Dan's body slumps to the ground, blood oozing from the hole in his head. Seconds later, he bursts into flames. Jack stares, opening and closing his mouth several times and blinking rapidly.

Dan is... dead?

"You know, I always thought it would be ironic if I got cremated after I die."

Jack, fourteen years old, glances at Dan with an incredulous look on his face. "Jeez, that's a dark thought."

Dan laughs, his feet swinging off the edge of the picnic table they're sitting on. The school yard is filled with their classmates and fellow students, chatting with one another or getting picked up by their parents.

"Why'd you think of that?" Jack asks, adjusting his Irish flat cap.

The Brit shrugs. "Dunno. I was just thinking about random things and that's what came to mind.  Wouldn't it be ironic, though? I control fire all my life and then when I die, I become ash? Kind of poetic."

Jack nods, chuckling. "Yeah, I guess it is kind of poetic in a really weird way."

The Irishman stumbles, unable to tear his eyes away from Dan as his body goes up in the very flames he used to control. Sparks lift into the sky on the wind, burning bright for a moment before fizzling out, the ashes soaring to the ground like snow. Jack tries to run to him, to save him, but someone holds him back. His ears fill with screams, and it takes him a moment to realize they belong to him.

"Jack, Jack, come on," someone urges, their voice close to his ear.

The Irishman fights against their grip, his eyes locked on his friend as he finally finds his voice. "Dan! Dan!"

The ashes continue to fall like snow.

"We're gonna die if we stay here!" the voice yells.

Jack feels his feet being lifted off the ground, his body pressed against somebody's chest. He grabs the sides of his head, screaming to block out the ache in his body and bones. Before he knows it, he's touching the ground again. He sobs until it hurts to breathe, his chest aching. His hero rubs his back, mumbling soothing words as Jack retches, but nothing comes up. Burning flesh and the sweet scent of blood remain trapped in his nose and memory as tears pour down his face in waves.

Jack doesn't fight it when he's pulled into his companion's arms, the connection helping to cease the shaking in his muscles. He focuses on his breathing, matching the steady rhythm of the hero's breaths. His scent is familiar, and he finds that it removes the odour of burning flesh from his nose. Finally, he looks up to see that Mark is there, holding him close in order to stop the shaking. Jack bursts into a fresh round of tears, and Mark instantly shushes him and squeezes a little tighter.

"Dan..." Jack stutters.

"Don't think about him right now," Mark replies softly. "You're gonna be okay. Just breathe."

The Irishman nods, burying his face into Mark's chest in a vain attempt to escape his memories. The hero doesn't loosen his grip for a second, his hand on the back of Jack's head.

"T-they k-killed him," the villain sobs, clutching the front of Mark's suit. "He's gone..."

The hero hushes him, keeping his arms tight around the Irishman's slender form. Jack tries to calm his sobbing, but finds that it's pretty useless.

Matthew's voice, soft and choked with emotion, sounds in the villain's ear.  "Jack, hand the hero your earpiece.  Don't ask why."

Jack reaches up with a shaking hand and pulls the device from his ear, pressing it into Mark's palm. After a moment of confusion, the hero takes it and puts it to his ear.

"If you bring him back, we'll let you go without a scratch," Matthew says.

"He needs me right now," Mark replies, glancing down at the man in his arms. Jack does his best to listen in, but his own cries nearly drown the words out.

A beat of silence passes before Matthew speaks again. "I know, but we're his family, and we're grieving too. Bring him back and nobody else has to get hurt."

Mark shuts his eyes before replying. "Fine."

"Thank you. Somebody will be waiting near the entrance for you."

Jack watches as Mark lowers the earpiece and hands it back, his fingers tense against his back. Before the Irishman can say anything, the hero lifts him up and carries him outside. For the first time, Jack realizes that they were sitting in an abandoned office building.

"W-where are w-we going?" he stammers, his visible blue eye filled with tears.

Mark hesitates a little. "I'm, uh, taking you back. To the institute."

Instantly, Jack tenses in his arms before starting to struggle, his sobs coming back in full force. "Mark, please, I can't go back there... Mark... no, please..."

"Jack, please stop," the hero pleads, his voice breaking. "The others are grieving too..."

The Irishman shakes his head, covering his face to hide the torrent of tears. "No, no, no, I can't... too many memories... Oh God, Dan..."

Mark holds Jack's head against his chest, effectively shutting the villain up. Jack trembles violently, his eyes squeezed shut and his fists clenched together so tight that his knuckles turn white. With each step that Mark takes, the villain's stomach sinks further and further.

As soon as he goes through those doors, he'll be hit with the crushing reality that Dan is never coming back. Walking down that hallway will be like walking down memory lane. Cry, Stephanie, Matthew, and him, the remaining villains, will be the ones in charge of cleaning out his room. He'll be forced to go through the belongings of his best friend for fifteen years and relive all those memories.

Dan was one of the only stable pillars in Jack's life. He was an anchor in a sea of unknowns. Now that he's gone, the Irishman finds himself clinging to anyone who will keep him afloat, and one of those people is Mark. The hero makes him feel safe in a situation that is anything but secure. He protects him when he's on the verge of insanity and helps him sleep when he otherwise cannot. Without Mark or Dan around...

Mark stops walking, leading Jack to lift his head. Cry stands a few metres from the entrance of the institute, his arms crossed and his mask hiding the emotions beneath. The Irishman tenses up, clinging tighter to Mark.

"Thanks for bringing him back," Cry says with strained politeness.

"You're welcome," Mark replies through gritted teeth.

Jack shakes his head, pressing his face against the hero's shoulder as tears spring to his eyes again. "Mark, please, no... Mark..."

The American attempts to let the villain down, a pained look in his eye. "Jack, don't do this..."

The Irishman clings to the hero as though the ground is lava and Mark is trying to drop him into it. As he starts to sob again, Cry approaches.

"I'll take him. He's obviously not fit to walk on his own," he states.

Mark attempts to hand Jack over, but the Irishman flails. Panic grows in his eyes as Cry takes him into his arms with a bit of difficulty.

"Don't leave me too!" he begs, reaching out and grabbing Mark's wrists. "Please don't leave me like Dan did!"

"Christ, Jack, calm down!" Cry scolds.

"Go with him. You'll be okay," Mark insists.

Jack dissolves into sobs again as the hero hesitates before walking back towards Curatrix. After a moment, Cry carries Jack inside the villain institute.