Chapter Six
By the time that Marc had managed to hack into the WOOHP database, he found that he had absolutely no idea what he was looking for. Initially, the plan that had come to his mind had seemed simple enough, but once he found himself in front of the computer and had the entirety of WOOHP's database management system at his fingertips, he found that his mind had gone blank and he had no idea where to begin with getting what he wanted. He ran a hand through his hair as he drummed his fingers upon the top of his desk and thought quickly, staring absentmindedly at the computer screen as a new plan formed in his mind and he finally had a sense of direction to take.
What he needed was to find the mission's case file, something where every aspect of their investigation was documented and where he'd be able to see what evidence was collected, where it was being held, and what the analyses of that evidence had revealed. However, as he stared at the screen, he realised that he needed more than just a collection of evidence… What he needed was to know everything regarding this mission, and that information would be found in Jerry's personal files. He sighed as he tapped lightly on the keyboard and thought about his options. From what Marc understood, each file contained everything from case numbers, the names of the participating agents overseeing the investigation, all of the video calls, transcripts of meetings, and all the behind the scenes and front-line information that would be painstakingly documented to the fullest detail.
Marc felt that if he was able to find this information that he would be able to figure out more than just a basic understanding of what was going on behind the scenes in the investigation, but he would also be able to access information of what was happening on the front lines with his siblings in the field. At this thought, he tried to gain access to Jerry's personal files, but found that without a password that he was locked out of that portion of the database. He felt a wave of frustration wash over him and he leaned back in his chair, his attention upon the window that told him that he had been denied access to the files, but a new idea formed in his mind and he found that the determination he felt earlier had returned.
What he had in mind was a risky plan… one that could possibly expose him before he even managed to get access to the files that he wanted, but he felt that the need to figure out who was responsible for the creation of the robot manticore, the attacks against him, and the desire to know why he was being specifically targeted outweighed any of the consequences that would come with being discovered. Yet, despite the logic behind what he was doing, Marc couldn't help but feel that he was doing the wrong thing even if he had believed that it was for the good.
But is it really for the good? He asked himself as his conscience got the best of him. Will doing this be worth it in the end?
Marc found that he could not answer the questions. He put his face into his hands and forced himself to think, but the image of the robot manticore and of the faceless evil that had attacked him the day before came rushing into his mind, and he felt that he needed to continue. No, he decided as he raised his head and looked at the computer screen, he had to do this. He needed to do whatever it took to find the identity of this villain… not only for his sake, but for his siblings as well. As a strategist, Marc understood that now that the enemy's attacks had been thwarted by Lee, Megan and Tony- that they had put themselves directly into the middle and were now seen as threats.
The thought that his brothers and sister were now in danger made his breath catch in his throat. No matter what he thought about them now, Marc had to admit that he cared deeply for his siblings and would make the ultimate sacrifice to keep them safe from harm… just like they would for him.
He took a few deep breaths and counted slowly backwards from ten. Once he calmed down, he forced himself to remain on task and was relieved when he got his mind to refocus on what he had to do. In order to get what he needed, he would have to find a way to figure out the password that Jerry used for his Missions Files. However, in order to do this, he would have to gain access to the Credential Manager to get the passwords that were stored on the WOOHP mainframe. He drummed his fingers thoughtfully upon his desk before he pulled the keyboard towards him and started typing out a set of instructions into a box that had popped up on the screen that started doing a series of commands in response to the code that was being entered.
As Marc worked at the computer, a light breeze filtered in through the open window, causing the string on the blind to swing gently and hit the wall. Every now and then, the scent of autumn leaves came through the window whenever the wind was strong enough to be felt in the room. From somewhere outside, the call of a bluejay was heard along with the loud bark of a large dog that didn't cease even after its owner called for it. Marc was too engrossed in his task to notice that the dog's alarm barks were getting more frenzied, but he was aware of a strange and distinct humming noise that seemed to get louder each passing second, and that it was getting closer to his open window.
He continued with his task, pulling up box after box as he quickly typed up codes that would perform the tasks of pulling up the information he needed. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, a triumphant smile upon his face as the window that contained all of WOOHP's missions files up on the screen and looked at his handiwork. It had taken a bit of work to find the current password as Jerry regularly changed the password and had some pretty intense security that Marc needed to get past. It had taken a few minutes longer than he had anticipated, but he had finally found the password that allowed him access to a list of active, inactive, and solved cases.
As the realisation hit him that he was about to finally get the answers that were being withheld from him, Marc felt the triumph he felt melt away when his conscience returned with a vengeance once more. He considered the fact that his siblings wanted him to inform Jerry of his suspicions so that their boss could do an internal investigation into his own agents. However, he knew that there was only so much that Jerry could do, and that it would have to involve other departments that would also be responsible in overseeing this investigation. Marc understood that informing his boss would be the proper thing to do, but he also knew that this would potentially put both him and his siblings in further danger.
Marc bit his lip nervously, his thoughts troubled. As much as he had been hurt by the fact that information was being withheld from him as it wasn't just fellow agents that were doing this, but his own siblings was a wound that cut deep. The betrayal that he had felt at this knowledge was something that he wasn't sure he'd ever recover from, even if it had been, as Lee had argued, for his own good. As a matter of fact, Marc wasn't even sure whether the SpieZ team itself could ever recover from this since the trust he had in his team was now broken.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he was aware of a sort of loss. Something had indeed been broken between himself and his siblings, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what that was. It wasn't just that the trust was gone but that the relationship between him and his siblings was possibly damaged beyond repair. Sometimes, he felt that WOOHP had brought him and his siblings closer together and he enjoyed that relationship since he had always felt that he didn't truly belong in his family. His brothers and sister had always deemed him to be a bit weird… almost freakish with his 'near genius' intellect and his analytical mind. He wouldn't ever say that his siblings were scared of him, but he noticed that they (particularly Lee and Tony) had maintained their distance- even though they did allow for him to approach them if he needed help or to talk, but he had felt that they had done this in obligation to both their parents and to perform their brotherly duties to him.
Before WOOHP came into the picture, Marc often felt that he was entirely alone. He noticed the close bond that Lee, Megan and Tony had with one another and felt something akin to jealousy at this relationship as he also wanted to be loved and accepted by his family. A year ago, when he had been eleven years old, Marc had tried to mimic his three siblings- taking on traits and behaviour that he had thought would allow him to get accepted into their inner circle. Later, Megan had spoken to him in private about how he didn't have to change anything about himself and that he was in fact loved and accepted by all of them- something that Lee affirmed after he had apologised for losing his patience and yelling hurtful things at him.
The relationship he had with Megan had always been close, but sometimes she pushed him away in favour of Lee and Tony who were very similar to her in terms of personality and their shared interests. He considered his sister to be both his best friend and confidant… somebody that he relied on and felt safe with when he had nobody else that could be trusted. They were usually together, except for those moments where they desired to be on their own and do their own hobbies, be with their own friends, and lead their own lives.
It always seemed that out of all of his siblings, that Megan was the one that always knew what he was thinking and how he was feeling, always understood that he pulled away from them all whenever he felt that he was unwanted or that his presence made everyone feel uncomfortable, and seemed to know him better than he did. It had always been his sister that managed to pull him out of his head and into the real world. Megan's uncanny ability to sense when he was in trouble made her fiercely protective of him, something that had earned her the nickname of Little Spitfire. A moniker that Lee still affectionately called her whenever she came to Marc's defence and often earned him a scowl in return.
However, the pain that Marc felt knowing that his twin sister… no, not just his sister but his closest and dearest friend had made the decision to not only kick him out of their team in regards to this mission, but to also repeatedly lie to him, was an agony that was worse than anything that this villain could possibly do to him. The wound didn't cut as deep with the secrets and lies that Lee and Tony had maintained over the last few days, but even then, that didn't mean that the damage wasn't done.
So, while being part of a secret spy organisation had strengthened the relationship he had with his siblings, he felt that this also acted as a double-edged sword and was also destroying everything that they had built up over the course of a year.
Suddenly, Marc felt white-hot anger course through him, threatening to explode out of him at the first sign of weakness. He struggled to contain his emotions, feeling the fury burn inside him, bubbling close to the surface as it waited patiently to be released. Not for the first time did he feel like his worth as a member of his spy team was low in comparison to his siblings. He felt as though he had to work twice as hard to prove himself as an effective agent, not only to his team but to Jerry as well… It was made worse because sometimes it was difficult to differentiate between their spy lives and normal lives, and both usually spilled over into the other. He compared himself to Lee, who as the strongest and most capable spy, was someone he aspired to be. His eldest brother always knew what to do and was the leader, not only because he was the oldest of all of them but because he was a natural leader that everyone needed. Megan was resourceful and quick thinking, relying on her instincts and using them to fight if she needed to. As for Tony, he was rash, yes, and as the youngest, he was the smallest and it was often that his naïvety was used against him… but he proved that he could use his reckless and impulsive traits to his team's advantage.
Marc understood that he lacked strength and courage, only doing what was expected of him in the heat of the moment instead of being a beneficial member of the team. He recognised that he was easily overwhelmed by villains that relied heavily on physical combat, usually being the first one to succumb to fights where he had to resort to hand to hand combat. Instead, he relied upon his intellect and ability to strategize- both skills that could be seen as an advantage in terms of getting both himself and his siblings out of dangerous situations.
Yet, despite all of this, Marc felt as though he was never good enough… no, more than that, that nothing he did was ever good enough. His brothers and sister made an excellent team, always working together even long before WOOHP became interested in them, and were slowly becoming an elite spy team after the Beverly Hills Trio. At the end of the day, they didn't need him. After all, what exactly was he good for? He didn't exactly bring anything to the team outside of being a nuisance… somebody that was only part of the team because he just happened to be their brother.
If he couldn't provide anything beneficial to his team or to WOOHP as a whole, did he really belong? He remembered the last aptitude test that he had taken and how he had scored off the charts, proving that he was the 'smartest' spy in WOOHP history. There was a part of him that had used this as an opportunity to prove to his siblings that he belonged both on their team and at WOOHP, but it had just cemented the fact that he was worthy enough only for intelligence and nothing more.
Marc swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat at the thought that he was not worth anything other than being a burden to his siblings. He dragged them down constantly because he was the weakest link, and he knew that every team was only as strong as their weakest member. He angrily wiped at his eyes when he felt the burning hot tears that threatened to fall. If he wanted to be anything like Lee or Tony… or even Megan, he needed to be strong and not allow his emotions to get the best of him. He needed to prove to both himself and to his siblings that he did belong in the SpieZ programme, that he did belong at WOOHP, and most importantly- that he belonged on their team.
No, not only is this to prove that you belong on the team, Marc thought to himself as he fought the wave of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. But to prove that you are worthy enough to be considered an equal to Lee, Megan and Tony.
At this thought, his resolve had returned and he was able to finally get back on task. He took a deep breath and looked up at the computer. The anger he had felt earlier had vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sadness that rose in his chest until it felt like it was about to crush him. Without thinking further, he clicked on the folder listed as 'Currently Active Cases' and did a cursory search through them. He immediately noticed that each case file was in WOOHP code, and that three of the active missions had been updated within the last hour.
He quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil before settling back into his seat to do some complex calculations to decipher the code so that he could translate the names of the recently updated missions. The first one, which was named 'Operation: Evil Snowmen of Doom' made him doubt his sanity to the point that he had to double check to see whether his calculations were correct. When he saw that the last person to update that file had been Clover from the Beverly Hills team he shook his head and moved onto the second mission, which he soon discovered was named 'Operation: Androphagos. Mission No. 823'.
He blinked in disbelief, his mouth slightly open as he stared at the name that Jerry had chosen to call their mission before he glanced back up at the screen. When Marc's grade six social studies class got into ancient Greek history, he had grabbed all the books he could on the subject, including books on Greek mythology. He had seen the word androphagos in some of these books- it was the word that the ancient Greeks used for manticore.
"Seriously, Jer?" Marc whispered, his disbelief fading away into amusement as he clicked onto the folder to view its contents. "You couldn't come up with a more creative name for this mission? Though, I suppose it's better than the mission you named Dyno-Might."
As he scrolled through the folder's contents, he felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. It would take hours to go through everything to get the information he needed… time that he knew he simply did not have. It was one of the disadvantages of having a spy family who could walk in at any moment to see what he was up to, and he wouldn't be able to hide anything from them before they realised the truth. He instead set about making a copy of the folder and sat back while this was being done.
A red alert popped up on his screen so suddenly that Marc felt his heart nearly jump from his chest. Half a second later and after much panic, he realised that it was only a notification that came from Lee's MPCom alerting him to the fact that there was a live call in process. His hands trembled so hard that he found that he couldn't manoeuvre the mouse so that he could click on the link. He knew that there was no chance that his siblings or Jerry would be able to detect his presence. However, he knew that once he clicked on that link that anything could happen, especially if Jerry was on his toes and had software that would reveal his identity.
Yet, the desire to know what caused Lee to call for an emergency meeting with their boss and the wish for more information overtook his commonsense, and he clicked on the link without giving any further thought to the matter.
At first, he could see and hear nothing, but then he heard a click and suddenly he could see both his siblings and Jerry clearly upon the screen. Marc could immediately tell that something was wrong. He saw that his brothers and sister had taken refuge in the tree-house for their impromptu meeting with Jerry. They all appeared tense and on edge and Jerry seemed worried. Marc realised that Jerry was muted so that he couldn't be heard, but he could see that the older spy was speaking rapidly into his wallet communicator, and appeared as though he was sending instructions to somebody on the other end.
He noticed that his younger brother was the closest to where the MPCom sat on the floor. Tony had taken up a protective stance near Megan who had crouched near the entrance of the treefort, and who had prevented him from stepping closer to her with a sharp command for him to stay out of sight. Tony refused to back down, but had crouched to be closer to their sister. His eldest brother was hardly within frame, his attention seemingly diverted by something that was outside. Marc didn't need to see their faces in order to know that they were both on high alert and were terrified.
He felt the familiar sense of cold dread wash over him when he was struck with a sudden and horrifying realisation. It was as though he was hit with a moment of clarity that whatever caused him to be on alert when he had gone outside earlier hadn't left when he re-entered the house, but had waited around for the perfect moment to strike. He remembered how he had felt as though his every move was being watched and that he wasn't safe. Instead of doing what was right and informing his siblings of any of this, he had run away and deliberately withheld information that would keep them safe from harm.
The knowledge that his negligence and stupidity had possibly put Lee, Megan and Tony in danger caused him to feel sick to his stomach. If anything bad happened to any of them, Marc knew that he would never be able to live with himself. He was about to jump to his feet so that he could run to their aid when he heard Megan's voice come in through the computer and he immediately froze so that he could listen intently to the conversation.
"What do you think it was, Lee?"
"I… I have no idea. I only caught a glimpse of it for a few seconds before it vanished," answered Lee in a shaky voice. "It wasn't human. No human can move like that…"
"No, it definitely wasn't a human," Megan agreed, turning her head so that she was looking at Lee, her eyes wide with a fear that couldn't be described. "Forget it not moving like a human, it didn't even resemble one!"
Lee glanced sharply at her. "Did you see what it was, then? By the time I noticed it was there, it had jumped into the front yard and disappeared. I didn't even get a good look at it before then."
Megan took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then released it. She shook her head in response to Lee's question and suddenly appeared as though she was on the brink of tears, something that the eldest Clark sibling immediately noticed and he moved so that he was beside his sister, crouching down so that he was on her level and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay, Megan. We're not always going to catch everything." He removed his hand from her shoulder as he slid down the wall so that he was seated beside his sister with his legs outstretched. "You said that you noticed that whatever was outside didn't resemble a human. Why don't we start there? What else did you see?"
Megan took in a shaky breath as she gave one last look outside before she too took her seat upon the floor, grimacing as her knee cracked after she had moved it after being in the same position for a long time. She noticed that Tony had resumed the same lookout spot that Lee had vacated, his eyes upon the house where they had first noticed something wrong, but they all knew that their youngest brother was listening.
"Didn't you notice where that thing was headed? Which room it was attempting to gain access to?" Megan asked, her voice betraying just how terrified she was.
Lee's voice was grim as he answered her. "Yeah, I did. That was the first thing I noticed and it scares me."
"You know what this means, right?"
Lee's eyes locked with Megan's and he nodded before he looked away without saying a word.
"What else is there for us to do, Lee? We can't keep him in the dark forever. He deserves to know the full truth… about everything. We can't protect him any longer. You can't protect him from this any more."
"I know." The words were said so quietly that Marc could hardly hear them, but he knew that they were painful for Lee to say as it meant that he needed to step aside and acknowledge that what had worked in the past was no longer viable in this case. The silence that followed Lee's words was deafening. Megan and Tony exchanged knowing glances with one another but they did not say anything as they watched Lee lean his head back so that it was resting against the wall, his face grey with exhaustion.
"It will be great to have Marc back with us on missions," said Tony after a few minutes, turning his face so that he could watch what was going on outside. He didn't notice that Lee's eyes had closed at his words. "I am getting tired of this bad guy always being one step ahead of us. Besides, being one member short puts us at a serious disadvantage here."
"We need Marc," Megan added, her tone decisive as her green eyes burned fire. She noticed that Lee appeared as though he was fighting a silent and bitter war with himself, and that he seemed ready to crack. "No, we need him, Lee. We can't do this without him. Tony's right, being one member short is not working in our favour, and we need all of our strength to defeat this baddie."
Lee looked defeated, his face drawn and pale, but he nodded his head. He appeared to all of them as though he had been forced to not only sign Marc's death warrant, but to also carry it out.
A loud alarm caused all of them, Marc included, to start violently. He felt all the colour drain from his face when he recognised the alert that came when an agent was down. On the screen, he watched Lee dive for his MPCom, his face white as he glanced at the screen. From within Marc's desk drawer came the sound of the alarm, getting louder with each passing second because he had not clicked to see the alert. He quickly opened the drawer and retrieved his MPCom, the red alert saying that multiple agents were down and in need of assistance.
"Maplewood Crescent," Megan's voice squeaked out, her voice a mixture of disbelief and fear. "That's only the next street over from our house! Multiple agents are down. Lee, what are we going to do? The remaining agents say that this thing is…"
The call was suddenly disconnected and Marc could see nothing but a black screen. Completely shaken, he exited out of the window only to discover that there was a message box waiting for him. Utterly confused, he read the message and felt his blood run cold. This time, he didn't need to translate an elaborate code to understand what had been written in plain English, and though it was short and to the point, the message was loud and clear.
He felt as though he were about to be sick. The words burned forever like a brand in his memory. He stared as though transfixed at the message, feeling the familiar sense of cold dread wash over him when he realised the implication of the words. Before he knew what he was doing, Marc had jumped to his feet and threw himself out into the hallway where he then took off running towards the staircase. He needed to get to his siblings. Not only because he had to warn them of what was coming, but to protect them from it. However, the message that had mysteriously popped up on his computer played inside his head and he couldn't get it to stop.
The message read: 'Your luck has finally run out. You will pay for what you've done. Prepare for hell.'
The house was eerily silent as Marc hurtled down the stairs, his heart pounding so hard that it felt as though it was about to jump out of his chest. He held his MPCom tightly in his fist as he jumped over the bannister, landing cat-like in the hallway between the living room and kitchen. He sensed that the house was empty, but was not sure where his parents were as they were nowhere to be found. A quick check through one of the windows overlooking the front yard confirmed that the family vehicle was not outside in its usual spot, and he knew that his parents had gone out to run errands.
However, as Marc straightened into a defensive position, he was aware of the fact that something didn't feel quite right. While he felt that he was alone in the house and that his family was no longer there, he did feel a strange heaviness permeate the air. It was as though the house was holding its breath and was waiting, but he could not see what caused him to feel as though he was in immediate danger. The silence of the house pressed in on him, and Marc felt himself take first one step and then another back towards the staircase, ready to run up the stairs if the danger revealed itself.
He swallowed down the fear he felt rising in his throat and glanced around him, getting into an attack position as the oppressive feeling that he was not quite as alone as he initially thought washed over him. Nothing was out of place. He could hear and see nothing that was out of the ordinary. Still, the creepy feeling continued to press in on him, and he felt that he had to leave because he no longer felt safe… that if he didn't, that something bad was going to happen.
He gave one final searching look about him in the hallway, his eyes resting upon the doorway of the living room for a few moments before he decided to head towards the kitchen. Before he continued into the room, he pressed a button on his MPCom and changed into his spy suit, feeling the relief at knowing that he at least had access to his Freezdiscs as he had no other gadgets outside of his Eye-Tech.
The moment he entered the kitchen, Marc put his fingers upon the button on his Eye-Tech to make a call to his siblings. He felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach that Lee, Megan and Tony were no longer at the house. A quick look through the large windows near the back door showed that the treehouse appeared empty, and since his siblings had not come inside, he suspected that they had gone to the aid of their fellow agents and were fighting on the front lines.
He debated on whether he should go to the scene of the battle and help them, but he knew that Lee would not appreciate seeing that he had left the safety of their home and put himself at risk. However, he knew that any call he made at this point would probably be ignored as his siblings would be dealing with other more pressing matters. So getting a location on them would be near impossible unless he wanted to check his MPCom to see if their location trackers were turned on. Before he made a decision on what he wanted to do, Marc suddenly felt a cold chill pass through him and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
Marc had been so focused on his latest dilemma that he hadn't realised that he had come to a stop in front of the door that went out into the backyard. He had his back turned to the room, the door directly in front of him, and had just been about to remove his MPCom that he had placed into his pocket moments earlier when he was aware of the fact that something was very wrong. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of movement, and whirled around to find that somebody was standing in the kitchen with him. The figure was huge and blocked the doorway. A move that would have caused Marc to panic if he knew he had no other escape route available to him.
He made a small noise in the back of his throat and pressed himself against the door in an attempt to make himself appear smaller and less of a threat. The figure in front of him wore a white catsuit that had a red stripe upon each of the arms and down each side to the legs. The face was hidden entirely by some kind of mask that Marc suspected was more high tech than he originally thought, but he wasn't sure as he was only able to look at it. However, he figured that there was probably some kind of equivalent to the Eye-Tech that he and his fellow spy team used as even the wearer's eyes were hidden from view.
For a moment, the two stared at one another in complete silence before Marc got over his shock and got into a defensive stance. His breath hitched in his chest when he saw that the intruder took first one step and then another towards him, shutting the kitchen door behind them with a loud thud and wedged it shut, making any chance of escape through the house impossible.
He understood the strategy that the villain intended to do and refused to play into it. The intruder had figured that Marc would be panicked and would blunder as a result, playing straight into his hands as a result. He expected that with each step that took him closer to his intended target would have forced Marc to back himself into a corner… a move that would place him further at his mercy since he would have moved away from the only escape route. As a result, any retreat would be easily cut off and making a defensive attack impossible.
Instead, Marc stood his ground, his feet planted firmly upon the floor with his back to the door. He kept his eyes upon the intruder at all times, watching warily as the villain approached the table. It was clear that the bad guy was surprised by this, expecting Marc to be terrified and helpless, and had not counted on him making a last stand and fighting for himself.
As he prepared himself for the coming battle, Marc was aware of a sudden anger that washed over him, but it wasn't his. He felt the walls and floors vibrate with it and knew that it was the villain's rage. He took in a deep breath and attempted to disassociate himself from the negative emotion, but the negativity was still there and there was nothing he could do to get rid of it. It was the sort of anger that once it took over, it could not be controlled… the type of rage that burned like fire, consuming everything in its path until it finally destroyed you.
He wondered about this for a moment as he stared at the intruder. Everything that had been done to this point had been done in anger. It was a realisation that while it wasn't comforting made it a lot easier to confront. He considered his options carefully. It was clear what the aim was here. He was the intended target and if he didn't fight his way out, then it would end either with him captured or being killed… or, he swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, both of these options.
He needed to find a way to get out of this mess… The moment he escaped, he'd call for backup because he knew that the attack would not stop when he managed to leave the house. However, every available agent, including his siblings were currently away and fighting some other threat somewhere in the city. He understood what had happened. Whatever had been climbing up to his bedroom and had allowed itself to be chased away had been nothing more than a diversion. Its attack against the pursuing agents was a strategy that was meant to keep everyone occupied. So, while everyone had gone after what they had perceived to be the real threat, it allowed for the villain to get their target… him.
Marc wasn't sure if he was impressed with the villains' boldness and drive to get what he wanted or if he was angry with himself at not realising the strategy that was being used against them until it was too late. It was a battle tactic that had momentarily blindsided him, but it wasn't something that he'd be checked by. While he was on his own and at his weakest, he would not be defeated.
If this bad guy thought that he'd find an easy victim in Marc, they had another thing coming. He was not going to go down without a fight. He was tired of feeling helpless and having to rely on his siblings to constantly come to his rescue. He was tired of constantly being under attack and feeling as though he had to constantly look over his shoulder… but mostly, he was angry that for whatever reason, this creep specifically targeted him for reasons that were not known to him. No, Marc would be damned if he allowed himself to be a victim any longer, and he'd fight to the death if need be since being captured would not be an option.
With that in mind, he kept his eyes on the intruder, watching for any signs of weakness that could be taken advantage of. Immediately, he noticed that the villain appeared to be muscular and strong, his movements were careful and showed an agility that reminded Marc of a cat. However, when the intruder came to a stop, he noticed that he favoured his right side and that when he resumed walking, he observed a barely noticeable limp that spoke of a previous injury.
Marc decided that he would use this infirmity to his advantage and glanced about him wildly, his eyes lit upon a light blue stool that his mother had purchased from an auction house years earlier. It had been placed out of the way in a corner after being accidentally broken by Lee who had tripped over it in the middle of the night once when he had gone downstairs to get snacks.
He lunged for the stool the moment that the intruder had decided that they had enough of trying to force Marc away from the back door and jumped the table, but before they had managed to close the gap to get him, Marc had straightened with the stool held in front of him. His gaze was fierce as he regarded the figure in front of him, pushing them back with the stool so that the villain fell back.
For a moment, the two wrestled with one another with Marc trying to desperately maintain his hold upon the stool, but he was able to keep it between himself and the villain. During the fight, he had been pulled away from the door, but had launched a successful defence to prevent the attacker from getting behind him.
It was obvious that the intruder was now tired of having all of their attacks being thwarted and did something that caused Marc to lose his balance and fall back into the wall. Before he had a chance to catch himself and resume his defensive stance again, he noticed that the villain was holding some kind of gadget that appeared as though it was a taser gun and had it pointed directly at his chest.
"No!" He screamed out as he heard the crackle of electricity before a beam of white blue light shot out of the gadget. He threw himself out of the way just as the electric bolt shot out, bouncing about the walls and shaking the house before it disappeared.
The villain took Marc's confusion to their advantage and closed the gap between them, but the young spy was now furious. He was angry that he was constantly under attack… angry that he was now on his own to deal with this, but most of all, he was angry that he had no idea how to stop this from happening.
"Stay back, you creep!" shouted Marc, throwing the stool with all his strength just as the intruder charged him. The stool struck the villain in the chest, causing them to fall to the ground with a loud crash that shook the house.
He didn't want to wait to see if he had caused significant damage to the intruder. Instead, he turned tail and ran, throwing open the heavy door that led outside and slammed it shut behind him. He didn't know if he was being pursued, but he knew that he had to run… that he had to do everything he could to get away. However, the sound of a body slamming into the door, causing it to shake was enough to answer the fact that the villain hadn't been injured enough to stay down.
Marc gritted his teeth and held the door shut with all his might. He glanced about him in panic, catching sight of a lawn chair that was close at hand. For a moment, he braced himself and counted quickly to five before he jumped away from the door and picked up the lawn chair, wedging it beneath the doorknob. He hoped that by doing this that he would give himself time to get away and that it was enough to prevent the intruder from escaping.
He took off running, leaping off the porch and landing heavily onto his knees with a muffled grunt. From behind him, he heard the sound of a body hitting wood and knew that he had succeeded in giving himself more time. He raced towards the edge of the property where the lilac bushes lined the fence row, feeling his heart nearly jump in his throat when he heard the sound of wood splintering. Marc screamed for his siblings, desperate for any kind of response… hoping beyond anything that they were nearby and were listening to him. However, there was nothing but silence… there was no response to his cries for help.
He never felt as alone as he did at that moment… had never felt as weak or as exposed or as terrified, and he hated himself for it. Just as the door flew off its hinges and landed with a crash onto the ground, Marc had thrown himself headlong into the bushes, grunting in pain as he landed heavily onto his stomach. He scrambled to his feet and hid behind the trunk of a large tree that was hidden by the thick branches of the lilacs. For a moment, he stooped over, one hand upon his knee and the other against the trunk of the tree in an attempt to catch his breath.
He pressed himself against the bark when he saw that the villain was now in the backyard with him, wincing when he had stepped on a twig that snapped loudly under his foot. The tall wooden fence that separated the Clark property from that of Miss Peverell's was an obstacle that he could not get over without being spotted. However, the young spy knew of an area closer to the front of the property where a portion of the fence was rotting and had a large enough hole that he could crawl through to make his escape.
With this plan in mind, Marc took in a deep breath and moved to poke his head out of his hiding spot to see if he could find the location of the villain. Before he could put his plan into motion, it was absolutely vital to know where the enemy was so that he could work around the danger. His ears picked up the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground and he glanced over only to quickly pull his head back when he saw that the intruder had approached the lilacs and was now peering through them, using some kind of baton that was being used to push back branches in an attempt to find him.
With his back pressed against the tree trunk, Marc stood absolutely still and held his breath just as the intruder walked close to the area that he had taken refuge in. His heart pounded loudly in his ears when he heard the sound of crunching leaves and the snapping of twigs as the villain pushed back the branches of the lilac bush directly in front of the tree that he was hiding behind. He shut his eyes tightly and listened, expecting that at any moment that he'd be discovered and be pulled out of his hiding spot to where the attack would continue against him. When the intruder had moved on, Marc breathed a sigh of relief and tried to stop the trembling in his hands before he peered around the tree again.
Desperate for help, Marc removed his MPCom from his pocket and pressed a button that would send an alert to his siblings. He kept the intruder within sight- only ducking behind the tree when he saw that they had stopped to look at something. When he saw that the alert had been sent through and had hopefully alerted his brothers and sister to trouble on the home front, he took another deep breath and set about getting out of this situation. If his siblings were in the throes of battle, there would be no answer until they were finished with their task and realised that they had received an alarm. This meant that Marc was entirely on his own and that he had to rely on both his instincts and his training to get out of this mess, something that he knew he could do if he played a game of strategy with the attacker.
He moved slowly into position, preparing to use his lasso belt to get up into another nearby tree when a loud chirp from his pocket made him start so violently that he nearly fell over a large rock that was hidden by brush. Marc fumbled with his MPCom, panicking when he couldn't get the device's alarm to stop. He saw the intruder stop in his tracks to listen carefully before he doubled back around to where the noise came from. However, before they could truly pinpoint where the sound was, Marc had finally managed to answer the call.
It was Lee. He had obviously heard the alert that had been sent and had answered the moment he deemed it safe for him to do so. Megan and Tony were nowhere in sight, but from the noise coming through the MPCom, he knew that their absence was due to the fact that they were in the midst of battle and as such, were not in a position to respond to him. Lee's nose was bloody and a brilliant bruise was beginning to form underneath his right eye. His brow dripped in sweat, but his gaze was fierce and it was clear that he had just managed to jump behind a destroyed wall to call him.
Marc felt as though he was about to collapse out of relief at the sight of his brother upon the screen. Even though his older brother wasn't present and was currently busy dealing with another pressing issue, he felt safe and a strange lightness at knowing that Lee was there and would be able to help him. Once Lee saw Marc's pale and terrified face, his face softened into a concerned expression.
"What's up, Marc? Are you…?"
"I am under attack, Lee!" Marc said in a low and frantic voice. He noticed that the intruder was getting closer to where he was taking refuge and he crouched down behind the tree, making himself as small as possible so that he could not be seen. "Listen, whatever is going on over there was nothing more than a diversion. The real attack was always going to happen here. The attacker knows I am outside. Please, hurry…"
The impact that Marc's words had on his brother were immediate. Lee's face lost all its colour and he nearly dropped his MPCom. A strange expression flitted briefly on his face… it was almost as though he had a moment of clarity… as though the thought that they were all being played over on the battlefield had crossed his mind but he had dismissed his suspicions because the danger had presented itself.
"Hang tight, Marc!" said Lee as he peered anxiously around the wall that he had hunkered down behind before he turned his attention back to his screen. "Fight as hard as you can. Do you understand me, Marc? I'll be there as soon as I can!"
The call ended abruptly and Marc was left looking at a black screen. He put the MPCom back into his pocket and took a deep breath, brushing his hair out of his eyes with a shaking hand before he moved so that he could look out into the backyard. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw that the intruder was now near enough to his hiding place that he could hear their breath. Still crouched down in his hiding place, Marc placed his left hand upon the trunk of the tree for balance, and slowly reached down to grab for one of his Freezdiscs, holding it tightly in his right fist.
"I know you're around here somewhere, little spy!" The voice sounded strange to Marc's ears… almost as though it was robotic but at the same time trying to sound human. The effect was still terrifying, but it made him wonder if the villain had somehow damaged his throat which affected his ability to speak. "You've got nowhere to run and you can't fight me. You'll do better to surrender!"
Surrender? Yeah, right! Marc thought in indignation, slowly getting into position as he grabbed for his remaining Freezdisc and crept as close as he dared to the treeline without being seen. Surrendering is not an option!
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
It was the mocking singsong voice that started to grate Marc's nerves. He gritted his teeth and waited for the perfect time to strike. It was obvious that the villain viewed all of this as a game… but Marc was tired of playing, and he had enough. However, before he had a chance to launch his attack, a loud crash and a pained scream was heard in the direction of the front yard. He froze and looked in the direction that he had heard the scream- now he heard the sound of a battle taking place, but the house impeded his view and he could see nothing.
The villain had also become distracted by the sounds coming from the front yard, but quickly recovered to continue his search for Marc.
"Aw, did the ickle spy call for his big brother to save him?" The villain asked mockingly. "Did you really think that he'd be able to come to your rescue, boy? Sounds like one of my creatures has gotten to him."
Marc felt himself go cold at these words and he once again looked towards the front of the house where the sound of a life and death struggle seemed to get louder with each second. He needed to get to Lee and save him from whatever was attacking him.
"How long do you think it will take before your beloved big brother is torn apart?"
He knew that the villain was just toying with him… but the fear that he was about to lose one of his siblings to what sounded like some kind of monster made his heart hurt so much that he felt as though he'd be sick because of it. However, he also felt anger rise up inside him, and before he knew it he had left his hiding spot and threw his Freezdiscs as hard as he could, his eyes burning fire.
To his dismay, the villain seemed prepared for the attack and dodged the Freezdiscs and they flew harmlessly past him.
"Impressive," said the man sarcastically as the Freezdiscs returned to Marc who managed to grab them in midair. "Here I thought that you were going to continue hiding like a coward."
"The only coward here is you!" Marc yelled as he prepared to throw his Freezdiscs again. "Why don't you show me who you are instead of hiding your face underneath that damn mask of yours? Why are you using a device to hide your voice? Are you afraid that I will immediately recognise you and will reveal who you are to Jerry?"
Before the intruder could react, a long series of pops and explosions came from the front of the house, causing the ground to shake with each consecutive explosion. Momentarily distracted by the noise, Marc turned to look towards the house, desperately trying to see what was going on. From the sounds of things, Lee was fighting as hard as he could against whatever was attacking him. He sincerely hoped that Lee was getting the upper hand in that fight, but as he couldn't see what was happening, he had no idea whether his brother was even okay.
Behind him, Marc heard the whir of something mechanical and turned sharply, feeling as though the air was being sucked out of the atmosphere. He heard something vibrate and the sound of a loud crackle just as his hair started to stand on end. To his horror, he saw that the bad guy had the strange gadget back in his hand, and that there was a blue light that shot out of the gadget towards him. He threw himself out of the way just as the burst of electricity slammed into the spot where he had just been standing. He smelled acrid smoke that burned his throat and glanced over in disbelief to see that a large area had been blackened and was smouldering.
He turned his attention back to the villain. "Really? You nearly hit me with lightning?" He asked in a tone of shocked dismay. "Seriously?"
The next bolt of lightning that shot out of the weapon nearly blinded him, but he rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet before he took off running towards the front yard. Marc dodged another attack before he turned the corner to go around the side of the house when he came to a complete stop and looked at the scene in front of him with a mingled expression of disbelief and horror on his face.
Lee was pinned to the ground with some kind of monster over top of him. The redhead had one of his arms raised to fend off an attack with the creature's teeth and claws before he managed to throw a punch that hit it straight in the face. The creature yowled in pain before it swung its heavy tail and slammed it into the ground near Lee's head. Marc realised belatedly that this monster was another manticore, but it wasn't as huge as the robot that they had faced a few days prior. This one appeared as though it escaped the confines of one of his Greek mythology books and didn't seem to be mechanical whatsoever. It was roughly the size of a large lion with a curled, whip-like tail that ended in a deadly looking black stinger.
The manticore was just about to have Lee by the throat when Marc screamed something that didn't even sound human, and threw one of his Freezdiscs with all his might. For a moment, the creature had turned its ugly head to look at the newcomer, entirely taken by surprise before the gadget slammed into its forehead with enough force that it was thrown off its feet to land on its side beside Lee.
Marc grabbed hold of Lee and pulled him away just as the manticore gained back its footing, but found that the younger spy had planted himself firmly between it and his brother. From behind him, Lee nursed his shoulder with a grimace of pain and was breathing heavily, but he managed to get up to his feet and was beside Marc in a heartbeat.
"Thanks, Marc. If you hadn't come to save me when you did, I would have been a goner." Lee appeared shaken but was otherwise okay, but the younger boy was still worried about him.
Before Marc had a chance to respond, a bolt of lightning slammed into the ground near him causing both boys to jump out of the way.
"What was that?" asked Lee once he got back to his feet, he glanced around at his younger brother and noticed that Marc's face had become tense. The bad guy had found him and was now advancing upon them. Lee threw himself in front of his brother and shielded him. "No! If you want my brother, you're going to have to go through me first!"
"Consider that done," said the villain after he snapped his fingers. It was clear that the manticore understood this to mean that Lee was to be its lunch and so it attempted to draw Lee away from his brother, but Lee was able to push Marc back and launch a counterattack that drove the monster away from them.
Marc touched Lee's elbow, momentarily distracting the older boy who glanced at him. Lee immediately saw the look of determination on his younger brother's face and nodded at him.
"How long do you think you can hold out against the manticore?" asked Marc, his hazel eyes intent upon his brother's with an intensity that made the redhead shudder despite himself.
Lee understood what his brother intended to do and turned to face the manticore. "Long enough for you to do whatever you need to in order to drive this bad guy away."
Marc didn't say anything else, just nodded his head in response and got into position. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lee take in a deep breath before he launched a series of attacks against the manticore- striking it over and over again with both his fists and his Freezdiscs in order to draw it away from Marc who could now focus on the intruder who had attempted to charge him again.
A bolt of lightning had slammed into the ground beside him when Marc had a sudden idea come to his mind. He dodged another attack and turned towards his attacker and lunged for him, using his WOOHP lasso belt to wrap around the gadget and pull it out of the villain's hands. He jumped up in the air as the gadget flew towards him, grabbing it before he turned it against the intruder. The moment he pressed the trigger, a bolt of electricity shot out of the barrel and struck the ground near to where the intruder stood. The bad guy was blown off his feet and into the neighbour's yard.
The recoil from the weapon caused him to fly backwards where he slammed into the ground and onto his injured side, forcing the breath out of his body as he lay in a crumpled heap where he had landed. He was vaguely aware of the fact that there was a battle raging around him, but was not aware of his danger even when the manticore's tail slammed into the ground near him. He felt the gadget being pulled out of his fingers, saw a flash of blue purple light, and heard a pained screech that cut off sharply before a thud caused the ground to shake.
Suddenly, he saw his brother beside him, his face white with a fury that he had never before seen as he turned to face something that Marc could not see, but a moment later, the gadget dropped from his fingers and Lee had crouched down beside him to check on him.
"Marc! Marc! Come on bro, you need to get up."
Lee grabbed his arm and attempted to help him to his feet only to have Marc fight him off.
"You're okay! You're safe. The manticore is dead and the bad guy is gone. It's just me. See…?"
"ARGH! It's not that… Lee, don't touch that arm, it hurts too much!" Marc yelled as his eldest brother continued to pull on him.
Lee wore a sympathetic expression on his face, but his eyes betrayed just how frantic he was deep down. He managed to grab hold of Marc's uninjured arm and helped him to his feet. The younger boy noticed the way his brother blocked his view of something that was behind him… something that was smouldering and not moving.
He glanced at his brother questioningly, but when he saw Lee's face, he realised that he would not be getting any answers. For a moment, the two brothers looked at one another, both unsure of what to say or do before Lee pulled his brother into a tight and brief hug. Marc made a small noise of protest in the back of his throat when he felt as though the life was being squeezed out of him, but he returned the hug.
"I am so happy that you're all right, little bro," Lee said hoarsely as he held him. "I thought that I had arrived too late, and then that… that…" Marc felt his brother tremble and knew that he was referring to the manticore. "I was so worried that we had lost you and it would have been all my fault."
Before Marc had a chance to respond, both their MPComs started to ring. Lee jumped back in alarm before he dug into his pocket. Marc peered down at his device and saw a harassed and worried Megan reflected back at him on the screen.
"Where are you, Lee? Everything is all clear here, but you're nowhere to be found. Tony and I just got Marc's alert. Is everything okay…?"
Lee threw a worried look in Marc's direction before he answered, but the younger spy noticed that his brother evaded answering Megan's question. Something that was immediately picked up on by their sister whose eyebrows raised.
"We've got a dead manticore at the house that Jerry needs to pick up. Marc and I will meet you at WOOHP. See you there."
Lee hung up the call and pressed a button to get Jerry's line. For a moment, the two of them spoke in quiet but terse voices before he put his MPCom into his pocket and helped Marc into the house. For a moment, the two boys stood in the entrance of the house where they glanced about them in anxious silence before the sound of a vacuum was heard and they were in the tunnel heading to WOOHP.