I Would Destroy This World For You - Chapter 4

Rand grunted softly as the sharp chirp of his phone's ringer started in the room. He groaned and looked at the clock on his bedside table, the bright white numbers reading 1:30am. He sighed deeply and reached for his phone, yawning as he ran his fingers through his wild hair. Once his eyes saw the number on the Caller ID, sleep left him in a rush as he sat up, pressing the icon to answer the phone.

“Mark?!”, he nearly yelled into the phone.

A pained groan answered him.

“Where are you?? Are you alright? Do you need me to come to you?”, Rand asked in a rush, already sliding out of the bed and standing.

“Don't yell so loudly.”, Marcus grumbled on the other line, his voice a pained whisper.

“You've been M.I.A. for two days! What do you mean 'don't yell so loudly'?! Where the Hell are you?!”, Rand said, his voice no lower as he moved to his bedroom door and opened it.

“My place. And I feel like shit. Can you come?”, Marcus asked, his voice still almost too low to hear.

“We'll be there soon.”, Rand responded as he moved down the hallway.

Marcus grunted and ended the call. Rand moved down the hallway to Rayven's room, knocking on the door before opening it. Rayven lay in bed, dead asleep and hanging halfway off of it. Rand moved to the bed and picked her up onto it, shaking her gently. After a moment, she groaned and opened her eyes to look up at him, sleepily.

“hhmmm...what??”, she croaked, hugging her pillow as she tried to go back to sleep.

“Mark just called me. He's at home. Come on.”, he said quickly, flicking on her bedside lamp.

Almost instantly, Rayven was awake sitting up in bed, her wide eyes looking at him.

“He's home? Safe?”, she asked.

Rand was already moving to her dresser and grabbed her brush, tossing it to her.

“Come on. He doesn't sound too well. I'm not sure what's wrong with him but he asked us to come to his place.”, Rand said, heading out of her room to get dressed.

Rand used his key to open the door to Marcus' townhome, opening it for Rayven to come in then closing and locking it behind him as they moved through the first floor towards the kitchen in the back where they heard movement and low grumbling. The light over the stove was on so there was very dim light. As they moved into the kitchen, they spotted Marcus sitting at the bar, his head down on the tiled marble surface of it, a glass of ginger ale by his hand.

“Mark?”, Rand said softly.

Marcus groaned softly.

“.....not so loud.”, Marcus hissed in a whisper.

Rayven looked at her brother then around the kitchen.

“There's no reason to look around, we're alone. Stop moving, the sound of your clothes rustling is making my head pound.”, Marcus grumbled.

Rand blinked, furrowing his brows. Marcus usually didn't drink like this, ever since he got alcohol poisoning in their third year of high school, he'd semi swore off drinking.

“Where have you been, Mark?”, Rand whispered.

“Here.”, Marcus responded, sitting up to grab his drink.

Rand frowned at the sight of him, he looked like Hell. His eyes were tired with dark circles under them and he looked positively green, like he would vomit at any moment.

“We came looking for you. We came here first. You weren't here.”, Rand whispered.

Marcus looked up at him, his tired eyes emotionless as he sipped his ginger ale.

“I don't know where you looked then because I woke up about an hour ago on my floor in my bedroom.”, he responded after swallowing.

He made a face, he really disliked ginger ale but it was the only thing that calmed his stomach when he was feeling nauseous.

“I spoke with Anthony.”, he started after a moment.

“When?”, Rayven asked softly.

“When I said I would. He came here and we talked. More like we argued.”, he said softly, bowing his head.

Rand frowned. Seemed like arguing with their brothers was the theme of the week.

“He contends that he doesn't know where Reese is. He said that he called him and told him about your fight but Reese hasn't been to see him.”, Marcus continued.

“He's lying.”, Rand growled softly.

Marcus nodded and instantly regretted it, groaning at he raised his hand to his heavy, throbbing head.

“I know he's lying and I told him as much. He told me to mind my business and we started arguing. I.... I think I hit him. It's all a blur. But he went off on me, we argued for a while more then he left. I was so upset that I drank until I passed out.”, Marcus told them, struggling with the memories.

Rand frowned. It sounded remarkably close to what had happened with Reese minus the drinking part.

“I called Reese yesterday and he answered. He said that he is going to strip his own Hero status, he's no longer Ricochet. He's now Deadeye. There is no way he's made that decision and Anthony doesn't know about it. Or encouraged it.”, Rayven said.

Marcus looked at her a moment.

“Anthony is many things but he wouldn't manipulate Reese like that. He loves Reese whether he is Hero, Villain or Civilian. If that decision was made, it was by Reese's choice.”, Marcus said.

“Reese would never turn his back on being a Hero!”, Rayven said, her voice soft but irritated.

“Just like Anthony, Reese would do whatever he felt he had to to be with him. And since I don't know the specifics of the fight you guys had, I can only assume something was said to make him feel that this was in their best interests. Remember in school when Anthony was being bullied by that power-type Hero in training, Flex? The guy harassed Anthony mercilessly every day and Anthony didn't tell anyone, not even me. Then Reese happened to walk past one day as the guy was up to his usual bullshit, pinning Anthony to the wall and punching him in the ribs. Reese almost killed the guy. Using his power to send him to the roof of the school and having him jump off with his powers inactive. When the Headmaster found out Reese was almost expelled but he didn't care as long as Anthony was safe. The decision to strip his own Hero status is because we all have told him to leave Anthony because Anthony is a Supervillain. Reese has always done what he felt he needed to for Anthony's benefit, not because Anthony says so. But because he feels it's for the best in his heart. Anthony has never had to manipulate him, he just has to love Reese and Reese would kill for him.”, Marcus said before resting his throbbing head back on the cool bar counter.

Rayven and Rand looked at each other. Marcus was right, as always. This was who Reese was and how completely Reese loved. A pit of despair was forming in Rand's stomach, swirling and bubbling, sending a tingling chill into his arms and legs as the weight of it made his stomach ache. This was all his fault! He had pushed Reese to this. If he had just left him alone, had not harassed him about his relationship with Anthony, had not pushed him or yelled at him or said all of those horrible things, Reese would still be home. Reese would still be Ricochet. Marcus reached up and lay a phone on the bar without raising his head. Rand and Rayven looked at it. It was new and not the Galaxy Note 9 he'd had since the phone was released, this was an IPhone XS.

“I took a moment and looked into Anthony's accounts while I waited for you to show up. He booked two plane tickets to Japan this morning. Arrival at Kansai Airport in Osaka at alittle after six in the morning, it's a private fight with no stops that left at about five this past evening, so three hours from now they will be landing. I have no idea what he's doing or where he's going. But it's a safe bet that Reese is with him.”, Marcus said.

Rayven placed her hand over her mouth, she couldn't think of any reason for Reese to go to Japan but if she guessed correctly it wasn't for anything good if he was going with Anthony. Rand took a deep breath, trying to calm his worry.

“I booked us a flight. It leaves at eleven thirty in the morning and we won't arrive until ten thirty at night. It's a non-stop flight but it's the best I could do. It will give me time to deal with this hangover and gives you both time to pack and get ready. I have no idea what we will find once we get there but we have to go stop them and retrieve them. We need to talk some sense into them and stop whatever they are planning. I have a contact there, I'll call her once I've taken a nap and feel better so we will have at least one ally who can keep an eye on things until we arrive.”, Marcus grumbled.

“Thanks, Mark.”, Rand said, his worry for his brother evident in his eyes.

“Don't thank me yet. We might be walking into a fight with them. Are you ready to fight your brother to bring him back?”, Marcus asked, raising his head to look at Rand.

Rand frowned. He didn't like the idea of a battle with Reese but, at this point, he would do whatever he needed to to bring him back, to get the chance to apologize for what he'd said and done. Marcus lowered his head again.

“Go get ready. I'll meet you are LAX at ten. Don't be late.”, Marcus grumbled.

Rand and Rayven arrived at LAX to find Marcus at the Departures Gate waiting for them. He was wearing a pair of very dark sunglasses and a cap, his phone to his ear as they walked up with their luggage.

Must still be dealing with his hangover., Rand though.

“Dōmo arigato! Mata chikaiuchini o ai shimashou.”, Marcus said before hanging up and stuffing his phone into his pocket.

He looked up at them and smiled, looking alittle more like himself.

“Okay, they haven't been seen yet but by the time I called, their plane had landed hours ago. My friend will have accommodations prepared for us once we arrive and, after a short rest, we can start looking for them.”, he said, turning to head into the Airport.

“A short rest?”, Rayven asked.

It was obvious she was anxious to find her brother but Marcus didn't stop as he moved through the airport, leading them towards the gates to where two cars waited for them. This was to take them to their private flight to Japan.

“This is a twelve hour forty minute flight, Rayven. When we land the jetlag will be something to write odysseys about. Trust me, you will need a nap.”, Marcus smirked.

Rayven grumbled softly to herself. Rand smiled at her as they exited the terminal and put their bags in the trunk of the second car, Marcus' luggage was already in the trunk of the first. After sliding into the cars, it was a short five minute ride to the plane. They took their luggage and boarded, in twenty minutes they were in the air. Rayven looked out the window as the plane took off, Rand sitting in the seat next to her, his head leaned back on the head rest and his eyes closed. He HATED flying. Jumping long distances at incredible speed was something completely different and he was okay with that but being in a plane, thousands of miles in the air unnerved him. Rayven turned to him and noticed he was holding the arm rest so tightly that his fingers had gone white. Gently, she touched his arm.

“Remember what we talked about, Rand. Deep breathes, in for five seconds, out for five seconds.”, she encouraged.

Rand did as she instructed, about a hair away from a panic attack. Marcus looked at him, taking a sip from a freshly opened bottle of ginger ale.

“Imagine how I feel. Still slightly hungover and the air pressure is bringing back my headache with a vengeance.”, he said, taking another drink of his ginger ale.

Rayven looked at him.

“There's something I wanted to ask you. When we came to your house, I didn't see any liquor bottles. What did you drink so much of?”, she asked.

Marcus lowered the soda from his lips and swallowed, looking at her a moment as he thought.

“If I remember correctly, it was a bottle of Jack and then a bottle of Whipped Cream flavored Smirnoff.”, he responded after a moment.

“Where were the bottles? When did you buy it? We've never seen those alcohols at your place. You don't keep any of that around unless you are having a party.”, she asked.

Marcus furrowed his brows a moment, thinking. When had he bought them?? He didn't remember. But he did remember drinking them. He had. Right??

“I think they were left over from the last party I had. They may have been in the liquor cabinet downstairs. I don't really remember. I just remember drinking them until I passed out.”, he said, his headache getting worse.

There was a soft chime as the Fasten Seatbelts lights turned off and Marcus quickly unbuckled his seatbelt.

“There are two rooms at the back of this plane with a bed in each, I think I'll go lay down. My head is killing me again.”, he said standing and moving towards the back of the plane.

Rayven watched him leave and then turned to look at Rand who was sitting with his eyes closed.

“He didn't buy those two alcohols for his last party. I remember, I was there and Reese mixed the drinks. He had Coconut Ciroc, Goldschlager and Remy Martin Brandy.”, Rand said softly.

Rayven frowned. Something was definitely off with Marcus' memory but she was certain it may have had something to do with his hangover. He wouldn't lie about drinking his own liquor, would he? And if so, where did he get this hangover?

“I also checked the liquor cabinet before we left, looking to take all of his liquor so he wouldn't make himself sicker. It only had a bottle of Mango Ciroc in it.”, Rand said opening his eyes and staring at the plane's ceiling.

Both he and Rayven had a very bad feeling about all this.