hold of him, cushioning his head to his chest before they reached the end of the tunnel and they fell into Jerry's office.
"Thanks Jer," said Lee absently as he looked Marc up and down to ensure that his brother was okay. Satisfied that there were no new injuries, the redhead released his brother and finally glanced over at Jerry who had approached them with his brows knitted together in worry. "Do you think that this attack is related to what happened a couple of days ago? We can't dismiss the possibility that what happened was convenient, but it's odd and the fact that Marc remembers seeing a flash of red at the warehouse…"
Jerry held up a hand to stop the onslaught of words but gave Lee a fatherly look before he fussed over Marc, asking him questions on how he was feeling, whether he had gotten hurt during the attack, and what he remembered of the event. The head of WOOHP listened intently to Marc as he explained what happened. Lee had always been impressed by his younger brother's eidetic memory, and it was clear that the same could be said for Jerry who smiled down at Marc fondly before he stepped back. He pressed a button in his wallet communicator and Doctor Baldwin who appeared suddenly as though out of thin air. The doctor took one look at his young patient and suppressed a groan and appeared harassed.
"So it's you, is it?" Doctor Baldwin asked, but despite expressing his annoyance, Marc could see that the doctor was concerned. "You returned back to the field without listening to the advice of your doctor? You've suffered through a head injury, young man- you're supposed to take things easy."
"I know I've got to take things easy…" Marc started to say, but stopped when the doctor got him to lift his head and look at a small flashlight beam.
"You spies are all the same!" Doctor Baldwin fretted, turning off the flashlight and looking over Marc's head for any new injuries. "I've had to deal with another one of your agents, Jerry! She also thought that she was ready to go back out into the field after I explicitly told her not to."
"But I didn't…" Marc began again.
"And here we have yet another one of your spies thinking that he could go against my medical advice!" The doctor threw a furious look in Jerry's direction before he gave a kindly smile down at his patient. "Are your headaches getting worse or better?"
Marc frowned in thought. "It's hard to say, Doctor Baldwin. However, I want to say that I didn't go against your…"
Doctor Baldwin sighed and peered closely into Marc's face. The first thing he noticed was how pale his patient's face was, but he also saw the dark circles under his eyes, and the exhaustion that seemed to radiate from Marc. He frowned and asked more pointed questions. "How are you sleeping at night", "Are you able to sleep throughout the night or do you wake up often", "Do you wake up in pain or is something else the cause of your sleep disruption". On and on the interrogation went until Doctor Baldwin was satisfied and he stepped away from Marc.
"While it's concerning that you are suffering headaches, it's not surprising given the circumstances. I recommend taking Tylenol for the pain, but not aspirin or ibuprofen as that might put you at risk of further injury." Doctor Baldwin frowned at Jerry before turning back to Marc. "You have said you've been having nightmares regularly, which causes you to wake throughout the night. Right now, we'll try to set up appointments with a counsellor so that you can get help with coping mechanisms so that you can sleep. I am wary about giving you a prescription for a sleeping aid, especially with that concussion, so we will see where the counselling goes before we try medication."
Marc bowed his head and felt his face burn in embarrassment. He didn't know how to feel about what Doctor Baldwin had said, but he wanted the nightmares to stop, so he hoped that he could get help with that. However, he couldn't help but feel like he was weak. He knew that if Lee was in his position, that his eldest brother would have been strong enough to deal with all of this, he wouldn't suffer through nightmares or… Marc was interrupted from his thoughts by Lee who pulled him into a one-armed hug and started speaking to him while Jerry and Doctor Baldwin stepped away to speak to one another.
"You were very brave telling Doctor Baldwin the truth," said Lee who beamed at him with a proud smile. "Hopefully, you can now get those nightmares under control so that you can start healing."
Marc peeked at his brother through his lashes and frowned. "Do you think that these nightmares that I've been suffering through are serious enough to go through all of this trouble?" At Lee's confused look, Marc hurried to explain. "I just… I don't want to be a burden to anybody, and I feel that all of this will just…"
"You're definitely not a burden," Tony said as he looked over at him from where he sat on the other side of Lee. "I don't understand why you suddenly believe that you are, but none of us believes you are one. Getting help for this sort of thing isn't a sign of weakness, either… so stop thinking that."
For a moment, Lee glanced over at Tony- his face an unreadable mask. Finally, he released a small sigh and turned his attention back to his other brother. "I agree with Tone, here. You have never been a burden to us and you have never been weak. Megan has said that all of this negativity is from your brain thinking you are worth less than all of us, but that brain of yours is lying to you."
"Besides you were able to hold your own against our unwanted visitor today, not to mention your battle with that…" Tony stopped speaking when he noticed that Lee was giving him what they all affectionately called 'The Big Brother Stare'. "Wha…? Oh, this is ridiculous, Lee! We can't just stop speaking about what happened a few days ago. It's like ignoring the issue and that's not going to help anymore than pretending that things are normal right now, and you know it!"
"It's not that I am ignoring what happened," said Lee hotly, his ears turning red. "It's just that I don't want…"
"Boys! Boys! Please do not fight." Jerry admonished them with a severe look in their direction, but he returned to his conversation with Doctor Baldwin who had a series of recommendations on what he felt was the best action plan to help Marc.
"We weren't fighting," Tony said with a pout, but he apologised to both Lee and Marc, and dropped the subject. Instead he discussed the comic books that he had borrowed from the library, complaining that the latest issue of Super Spy had been a disappointment.
The three boys spent the next few minutes in quiet conversation, talking about anything that came to their minds when Jerry suddenly interrupted them. He apologised for the amount of time he was with Doctor Baldwin but said that there was an action plan put into place to provide further support for Marc. Lee and Tony noticed that the happiness in Marc's eyes seemed to vanish, replaced with a strange hollow emptiness that wasn't lost on Jerry who smiled reassuringly down at him.
"Don't worry, Marc. What you're suffering through after something so traumatic is completely normal." Jerry put a comforting hand upon Marc's shoulder briefly before he stepped away. "There's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of." He then sat in his chair behind his desk and gazed upon the three of them sombrely. "We need to get to the reason for why you're all here, though. I understand that something terrifying happened to you at your home, Marc. You were attacked. Now, I know you told me everything that you remembered earlier, but I need you to do so again just to ensure that I am not missing anything."
After he took in a deep breath, Marc told Jerry everything that had happened. He told his boss about the nightmares, about how he felt there was a crossover from a memory of an event into nightmare territory, how he had noticed the flash of movement and colour in the bushes… how it felt like his worst nightmares had come true. Then he spoke about how he had froze and couldn't think of what to do, how he felt betrayed by his mind that was usually so quick in responding to danger with action, but for some reason had stopped. Then he spoke about how he noticed the figure in the lilacs and how he had felt a sense of dread wash over him at the realisation that he wasn't imagining that somebody was there. When he got to the moment when the attack started, Marc found that his voice started to tremble and he had to stop speaking to collect himself.
"... It was strange, Jerry. The moment that I realised that the attack had started, everything came back to me. My training kicked in, along with my senses- and I was able to throw myself down when I saw that there was some kind of gadget in this person's hand." Marc refused to look up as he didn't want to see Jerry's disappointment in him, but he took a deep breath and continued. "I felt like I had to get away from the house because what if mom and dad… I didn't want them to get hurt. However, I was cornered upon the porch and wouldn't be able to escape without putting myself in a vulnerable position to be attacked. In the end, I felt it was better that I sacrificed myself by putting myself into the open than allowing an attack to potentially hurt my parents. I was just about to do just that when my brothers got there."
Tony looked between his brother and Jerry, noticing the way that his boss' eyes watched Marc's every move and decided that it was time that he picked up the story.
"Lee and I were on our way home from the park when we noticed something was wrong at home," he said, noticing that Marc breathed in relief once he started to recount his version of events. "We saw Marc upon the porch and a flash of light and we took off running. Lee had gotten there first, but I managed to kick a soccer ball in the direction of our unwanted guest."
At Jerry's raised eyebrows, Tony continued with a cheeky, "It struck Marc's attacker and was the best thing I could do given the fact that I had no gadgets."
Lee had a proud glint in his eyes as he glanced at his youngest brother before he turned his attention to Jerry who appeared impressed with his young spy's actions and had even voiced this to Tony who appeared pleased at the praise.
"Lee did all the work afterwards," said Tony with an awed expression on his face as he turned to his older brother. "He body checked the villain… and with enough force that he threw them both into the bushes. I was busy with ensuring that Marc wasn't putting himself in danger. He was trying to get to Lee in order to help him, so it became a battle trying to restrain him."
"That reaction is to be expected," Jerry remarked quickly when he noticed that Marc had appeared worried. "Your brother was in danger. I wouldn't have expected any less of a response, regardless of your injuries. You rushed straight into peril without thinking about yourself, and that is a very brave thing to do." He stopped talking for a few seconds, his brows knitted together as a shadow flashed briefly on his face. He looked up at the three boys, his face grim and serious. "I hope that none of you will ever be put into this situation again."
Marc frowned at this and gazed questioningly at Jerry. "How, though? The attack already happened and the… the attacker… already knows where we live. We didn't catch whoever it was, which means that they are still out there."
Lee noticed that Marc's voice had trembled at the last point and put an arm around his shoulder before he pulled his brother into a hug. He could tell that the younger boy was trying to keep a brave face, but Lee was not fooled as he noticed Marc's eyes were filled with fear. He suddenly wished that he had gone after the villain and had caught them. His brother deserved to live without fear for his safety, and he felt his heart break at the thought that Marc would not feel safe until the bad guy was caught.
Lee turned his attention to Jerry, his icy blue eyes fierce in their stare. He tightened his hold of his brother.- as if afraid that some unseen threat was going to tear Marc away from him. However, Lee was never going to allow that to happen… not for as long as he had breath in his body. Hell, he would protect all of his siblings to his last breath if he had to, but he had his limits as well. He was not a machine that could remain awake at all hours or be with his siblings at all times. He had to admit that this brazen attack on one of his beloved siblings had shaken him to his core, and had shown that he was only human with flaws and limitations. The realisation that he could not always be there to keep his brother safe had hit him like a brick wall, and it terrified him.
"What are we going to do to keep Marc safe?" Lee asked as he willed himself to remain calm. Marc apparently could feel the war that was waging just underneath the surface, threatening to explode like a volcano, and trembled in Lee's arms. "There was nothing convenient about that attack today. I am willing to bet my entire allowance that this was the villain that had made that robot manticore give chase."
Jerry rubbed tiredly at his eyes before he responded, his voice suddenly betrayed his exhaustion and all three of the Clark boys glanced at one another with concerned looks. "I can't deny that the timing of this attack is suspicious. It seems that somebody knows of your secret identities and found out somehow where you're all living. There's going to have to be a quick response to this threat, and an investigation is going to have to be conducted to see how this sensitive information has been accessed… and of course how far this infiltration has gone."
The three Clark boys watched as the older spy got up from his chair and paced the length of his office agitatedly, his face deeply lined with thought and concern. When he next looked up at them, the brothers could see just how troubled he was.
"Do you remember any details about this attacker?" He asked them, his voice excited so that his British accent was more clipped than usual. "Anything that you remember is important and can be vital in catching whoever was responsible for this."
"There's no specific facial features," said Lee, who felt Marc quiver slightly. "They were wearing some kind of suit… something that even covered their face. I couldn't even see eye colour and I was on top of them at one point."
"It was a man." Marc's statement had stunned even Lee into silence. When Jerry had kindly asked him how he had known that the villain was a man, it took Marc a few seconds to respond. When he finally did answer, it was in a small voice and he suddenly sounded as though he wasn't as sure as he was before. "I learned in a biology book that men have wider shoulders than women do. The attacker had wide shoulders. What I could see of where the face would be had a very pronounced brow bone and jaw."
For a moment, there was silence, but then Tony piped up in a voice full of awe. "The fact that you even knew this…"
"... Is absolutely remarkable," finished Jerry with a smile that he bestowed upon Marc who had ducked his head and blushed at the unexpected praise. "This definitely helps. Is there anything else that any of you have noticed?"
"The weapon that he used against me was a strange gadget of some kind," said Marc in an exhausted voice. "I don't think it was WOOHP grade, but it could have been."
Jerry froze at this sudden revelation, but quickly covered up his surprise when Marc blinked up at him blearily. He assured the young boy that he had done everything right, but that he ought to go home to rest. He saw the way that Marc fell against his older brother, his head upon Lee's upper arm and his eyes had closed. The young spy looked utterly exhausted, and Jerry made the quick decision that he was to return home immediately so that he could go to bed.
He looked at Lee who was preparing both himself and Marc for the trip back home and said, "I will have a security detail placed at your home. The WOOHP Secret Protection Guards are specifically trained to protect both the office and residences of at risk agents. If anything happens, they will alert me immediately and I will be there as quickly as possible. Rest assured that there will be no further attack on you or your family."
Lee's eyes locked onto Jerry's with such a ferocity that the older spy was momentarily taken aback. He knew that his boss meant well and would do everything in his power to ensure that he kept his promise that his brother was going to be kept safe at all times. However, the redhead could not get it out of his head that Marc was still in danger, and that it was very possible that despite all the protection that WOOHP could offer, that nothing would stop this villain from getting what they wanted… and it seemed that they wanted Marc.
End Notes: From what I can gather from the canon, the Clarks live in a city in Canada, possibly in Ontario but there are also theories of them living in Calgary, Alberta. That said, their location is not explicitly stated unlike in Totally Spies where we know Sam, Clover, and Alex are in the United States. However, I've seen fic where writers have them living in both the US or in Canada- so I am going with the head canon of the latter. Which might explain the English version of the show as well, where subtle Canadianisms are seen (which was something mentioned by my friend and beta A.M. who was kind enough to point them out to me).
My beta and I did a lot of hair-pulling when we were doing research into school systems as she is from a smaller town that doesn't have middle schools, and she's never heard of the middle school system whatsoever. According to A.M., if the Clarks attended a normal English/French immersion Canadian school- Tony, Megan and Marc would be considered juniors as they are in 5th and 6th grade respectfully. Whereas Lee would be considered and intermediate in grade 7 and 8. However, it was great fun to getting distracted by the research, along with the constant angst over whether or not we had it right.
And that's not even touching up on the inconsistencies and constant anguish over the ages of our main characters. As my story is set in the Autumn of the first season, the characters would be younger. Especially as they are the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades respectfully (in accordance to canon). Which means that Tony would be 10 at the start of grade five, Megan and Marc would be 11 in the first half of grade six, and Lee would be 12 until the new year in grade 7. Something that was mentioned by A.M. who understands these things a lot more than an outsider does. Which means that unless I want to fix my story to later in the new year when the spies were their canonical ages, which would mean that the Spiez would be in higher grade levels, I am going to have to go back to my earlier chapters and change their ages. Which is just... bloody annoying.