It was a few days later and Jackie was healed. Anti wasn't so good off though and had to go to the hospital nearby to be treated right away. Luckily though he was unconscious and couldn't put up a fight and Dr. Iplier was able to work peacefully on him with IVs and stitches.

Marvin and Jameson had found the tattered glove in the dirt nearby of the blast and contained it. They were worried that if left unchecked, it could have repercussions and aftershocks in its ragged state. Jackie wasn't happy with him keeping it but with A LOT of talking, they finally came to an agreement.

Now they were all waiting for Anti to wake up. 

Really, Jackie felt awful. He knew Anti hated him even more now but he couldn't help that. With knowing who he had been pretending to be, there was no way he'd trust him now.

Having read Anti's journal, he was certain Anti might even try to attack more but he wasn't as worried as he thought he should be. He knew Anti had gained a softer side to himself even if he himself didn't believe it.

It was weird, all of them together waiting for Anti like this. Jackie would have never thought anything like this would happen even if Anti digressed back to trying to kill them all and Sean.

Before, in their heads, they thought they'd all team up and fight against Anti no matter what but now with all that's happened and having seen Anti at his best . . . .  things were different.

Or were they really?

No one really spoke about it. Only the kids chattered mindlessly, mostly pestering Marvin for tricks.

Needless to say, they all were hoping Anti would wake up soon.

Noises of small beeping. Soft and consistent.

A dull light penetrating through his eyelids.

Quiet talking around him.

Annoying high-pitched chitter chatter and light squeals.

The feeling of someone staring at him.

No. . ..  

Multiple people staring at him.

Anti grimaced, finally waking up a bit. His head felt light if not a little dizzy but he took a long breathe to ease himself.

Blinking open his eyes, he was greeted by a brightly lit room with many people in it. Beside him was an IV bag and a monitor beeping to show his vitals. He came to the conclusion that he had a needle in his arm and the dizzy sensation were the pain killers.

He was in a hospital.

Looking more closely at the room around him, he finally realized who all was there and he was slightly panicked.

"Anti? You finally awake, bro?"

The glitched flinched a little and suddenly sat up but groaned in pain, cringing.

"Whoa, whoa!" Jackie came into his view looking perfectly fine and all healed, "It's okay, no one's gonna hurt you"

Anti glared at him, looking like a caged beast, "What's going on here? Where am-"

"UNCLE ANTI!" Suddenly he was bombarded by two children. 

Sammy and Kallie leaped onto the bed with him and hugged him tight. Kallie kissed his cheek and cried softly in his ear nearly making Anti's heart break . . .. . if he had one.

"Uncle Anti, we thought you were DEAD!"

Sammy cuddled up to his side, "Are you okay?! You're not gonna die, right!? What happened?! Daddy won't tell us!"

Anti had his arms instinctively around the children and glared up at the other Septic egos who either looked sheepish, cocky or had their phone out recording the interaction.

"I'm fine." he then addressed Henrik who was coming closer to examine his IV, making sure he didn't pull on anything, "Why am I in a hospital?"

"Do you prefer to be dead?" Henrik countered, "Zhat blast took a lot out of you. Miracle you even survived"

Jameson signed from across the room, 'Miracle ANY of you survived THAT time'

Chase narrowed his eyes at him, "What does that mean?"

"Anyway" Jackie intervened and ruffled Sammy's hair who was locked onto Anti like a koala, "We're just making sure you'll be okay. Take it easy"

Anti was still furious with him and wanted to beat him but with the children in his arms. . . . . he found himself in a rough position. He didn't want to scare the kids.

When had he gotten so soft?

Anti stared over at Marvin and was concerned for his own safety but with the kids, surely he wouldn't try and attack him, right? He didn't trust any of them not to attack immediately after the kids were gone.

But then why bring him to a hospital? Why heal him TWICE?

Did they think he had some other information to give them? His mind raced with the possibilities.

Chase felt the tense atmosphere in the room, though and got the kids attention, "Hey who's hungry, huh? You guys want to go with me down to the cafeteria to pick something out for Anti? I bet he's hungry after his big super spy mission, huh?"

"Yeah! I wanna help!" Kallie unlatched herself from his neck, "Uncle Anti, what do you want to eat? You gotta be hungry, right!? You've been asleep FOREVER!"

"Do you want junky food or 'healthy' stuff!?" Sammy asked.

Anti didn't want them to go but knew Chase would probably pry them out of his arms anyway, "Junk food, of course. Grab me a burger and candy, brats"

"I will!"

"No, I will!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Kids, kids, Jaysus" Chase helped Kallie off the bed, "You can both get Anti his food. Now come on, give him a break. Poor guy'll probably want to kick up the morphine with all the shouting"

"What's morphine, daddy?"

"Let's go get some food!" he quickly diverted their attention once more.

After Chase led them out, Anti felt marginally less secure. He really didn't want to be in there at all. Especially not around Marvin and Jackie.

"Using the kids to keep me chill, huh? Clever" he snarled at them.

"Anti, look-" Jackie started but Anti wasn't having any of it.

"Still stands I fucking hate you. You betrayed me! Some fucking hero you are!"

"We've already talked about this-"

"I talked about that shit with Blood-streak! Not you!" he suddenly ripped out his IV, wincing.

Marvin looked like he wanted to say something but held himself back.

Jameson signed to him, 'Anti, please! We are only trying to help'

Anti sat on the edge, swinging his feet over. Henrik rolled his eyes at his behavior.

"Zhat is not good for you, you know."

Anti ignored him and stood up, walking towards the window to open it.

"You know the kids will be crushed that you left" Jackie tried to blackmail him.

Anti shrugged, "Just tell them I got another mission and let them eat the fucking food." without another word, he glitched out the window gone without a trace.

Jackie sighed, "Always so fucking stubborn"

"Just like you" Henrik commented.

Both Marvin and Jameson nodded to each other in agreement of the statement.

When the kids returned with Chase and the food, of course they were upset but at the mention of another 'mission' they seemed to accept it.

Jackie. . . .. not so much.

He had a lot to say to Anti that he wasn't letting him get through.

'I'll have to talk to him sometime later. For now . . . I guess I'll try and  . . . go back to normal?' he scoffed to himself, 'Whatever that is'

One week later

"And you're not making any new weapons? You took down your site?"

"Yeah . . . yeah."

Jackie laughed, "Oh don't look so fucking sad about it!"

"Fuck off" Marvin gave a small smile, "It's hard, alright? All of that. . . . it was my life. And then you burned it all"

"You know why"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. . . .  Thanks"

"Thanks? Why?"

Marvin rolled his eyes, "I think we both know why"

"Yeah, but I want to hear you say it"

Marvin wanted to growl at him but sighed, "Because I was jealous. . . . . I let my jealousy of Anti override what I should have known what was right and wrong. I just . . .. I just wanted to be better in your eyes. And seeing Anti get all of that attention from you. . . You talking to him like you've never talked to any of the other Septics . . ..  I'm sorry"

"Hm"

"Hm!?" Marvin echoed, "That really all you have to say!?" he twitched dramatically.

Jackie chuckled, "I think we both know who needs that apology more"

The magician shrugged, "Yeah  . . . but how exactly am I supposed to apologize to someone who's seemingly vanished into thin air?"

"Aren't you a magician?"

"Yeah . . . . I'm gonna need that spell book back you stole from me to do that, though"

Jackie smirked and leaned back in Marvin's couch in his living room, "I left it downstairs on your little pedestal. Seems I'm stealthier than the cat if you didn't even know that"

"Shut up . .  anyway, finding him is gonna have to wait" he motioned to the clock, "I got a gig downtown at a daycare in five minutes"

"Geez, cutting it pretty short, aren't we?"

"Better than selling drugs and illegal weapons!"

"You said before they weren't exactly illegal"

"Anyway, I better go! See ya later! You know the way out!" with that, Marvin vanished quickly, leaving Jackie to himself in the magician's living room.

Jackie heaved a heavy sigh, "Guess I'll leave then"

He had been spending quite a bit more time with his brothers this last week, having gotten suddenly more lonely now that he wasn't able to hang out with Anti as Blood-streak OR himself.  

Mostly Marvin, really to try and understand his end of everything that happened between them. 

He didn't want to go back to being the hero of the city. At least not yet. 

Jackie still didn't quite know who he was and he figured that now was the time to REALLY find out without any interruptions. Speaking of Blood-streak, he hadn't put on that outfit since the fight. He felt he needed to keep any from any trouble at least for a little while.

As he walked on home to his apartment, he was dressed in his civilian-wear. Not that it mattered. He bet money that Anti knew what he looked like now in regular clothes, Marvin's enchantment be damned.

'Wish I could at least just talk to him. Tell him it wasn't all some sort of ruse. I don't think he really understands' Jackie knew that Anti probably just thought he used him for information and that was it. He just wanted to tell him how wrong that was!

Unconsciously, he stopped walking and looked where he was.

'huh'

He looked up and saw he was exactly at Anti's apartment building, 'Maybe I should see if he's home . . . I never told the others where he lived. Though, I'm sure Marvin knows. Wonder, really, if he still even lives there'

Making up his mind, Jackie sighed and started to walk away.

Until he stopped himself again and walked inside. He had to know.

Running up to Anti's apartment, he stopped at his door and was about to knock but he stopped himself again.

Not out of cowardice.

But because Anti's door was cracked open slightly.

Carefully, he knocked on the door and called out, " . .. . uh . . . Anti?! You there? You're door's open, dude!"

Nothing.

"Hm. . . ." Jackie felt brave though and cracked the door open a bit more, "Anti?! I'm coming in. Don't kill me!"

He stepped inside and looked around. It was very disconcerting how quiet everything was.

Jackie walked around but found that Anti wasn't even home at all.

And his journal was lying on the floor in the middle of the living room. What was most worrying about it, though, was that it looked sort of burnt!

Jackie rushed over to it but it only seemed a little burnt on the outside. It looked like Anti had tried destroying it only to save it quickly after, having second thoughts.

Not having learned his lesson before, Jackie opened the journal up to the recent dates. He had to make sure he was doing okay if he was even still writing at all.

He was, but it was nothing good.

And then he read the entry for that day's date.

He knew then right where Anti was and bolted out of the apartment building to go after him.

Anti hadn't been doing the best since the fight and his time in the hospital. 

He crashed on drugs and went to different bars and clubs. He drank and vandalized.

He was a mess and it was all because of Blood-streak . . .. .  err. . . Jackie.

And Marvin.

And Chase, Henrik and Jameson . . .

Dark, Actor, Bing and Google . . 

Speaking of Google, actually.

It was after his time in the hospital that he found out Dark had taken the scraps of Google's parts to try and put him back together!

And man, was Anti pissed.

So what was he doing now?

On his way to visit Dark, of course, at his little conference office.

They were going to just have a little talk.

Yeah, that's all it was going to be.

Just a talk.

'With all the shit that psycho's caused me! Dark SAVES him?! That broken piece of shit!? All the crap I've have to go through, all the lies! NO MORE! No fucking more, that's it! Not again!'

Anti teleported in the conference room then and there, not giving a shit about all the construction going on around them while Dark and the others tried to ignore it was even happening.

Google and Anti locked eyes and no one knew just how full of rage Anti was in that moment.