“Are you two done bickering?” Marvin’s sudden voice and appearance between Chase and Jackie got both of them to flinch and yelp in shock. Jackie nearly fell forward off the roof, and Marvin caught him by the hood of his hoodie and pulled him back. 

“A warning, man!” Chase patted his chest to see if his heart was still in place. “You need like a bell or something.” 

“Like a cat collar or one of those little things you use for butlers?” Jackie asked. 

“I mean, with the way he dresses sometimes-” 

“I do not want to hear which way that comment is about to go.” Marvin cut Chase off before climbing up to stand on the roof wall. “They haven’t done anything down there, correct?” 

“They’ve just been in their little groups talking,” Jackie answered with a shrug.

“Perfect.” Marvin turned around. “Your job is done; you two can go home.”

“Wait, what?” Chase said.

“That’s it?” Jackie added.

“Yep.” Marvin did a mock salute before letting himself fall backward off the roof. 

“Bro!” Chase yelled while he and Jackie scrambled to try to catch Marvin, but they swung at empty air. 

Marvin rolled his eyes at them trying to ‘save him’, apparently forgetting how he worked. Although he’d never admit it out loud, it was kind of nice to know they cared enough about him not to want to see him splatter on the sidewalk. Time to remind them that he could take care of himself. 

He waved a hand in front of his face, his classic cat-shaped mask appearing, and his other hand glowed as he cast a spell on the ground so he could land on it softly, feeling more like he stepped off the sidewalk instead of falling off a roof. 

“Who are you?” One of the men demanded, pointing a finger. 

“Name’s Marvin, some call me magnificent, but for the lot of you, you’ll be searching for your own names in the newspaper when I’m done.” Marvin held up his glowing hand.

“Get him!” That same man called out, and his ‘crew’ all pulled out guns, aiming them at Marvin.

“Really? Guns? How cliché and boring.” Marvin scoffed. 

Right as the triggers were pulled, Marvin clenched his hand, and a green, translucent shield appeared to block the bullets fired at him. After their round finished, Marvin used his other hand to grab the top of his created shield and, with a spin for the drama, tossed the shield like a frisbee. The shield flew through the air, hitting the men’s wrists and causing them to drop their guns. Marvin had to admit to himself that the move he just did was a bit inspired by one of those superhero movies Jackie enjoyed. But he’d never tell Jackie that. 

When the shield finished its round, Marvin changed his spell so that he held out a hand, and a magical rope emerged from it, catching and sticking to the shield. He gripped the rope, and when the rope went behind him and above his head, he grabbed at it with his other hand. The rope thickened and hardened while the shield got longer, becoming almost barrel-shaped. Marvin swung down what was now a large mallet and slammed it into the ground between himself and the men. A wave of energy pulsed out, knocking them all away. Marvin was tempted to refer to it as a ‘strike’, but he wasn’t really one for bowling. 

With a small hop, Marvin used the handle of the magical mallet to pull himself over to the center of the bodies, watching how most of the men were cursing under their breaths and taking off. Voicing that it ‘wasn’t worth it’ and called Marvin a few choice names that he just brushed off as their egos getting as bruised as their asses. 

“So shocked that you’re not running,” Marvin said with a cheeky grin as he saw that only the man who had called for the attack remained. His actual target for this mission. 

“Shut up.” The man huffed before charging at Marvin, fist up. 

Stupid man.

Marvin caught the fist with glowing hands, having used magic to add that same pillowing effect he had used for his landing to soften the blow of the punch. He turned his body and jerked on the arm, flinging the man over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. Marvin placed a foot on the man’s neck, adding just enough pressure to make him hesitate. With a few snaps of his fingers, some more magical rope appeared and wrapped around the man’s wrists and ankles. Marvin then stepped away and pulled his arms apart, creating a portal beneath the man, and grinned since the man yelled while falling through to land where he needed to, like a present. 

“How much of the show did you two get to watch?” Marvin asked with a chuckle, looking over to where Chase and Jackie stood, both with their jaws dropped. “Thank you for the help.” He waved a hand and created a new portal behind himself. “I’ll be seeing you later~” Marvin added a playful wink to the end of his comment before stepping through the portal, it vanishing as soon as he was gone. 

“Dude,” Jackie said after a pause, and looked at Chase. “Dude, you’re blushing.” 

“Wha-” Chase choked on his own spit for a second and coughed. “I am not!”

“You so are!” Jackie pointed at Chase’s face and blinked when Chase did the same to him.

“You are, too!” 

“I am not!” 

“Uh-huh!”

“You look like a tomato!”

“At least I’m not dressed like one!”

“You take that back!”