Chapter Text
This is probably his favourite spot in the city. High up, high above the masses, the little ants that make their way through the city streets, trickling in and out of busses and buildings. He leans back, humming softly as the sunlight hits his closed eyelids and warms his face. His legs are dangling off the edge, feet kicking into the air. He doesn’t have to hide, nobody ever looks up, not anymore.
His peaceful state is disturbed by something- someone removing the rays of sunlight from his face. He groans and opens his eyes slowly to see Marvin towering over him. He doesn’t know how he found him, or how got up here, and he doesn’t care enough to ask. The wind is softly tugging at his hair, and Jackie hides a grin when it turns, blowing his hair into his eyes and mouth instead.
“Stop that.”
A sigh, and the wind dies down. “Fiiine. What are you doing up here, Marvin?”
“I was looking everywhere for you. We got a lead.”
That catches Jackie’s attention, and he sits up, twisting to face the magician. “A lead? On-” He doesn’t finish the sentence, trusting that Marvin knows who he’s talking about.
“Yeah. It’s him, we’re sure of it. Now let's go before the trail grows cold.” Marvin is impatient, his foot tapping on the roof, his arms crossed, ready to go. This was the first lead in months, and they were all getting rather desperate. Meanwhile, Jack was happily napping away in a hospital bed, none the wiser of the chaos the others had fallen into.
Jackie is on his feet in an instant, pulling his mask over his face and already tugging at the wind, ready to take off. “Where to?”
Marvin groans, placing a hand on Jackie’s bicep to keep him grounded. “No need for that, I’ll teleport us there. Ready?”
He locks his arm with Marvin, holding on tight. “Ready.”
Teleporting is one of those things he’ll never get used to. It twists and turns his stomach, disorients him until there’s no way of telling what’s up and what’s down. The only anchor is Marvin, who’s arm he clamps himself onto. He doesn’t know what would happen to him if he were to be separated from Marvin while in the midst of teleporting, but he does know that he doesn’t want to think about that possibility.
They land on gravel, and Jackie immediately scans the environment, looking for cover. They’re at an old warehouse by the docks, it’s seemingly abandoned. The warehouse is surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire. He listens closely for the familiar hum of a power current, but hears nothing. No electricity. Good.
The smell of the sea and dead fish is overwhelming, as is the consistent screaming of gulls. Jackie spots a truck, and tugs on Marvin’s arm, silently gesturing to it, before making a run for it, Marvin following suit.
“So what’s the plan? Is he in there?” Jackie asks, wide-eyed and ready for action.
“Yeah, but first, can I ask you something, Jackie?”
“Of course!” he replies, but his mind is distracted, making strategies, peering around the edge of the truck to take note of entrances and exits.
“Can you look at me for a second?” Marvin’s voice has changed, suddenly sweet and smooth as honey, but Jackie doesn’t even notice Marvin’s influence as his head turns to face him, the movement slow and mechanical.
Marvin leans in, gripping Jackie’s chin to ensure he doesn’t look away. "It’s tiring, isn’t it? Being in control, making choices, thinking for yourself. It’s so, so tiring. Let me do it instead. You’ll like it."
Jackie only nods, his eyes as dazed as his mind, where there’s merely room left for a pinch of betrayal and panic.
“That’s good. You’ll do as I say, okay, Jackie? Just will trust me with your life, and follow my orders. I will keep you safe. I’d never let anything bad ever happen to you. You know that, right?”
Another nod. As Marvin’s influence grows, the last remaining thoughts of panic and betrayal recede, allowing Marvin to take full control over Jackie’s mind. He pushes in some more thoughts, giving Jackie some time to adopt them as his own. I will protect Marvin. I will obey Marvin’s commands. Marvin is in charge, what I want or think does not matter. I trust Marvin. Marvin will keep me safe from harm. I will not struggle against Marvin’s orders. I will not let any harm come to Marvin. I trust Marvin, I trust Marvin, I trust Marvin, I trust Marvin-
Satisfied with his work, he stands up. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, Marvin.”
“Good! He’s expecting us. Follow me.”
Like a well-trained guard dog, Jackie follows in Marvin’s footsteps. Marvin does not seem to care about hiding or sneaking, he notices, but there’s no need to question him. Marvin knows what he’s doing. He trusts Marvin.
The magician reaches the chain-link fence and rattles it, the sound loud in the cold and quiet night, scaring even the gulls away. Again, Jackie does not panic. He trusts that Marvin has a plan, and luring the Glitch to them is probably part of that plan. It’s pretty clever, actually.
Within no time, a figure appears on the other side of the fence, stepping out of a flurry of bright colours and distorted reality. Anti. They’d found him! All thanks to Marvin!
Marvin gives Jackie a glance, and he understands the wordless order, his hands sliding to the batons at his side. Jackie never fought with lethal weapons. Killing was for villains, and he was the hero! He saves people, and lets the cops deal with the bad guys.
Anti smirks as he spots the relationship between the two. “In̢t͡ere̵sting…” He slowly steps closer to the fence, and Marvin raises his hands, magic swirling around them. Jackie copies his stance, raising his batons. “Wh̕a̶t̷'͢s͡ w͟r̷on̛g, ki̸tt̶en̡?̢ ͘D̢on̴'t yo͟ų ̨t̶r͞us͜t th͝e c̨įty'̵s͘ ͜f̛r͝i̶endli͟est͘ he͟ro͝ ̢t͠o ͢do ͟w͘hat h͡as to be don̸e? ̨Are͝ you ͜a҉fra̸i̷d he'll h̴old y̧o͟u b̛ac͝k̴?”
“Why don’t you come to our side of the fence, and get this over with?”
“Y̕o͟u̶'̕r̸e̷ n̶o̵ fu̕n,” the Glitch mumbles, and then he’s gone. Marvin turns, sensing the glitching behind him, and Jackie mindlessly copies, not a trace of worry or fear on his mind. Anti is focused on Jackie, stalking closer with a tilted head. “Very ̢wel͝l̴ d͢one̡,͢ ̕M̷arvi͜n.̷ ͠I'͜m i҉m̢pr͞e̕s͟sȩd̷.”
“Stay back!” Marvin warns, the magic around his hands flaring up. “We had a deal, Anti. I’ve got my end of the bargain right here, where’s yours?”
Jackie briefly lets his mind wonder what deal Marvin could be referring to, what his end of the bargain could be before he corrects himself. Trust Marvin, trust Marvin, trust Marvin.
“It͡'s̨ wai͝ting ̴fo̧r y̧ou͘ at ̧your h̛om̢e.” Anti smirks as he studies Marvin, who is biting his lip nervously. Does he trust the Glitch enough to make this deal?
Jackie wonders what’s taking so long, why are they not fighting yet? That is what they came here to do, right? Instead, they’re just staring at each other. “Jackie. Drop your batons.” Finally, an order. TrustMarvintrustMarvintrustMarvintrustM- His hands relax and the batons fall, clattering down onto the gravel.
“Walk towards Anti.” He can’t help a little fire of fear starting in his heart as he obeys, confidently stepping towards the Glitch, unarmed and defenceless. He comes to a stop, no more than an arms-length away from the Glitch. Neither make a move to attack.
“Look at me. Look me in the eyes.” He does, turning his back to the Glitch to face Marvin, who has tears streaming down his cheeks. Jackie doesn’t understand why.
He doesn’t flinch as Anti’s hand grabs his neck, nor as his staticy voice brushes past his ear. “I̢'m waiting.͘.̛.͜”
Marvin’s voice cracks and breaks. “I’m so sorry, Jackie,” he whispers, too soft for Jackie to hear him. Then, louder, as he maintains eye contact - “You will protect Anti. You will obey Anti’s commands. Anti is in charge, what you want or think does not matter. You trust Anti. Anti will keep you safe from harm. You will not struggle against Anti’s orders. You will not let any harm come to Anti. You trust Anti, you trust Anti, you trust Anti, you trust Anti-”
I trust Anti, I trust Anti, I trust Anti, I trust Anti.
“Ple͝a̡sure ̛do̶i҉ņg ̷b͝u͢siness ̵w͟it͠h͢ ҉you͠, k̷itte͜n̛.̵” A victorious grin adorns Anti’s face as he taunts the magician, remaining eye contact while he tests his newest plaything. “Ţur̶n a҉r̨ound͝,͡ pup̴.̡”
Pup? Is that him? Figuring he’s better safe than sorry, he turns, facing Anti.
“G̢oo̴d͟, you'ŗe st̷ill͏ ̢somew҉ha͟t ̕i̧nte͘llig̛en͢t͟.͜” Anti doesn’t look at him, peering over Jackie’s shoulder instead, but the praise makes Jackie feel good nonetheless. “T͝el̛l̸ m̧e s͝omethin͠g͠, ̴p̴u̕p. ̸W͜ho͝ do you trus̕t͝?”
I trust Anti, I trust Anti, I trust Anti, I trust Anti.
“I trust you, Anti.” What a weird question to ask him. Of course he trusts Anti.
“H̴m, ̕no͟, th͏at͡ wo̷n'̛t ͟d҉o̡. Can̢ you d̸o s͏omet͝h̴ing fo͠r͢ mȩ, pu̢p͠? Ca̶n y̨ou̕ a͘d͞r̶ess͞ m͞e a͞s M̨a̛ster̴?
“Of course, Master.”
Anti pinches his cheeks. “Y̕ou̢'r͜e͠ so ͢en̕de̸arin͠g͟ lik͢e thįs̡.̧”
In the background, Marvin’s sobs grow louder and louder, earning him a harsh stare from Anti. “Reg͞r͝et͝s̵ ͟alr̢e͠ady̶? Y̶ou d̵id t̷hi͝s, ̸ki͘t̷ten.͠ ̵T͞ha͟nk yo̕u for̡ ̸t̛h҉a͜t.”
He pulls Jackie close to his chest, hugging him, savouring the horrified look on Marvin’s face. “N͜ơw̢,̶ i̢t'̸s̨ ti͢me͜ for̴ ̛us to ͠go̡. I'̸ļl̨ ̷s̸e҉e ̡y҉ou ҉a͠round̛,̕ k͏it̨te͠n̨!”
And in a flash of colour and glitches, the two disappear, leaving Marvin to collapse on the gravel by an abandoned warehouse. “I’ll get you back,” he whispers to nobody but the sun. “It’s worth it. This deal was worth it. I’ll get you back.”