#memory wiping

“There-“ Magnificent hums and then turns towards Jackie, left eye flashing in anger. Jackie shudders then tries to back up but Marvin lashes out and pulls the father up to face him. He bares his teeth as he snarls, “I’d be more worried about what I’m going to do to you, old friend of mine~! Your son will be safe however- he’s just going to have some pleasant dreams, dreams that I can study later.”

“…why? Why Ollie?” Jackie asks quietly.

The dark magician hums at this and drops Jackie. Walking thoughtfully around the magic bubble, He places a hand on it and watches as swirls of white and pale color come to the purple surface. “Well from what I gathered from your mind… Your son is gifted, Jackie. And not in the mortal way… he has Sight.”

Jackie makes a confused face, “Actually his sight isn’t great- he’s only 4 and has glasse-“

“No you idiot!” Magnificent snaps, “Sight. As in he can see things others cannot- he can see into the very fabric of magic itself!” Magnificent grins and then snaps, a piece of paper in his hand. It’s the drawing Ollie was doing earlier. Magnificent studies it with a tilt of his head, much like a curious cat.

“And even just based on this… he can see more than just that. He glimpsed other worlds- he saw into the multiverse…”

“…you’re still on about that?” Jackie asked with a raised eyebrow. “I thought that was just a nerdy comic book thing we both thought was cool!”

Marvin hits a fist against the wall and yells out, eyes flashing. “It’s real, Damnit!” He then gains some composure and adjusts himself. “A mortal like you could never understand, Jackie. There’s always been so much more than us… and I’m going to find a way to obtain the power it holds, one way or another.”

He then taps on the magic bubble and frowns. “… I have no idea if your son will prove too useful but- he won’t be harmed.”

Jackie seems to relax just slightly- until the magician is back in front of him in a burst of static, bending over him like a looming shadow.

Magnificent hums and smiles cruelly, trailing the back of his hand down Jackie’s cheek and then gripping his chin hard in his claws. “You, however, Jackieboy…. I’m gonna make you mine again~”

Jackie makes a face and grimaces. “Ew, don’t say it like that! I thought you didn’t like people that way-“

The claws dig deeper into Jackie’s chin and he bites back a yell of pain as the dark magician snarls out, “Silence!”

He pulls Jackie close enough so that the father can smell the blood still lingering on his face. “I’m going to turn you into a mindless fucking husk! But at least then… you’ll forget alll about this meaningless adventure you’ve had without me, hm?”

“M-Marvin-“ Jackie tries to whimper. But, this only angers the magician further as he yells and throws Jackie against the wall behind them.

Jackie’s head hits the hard concrete and the world goes white for a second before he topples to the floor. He then bites back a retort- before gaining some bravery and shouting out, “You left us, fucker! I wanted you there- of course I wanted you with us! I just- also wanted Zara! To be a dad! But you- you never got that! Your world was way too fucking small to let anyone else in!”

Jackie huffs after, watching for Marvin’s reaction. The Marvin he knew would have exploded- maybe broken something. But this Marvin… he can’t predict what he’ll do. He’ll blow up at the tiniest thing and yet this- nothing… he just stares down at the father with those unnatural eyes that sent shivers down his very soul.. It made no sense. What happened to his friend? His brother?

The dark magician shakes his head with a light laugh and slinks back towards Jackie, shaking his head and tutting quietly. “Oh Jackie Jackie…” His foot then lashes out to strike against Jackie’s head and hold it there. He bends down to giggle at him. “Did you really think that would do something? That you could appeal to my humanity with our bond?”

He then snorts and kicks Jackie’s head slightly as he flares out his cape. “My humanity died long ago, old friend. And my ability to care died with it~!” He laughs, a bit unhinged.

Jackie struggles to try to push himself back up. “Then… why… why did you capture me? Why did you kidnap my son? Why do any of this?!” He pants, eyes burning with rage.

Marvin bares his fangs with an even louder laugh, flashing a purple tinted eye towards Jackie now. “Because, Jackieboy! I still want to win~! I still want to see you suffer~!” He then snaps his fingers and magic appears in front of Jackie, purple and green swirling in transfixing hues. “And I can’t deny that this will feel very very good~!”

“Marvin no…!” Jackie tries to plead but Magnificent had done nothing but break his mind over and over again today. His eyes quickly glaze over as he falls to the magic’s thrall yet again.

Magnificent giggles and kneels down by Jackie, esting his trance. The father hardly blinks and follows the magic loyally as Marvin tries to move it. Oh, so perfect~!

“Very good Jackie,” Magnificent purrs, “Now… why don’t we start with something simple? Something very easy for that big empty head of yours…

Recall when you last saw me before today… because now that’s the last true thing you’ll remember! Everything after that is all a blur… like a meaningless dream.”

“…like… like a dream…” Jackie mumbles dazedly.

“Yes exactly~! Any new friends, any family, any important parts of your life just- pop! Gone! Let the spiral take those thoughts away for you Jackie, down and down and down they go… leaving only a distant echo.”

“…echo…” Jackie’s head lolls to rest on his shoulder, face falling even more slack, mouth hanging open as the magic works to clean out his mind.

“Excellent job, Jackie!” Magnificent praised, swiping almost gentle hands through Jackie’s tousled hair. “Now there’s a big gap where the last couple years were! We gotta fill that back up with stuff, hm?

Like, how you and I finished university together- and stayed by each other's side, no matter what.”

“N…no… matter what… yeah….” Jackie breathed.

“Because we’re best friends, right?”

Jackie dazedly smiles, nodding very slightly. “…yeah… b’st friends… forever…”

Marvin grinned wide, toxic eyes possessive as he watched Jackie completely be rewritten. Oh.. such a sight to see!

He’s about to continue when he suddenly winces and grabs at his mask. Pain pulses sharply, his scars burning. He pulls back a hand to see it just covered in blood- the veins on his wrists throbbing with bright purple. The blood is also running so thick and dripping onto the floor and his pants. He curses quietly and tries to stand up, feeling a wave of dizziness. Damnit,.. he’s at his limit.

Well… at least his spell on Jackie’s son and Jackie could be maintained for a few hours while he recovered. It should be no trouble…

Except- Alt was training here today, having recovered enough from that SCLERA encounter. He wasn’t fit enough though to send out on a mission- and If he saw this… oh that could ruin everything!

Mag growled to himself then stepped back, studying his set up. He held out both hands and in a wave of magic, the area housing the Manns shimmered like a mirage before looking like a pile of stock and cardboard boxes, looking no different from any other part of the warehouse. The dark magician nodded in satisfaction and wiped at his face. His apprentice shouldn’t be skilled enough to see through a glamor like this. He should be fine for now… Even if he approached it- the spell would give him a strong mental suggestion to stay away.

His timing couldn’t have been better as he felt a surge of electric energy and heard the sharp sound of glitching as Alt walked in.

“Oh hey Mag, there ya are!” His apprentice grinned. He then blinked, taking in the sight of the older magician. “Oh whoa- I’m guessing you’ve been working on something big?”

Magnificent chuckled and wiped more at his face. “You could say that… but I need to recover now.” He meets Alt’s eyes and nods, “Guard the warehouse, study more of your spells- practice whatever… just don’t get into trouble.”

Alt gives a cheeky salute, “Gotcha boss.”

The dark magician nods tiredly then, in a fizzle of tv static, disappears.

Glitches pops out from Alt’s hood and the glitch sighs dramatically. “Damn- first day back and I just get busy work- it’s like fucking secondary school all over again…”

Glitches mewls loudly, as if agreeing. Alt giggles and grabs her, gently putting her down. “You wanna find the others, girl? I don’t think I can spar but maybe you guys can play?”

The black kitten stretches and then flicks her tail at Alt with another meow before bounding off to go explore. Alt snorted and shouted out, “Please don’t get trapped somewhere again!”

He then sits cross legged on the floor, pulling out some notebooks and books to spread out around him. He started drawing runes and circles on the floor, trying to see if he could remember some old spells he knew. Mag said the source wasn’t ‘respectable’ but- they worked well enough for Alt when he needed them. Proper spells sometimes seemed like such bullshit… it almost made him miss…

A sudden high pitch meow snapped Alt out of his thoughts. That was Glitches’ ‘hey dad I need you to look at something’ meow. He sighs and gets to his feet. Usually it wasn’t anything important, more like, filling her empty food bowl or a weird bug she found. But, if he ignored her she’d meow her head off- and he did not want to wake Mag right now.

He glitches over and kneels down by Glitches, looking around at the space. “What it is, glitz?”

The spot they were at just looked like… a small corner between stacks of shipping crates. He didn’t even see anything on the ground of note. He tilted his head, knitting his eyebrows in confusion. Glitches looks back up at him and meows insistently, going to look back at the boxes as if she can see through them.

Alt purses his lips and then takes out one of his books, flipping to a page he dog-earred. He almost had this memorized but just to be sure… he traced a rune into the air, the trail brimming with magic and then whispered some spell words.

Soon enough, Glitches’ meows started to turn into tiny cries that Alt could understand.

Dad! Dad! She mewled, Smell friend!

Alt looks confused again, “Smell friend…? …if it’s the panthers… I don’t think they’re hiding in these boxes, Glitches.”

Nooo! Not siblings! Glitches shook herself then looked straight at the boxes again. Friend. Dad’s friend. Smell like… kittens. Has many kits! Love kits, play and give treats! Her tail flicks in excitement as she looks back at Alt. Want see! Dad come?

Friends with… kits…? Like- kids? And lots of them… that could only be- “…Jackie?” Alt breathed, feeling his heart stop. He looks at the boxes and glitches to his feet. “W-Where do you smell Jackie, girl?”

Through here! C’mon! Glitches meowed but when Alt looked back down, it seemed like she disappeared.

Alt looked back at the boxes to study them some more… Glitches seemed like she could see through them. That could mean… an illusion. A powerful one, considering Alt could feel his focus wanting to wander- to get away from the totally normal assortment of shopping crates and boring boxes. But… that alone was suspicious. So, he pressed forward, eyes wandering to the edges of the stack.

One thing you don’t know about illusions until you make them enough times is… the eye can only consume so much- and you only have so much magic. So… the edges of an illusion tend to fizzle out into bands of colors- just slightly. Chromatic aberration. Easy enough to miss… unless you know what to look for.

His eyes found the tallest corner and squinted. The edge of the box shifted- coming apart just slightly, revealing the colors of light beneath the illusion coming loose. Like- a CYMK print being pulled apart. Alt scowled and then turned to look back at the boxes in front of him. He swept out a hand and tried to dispel the illusion- but it was some heavy enchantment… which could only be done by Mag. He grits his teeth then glitches through, fighting a bit with the magic but finally able to stumble into the open space behind it.

Alt gasps at what he finds. Jackie is slumped against the far wall, eyes glazed and filled with spiraling magic. He looks… awful. Pale and injured.

But, even worse is the ball of floating magic off to the side, looking to contain a little boy. Glitches lets out a long distressed meow and paws at the magic. Kit trapped! Dad help!

“Ollie!” Alt cries and glitches over in front of the magic. He hesitates to touch it, not knowing what spell this is. He… doesn’t look hurt. He looks like he’s sleeping…

Still, Alt kneels down and tries to see if he can wake him, touching a gentle hand to the magic. “Ollie… can you hear me?” He jolts slightly at seeing swirls of white and pale colors floating towards his hand, as if drawn to him.

Weakly, Ollie’s eyes open a bit more- but they’re filled with white light. He looks up, but doesn’t seem to see Alt, only looking out ahead. But, he whispers quietly, his voice echoing within the bubble. “…uncle Alt…?”

Alt’s heart clenches at the familar title. One he didn’t deserve anymore… but, “y-yeah Ollie. It’s me… are you okay? What do you remember…?”

“Bad… man… he had… half a cat’s face… scary-” Ollie breathes, “hurt… daddy… made Kelsie… cry… took me… daddy tried to fight… but bad man… was too s…strong…”

Alt’s magic reacts in anger, electricity and glitches arcing off him wildly. “Mag… mag took you- took both of you…!” He growls out, baring his teeth in a feral snarl. “He said he’d leave you all alone…!”

He looks back at the magic and then with a yell, thrusts both of his hands into the bubble and tries to rip it apart with his own magic. Try being the operative word as just trying to dive into the magic causes it to burn Alt and he jolts back with a pained cry. But, anger gives him desperate fuel as he produces a knife made of magic and slams it into the bubble over and over. Glitches hisses at the bubble, then dashes off to hide- right as The magic cracks and then finally explodes- sending Alt flying back. He takes a second to recover then hurriedly glitches over to pick up Ollie. “Ollie! Are you okay? S-Say something…!” Alt cries out desperately.

Ollie stirs and then blearily looks up at Alt, the white magic in his eyes fading to a light white-ish blue. He smiles up at Alt. “I knew… my dreams were wrong…” he breathes.

Alt looks confused- then Ollie digs into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper. He shakily places it in Alt’s hand. It’s… a drawing. And on it…. Is Alt but in his Impulse outfit, his eyes glowing purple and his face set in a furious frown. There’s a destroyed city behind him, alight with green fire. Alt inhales sharply, but Ollie places a light hand on top of Alt’s. “I haven’t… shown Daddy… or Kelsie.” He whispers. “It would make them sad and… You’re not like the bad man, uncle Alt… you’re good… I know you are…”

Alt feels his throat close up as tears prick in his eyes, “Ollie I-I…!” His heart feels like it’s being ripped out of his chest.

“H-Hello?” Another croaked voice calls out. It seems like the explosion of magic woke Jackie up from his trance. He looks around in confusion, trying to get up but ends up falling back down, unable to get the right balance with his arms still tied behind his back. “M-Marvin…?”

Alt stiffens and looks back to Jackie with wide eyes. He looks down at Ollie and the boy looks back with desperate eyes. Alt sighs then scoops him up and positions him to cling to his back. Ollie weakly wraps his arms around Alt’s neck as the glitch tries to quietly approach Jackie.

“Jackie…?” Alt asks quietly.

Jackie jolts in surprise and then glares at Alt, bunching up and baring his teeth at him. His irises are rimmed with purple. “The fuck are you?! Are you the creepy fuck who kidnapped me and put me in this freaky warehouse?!”

Alt’s eyes widen. “Wait, what? J-Jackie you don’t…?”

“What did you do with Marvin, you bastard?!” Jackie snarls.

“Who’s Marvin??” Alt asks in bewilderment.

“My fucking best friend, asshat! He’s a powerful magician so I’m guessing you probably fucked with him first to get to me! I-I don’t know what you want with me or- or… him…” the purple flickers in Jackie’s eyes as his eyebrows knit in confusion. “I… don’t think he has… enemies…? He… he wanted to… perform magic… right..?” His voice gets quiet at the end, trailing off as he looks out blankly.

Alt swallows shakily. Magnificent must have been messing with Jackie’s memories but… why…? He goes to kneel down by Jackie and Ollie sniffles and hides against Alt’s neck. He gently waves a hand in front of Jackie’s face to get him to focus. “Um… I'm sorry for the confusion but… I’m not the one who took you. But… I-I can try to help you find your friend. Can you… tell me what he looks like?”

Jackie narrows his eyes at Alt and draws back a bit. But, the sincere tone of Alt’s voice has him relaxing slightly. “Okay then uh… he has… brown hair and pale green eyes and… he’s dressed like a cringe-ass magician usually… he likes wearing capes.” He laughs. Then he gets that blank look in his eyes as the purple flickers again. “…he has… scars now.” He breathes, “Scars over his face… his eye… he didn’t… have that before… under… a mask.”

Alt inhales sharply. “M-Magnificent?”

“That’s what he wanted his stage name to be…” Jackie whispers dazedly, “Marvin the Magnificent…” He shakes out his head then looks around again. “…where is he…? Where’s my friend?”

Alt takes a steadying breath to keep back his anger. What the hell was Mag doing?! Tricking Jackie into believing they’re friends? It… it was fucking sick. The glitch goes to rest a hand on Jackie’s shoulder and tries to look into his eyes. “He’s not your friend, Jackie… he’s the one that put you here. He messed with your mind…”

Jackie’s expression turns furious, “Y-You’re a fucking lair!” He screeches and tries to lunge at Alt. “Marvin wouldn’t do that to me-!”

Alt pushes Jackie back, his eyes flashing. “He already has! Jackie- try to remember stuff besides Mag- Marvin. Do you remember your family? Your wife? Your other friends?!”

Jackie looks enraged as he bares his teeth at Alt. But then slowly, his expression falls and he looks… lost. Scared… “…I have a wife…?” Then his eyes widen, “…Z-Zara…? Is… is she my wife…?”

“Yes…” Alt says quietly, “And you have 3 kids with her… one of them is right here.” He kneels down and helps to take Ollie off his back. “Do you remember him?”

Ollie is a shaking mess, thick tears falling down his face as he looks at his dad. “Daddy? P-Please remember…!”

Jackie looks even more scared and confused. The kid… god he looks just like him. Like a mini me with glasses and his bright blue eyes. “I-I have kids?! But… t-that can’t be…! The last thing I remember is… is-“ He looks down, eyes flickering back and forth as he tries to remember. “I… I don’t-“

“There’s no way you forgot them, Jackie,” Alt says, “You have to remember… Kelsie? Penny? How about your friends? Jameson? Henrik? …Chase?”

Jackie looks increasingly more distressed as that purple light flickers in his eyes. “I…I-I…!” Then, the purple ring snaps, dissolving from his eyes. He sits up straight and looks back at Ollie and Alt with clear eyes that instantly start to fill with tears. “Ollie?” He whispers.

Ollie bursts into loud tears as he rushes at Jackie and hugs him around the neck. “Daddy!!”

While the two reunite- Alt goes behind Jackie and carefully tries to undo the magic holding his arms back. As soon as the magic is gone, Jackie hugs Ollie tight, burying his face in his shoulder. “Oh, Ollie…! I-I’m so sorry…! ‘M sorry… I’m sorry…!” He sobs.

“It’s okay daddy…” Ollie quietly reassures him.

Alt watches with a sad expression then coughs slightly. “I’m sorry to interrupt but… we need to get you both out of here.”

Jackie startles- seeming to have forgotten Alt was there. But once he sees him he glares and backs up with Ollie, holding him protectively. “A-And why should I trust you?! Y-You must have had s-something to do with this!”

Alt glares, green magic burning in his eyes. “No I didn’t.”

“Why should I believe you?! With all you’re trying to do to Chase-!”

Alt yells out and pushes Jackie slightly into the wall, shoulders sparking wildly with held back power. “You can think whatever messed up things you want about me! But know this- I don’t fucking do kidnappings, alright?!” He snarls. “Now do you want to escape here, or do you want to stay and become Mag’s puppet?! It’s your fucking choice.”

Jackie stares at Alt with wide eyes. He opens his mouth a few times before shutting it with a scowl. He looks away. “…fine.”

“Good.” Alt snaps. He doesn’t let him go though. He lets out a short whistle and then Glitches comes bounding out of her hiding place. Alt waves a hand at her and then in a fizzle of magic, she turns into a panther.

Jackie’s eyes widen.

Ollie gasps, “big kitty…!”

“Glitches, make sure Mag and the other panthers say away, got it?” Alt says firmly. Glitches bumps her head against Alt’s hand and flicks her tail before rushing back off into the darker parts of the warehouse. Alt watches her go, then makes sure both Jackie and Ollie are connected to him before he lets out a small warning. “…sorry… this is gonna feel weird.” Then- in a flash of light, Alt glitches them outside.

This was not as far as Alt wanted to go… they’re only a few warehouses down from Mag’s current lair. But, clearly trying to glitch 3 people was a lot for Alt in his current state. As soon as they reappear, he falls against a nearby wall. They’re in the messy and cluttered alley behind the bigger warehouse entrances. Easy to get lost here…

Jackie and Ollie shake off the weird feeling of glitching. Then, Jackie looks over at Alt with concern. “…you okay?”

“Fine.” Alt grunts and shakily pushes himself up. “I can’t glitch us farther… but the panthers can catch your scent this close. We need to get you farther away.” He starts to walk down the alley and Jackie hesitates before following after him, Ollie clutched tight in his arms.

There’s a couple tense minutes of silence as they walk.

Then, Jackie can’t stand it anymore and breaks the silence. “…Alt… why are you doing this?”

“I told you I don’t-“

“No… not saving us. I mean… this. Working for Mar- Magnificent…” Jackie’s expression hardens. “You do realize how messed up this is right?! After we- we saved you the first time from him- now you’re just… going back? Working for him willingly? And we don’t even get to know why?”

Jackie can’t see Alt’s face as he walks in front of him but he sees his shoulders stiffen. “You wouldn’t understand, Jackie.” He says shortly.

“Then, talk to me Alt!” Jackie shouts, “Help me understand! Because all I’m seeing is Chase messed up and now you decide to go all fucking Joker on us- it makes no sense! Does our friendship just mean nothing to you now?! Or was everything before this just a fucking lie?!”

Alt’s shoulders and arms have been crackling with electricity as Jackie talks but at the last statement, he explodes, whipping around on the father and marching back towards him. “Shut up! You’re talking about shit you’ll never fucking understand, got it?! I don’t need to explain shit to you! Just because we were friends for a few months doesn’t mean you know me!”

Jackie backs up, fear on his face as he protectively hugs a terrified Ollie to his chest.

Alt’s expression falls slightly- then he quickly turns back around so they can't see his face. “Look… me helping you now is my repayment for those few months… once we’re somewhere safe, you never have to see my face again.”

“Alt, that’s not what I-“ Jackie tries to interrupt.

Alt looks back at him with glowing eyes, “Keep pushing your luck though and I’ll leave you back there with Mag.”

Jackie tries to school his heartbroken expression. He glares back at Alt, “…you’re not at all who I thought you’d be…”

There’s a sharp pain in Alt’s chest that he tries to ignore as he turns back around and starts walking again. “…you’re right. I’m not.”

They start to walk again in another bout of silence before Jackie asks quietly. “…what am I supposed to tell Kelsie?”

Alt freezes, “…leave her out of this.”

“I don’t think you understand how much she adores you, Alt!” Jackie snaps, “How am I supposed to tell her that one of her favorite people has just run off to become a super villain?!”

“Shut up!” Alt cries, trying to hide how his hands are shaking. “I-It doesn’t matter. She’s just some kid-“

“She’s my kid, Alt! And I know you adore her too- don’t act like you don’t!” Jackie yells back, tears in his eyes, “She’s going to lose one of her favorite uncles and I can never tell her why! All because you’re too emotionally constipated to actually talk with other people, you fucking selfish-!”

Alt roars in anger and in a quick glitch he’s shoving Jackie into one of the alley walls, lightning sparking off him dangerously. “S̸h̶u̴t̵ ̸u̴p̴!̶” he screeches ferally. “Quit trying to manipulate my emotions, you fucking-!”

“Alt- please-!” Jackie suddenly wheezes in panic. “O-Ollie!”

Alt’s eyes widen as he realizes his magic is way too close to shocking the poor shaking 4 year old in Jackie’s arms. The magic dies down and he starts to open his mouth to say something- anything…!

But then a blue boot is cracking against the side of Alt’s head and sending him crashing to the floor. Bro Fantastic looms over him, teeth bared in rage as power flows out of his eyes, holding Alt down with his foot. “I should have fucking known it was you!”

Jackie scrambles back to cower against the wall. “C-Chase?!”

The hero looks back to him and his expression softens. “Run, Jackie! Dr. J has his car nearby- I was worried I’d need to take you to the hospital like Stacy…”

“What?!” Jackie cries, “is she-?!”

“I’ll explain later! Just go!”

Jackie looks conflicted- glancing down at Alt who is struggling to push himself up under Chase’s boot. Then he closes his eyes as he runs as fast as he can down the alley.

Bro watches him for a second before bending down to Alt’s level and baring his teeth. “I thought you were going to leave them alone, Impulse.”

Alt’s eyes flash with concealed magic as he snarls at Bro, “For once, I had nothing to do with this!”

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” Bro snaps, “I just saw you attacking Jackie and Ollie! Do you think I’m stupid?!”

‘Well, yeah.” Alt snorts with a crooked smirk. Then, he send out a pulse of electricity that throws Bro off of him and sends him flying back. Alt glitches to his feet and cracks his neck. “You don’t need to know a lot about me hero,” he growls. “But know this. I don’t do kidnappings. Ever.”

Bro groans and glares at Alt. “Couldn’t have fooled me- you and Mag are one in the fucking same now, aren’t you?”

Alt’s eyes widen- and then his magic reacts to his emotions, rocketing out of him like an explosion. He flies at Bro’s face, lightning crackling in his hand as he yells ferally in anger. Bro can’t block in time before he’s sent to the ground by the electric onslaught. Alt presses him down to the ground and shocks him over and over, absolute murder in his eyes.

Bro can’t fight it at first, crying out as his body spasms and jerks. But eventually he finds the strength to kick Alt off him- charging the blow up with his super strength. Alt flies back and cracks loudly against the side of a warehouse. He cries out, gripping at his side as he staggers off the wall. Ugh- he hit the wall really hard… he could have broken something…

“Look dude, I really don’t want to hurt you!” Bro shouts as he starts going back towards Alt. “But you have to see why my hands are tied this time! You went too far! You said the others would be safe if they stayed out of the way!” His eyes burn blue with anger, “Or was just a lie for you to hurt more people I care about to get back at me?”

Alt is quiet before bursting into pained wheezing laughter. “You really have nothing between your ears, do you?” The glitch growls. “I told you I had nothing to do with this! Magnificent kidnapped them! If I hadn’t helped- they’d still be trapped in there! Jackie could barely remember his own name- and I got him out of it-!”

Suddenly Alt is being thrown back by the wall, Bro grabbing him by his throat. “LIAR!” He screams, power radiating from his eyes in glowing smears. “You really think I’m dumb enough to believe that?! You were attacking him-!”

But, Alt can hardly hear him. He’s panicking at the pressure on his neck, kicking with a wild desperation in his eyes and clawing at Bro’s hand. “L-le-!” He wheezes, trying to get purchase to breathe.

Bro’s eyes widen and he steps back quickly, letting Alt drop to the ground. “Alt…?”

Alt coughs and wheezes, a panicked look on his eyes as he tries to catch his breath. His hand is shaking over his neck. Finally he croaks out, glaring daggers at Bro. “You d-don’t need to believe me, then. Just be glad your fucking friend isn’t brain dead.” Then, before Bro can respond, Alt glitches away.

———

When he appears back in the warehouse, Alt expects a moment to breathe. But, he doesn’t get that- instead he gets a clawed hand grabbing him by the neck and throwing him down to the ground.

Alt chokes again, wide eyes meeting Magnificent’s furious ones. He tries to look around for Glitches- gasping as he sees her being pinned down by one of the other panthers. She mewls back at Alt desperately- but Alt’s attention is forced back to Mag.

“Where the fuck are they?!” The villain spits.

“M-Mag-! My neck-!” Alt wheezes, trying to claw free.

“I don’t give a flying fuck about your pitiful trauma right now, Alt!” Magnificent hisses, “Where are they?!”

“G-Gone-!” Alt breathes out painfully, anger flaring up in his eyes too, “I let them go!”

Power radiates off Magnificent and his hand starts to burn, making Alt panic more. “Why?!”

Alt weakly glitches out of Mag’s grip- but doing so has claw marks going around the side of his neck. He shakily breathes then glares at Mag. “If you gave a fuck about my trauma, you’d know why! You’ve been in my head, you should know I don’t do fucking kidnappings!” He then grips his still bandaged arm, where SCLERA’s chip rests under his skin. He pulls up his sleeve and holds it out towards Magnificent. “Did you also forget that I just got kidnapped too?! Not even a week ago!”

Magnificent practically roars in anger and Alt staggers back, terrified. He sees hints of the old puppet master he was in that anger. He braces himself to get hit- only to hear an explosion to his left. Magnificent hands glows with pulsing purple as he destroys abandoned boxes in his rage. Then he turns away from Alt, cape dramatically billowing as he growls. “You are a fucking child. You don’t understand what you’ve just done-!”

“Then help me understand!” Alt yells back, trying to approach. “You said this time we’d be… equals, right?! For that to work, you need to tell me why you’re doing things!”

“This has nothing to do with our mission-“ Mag growls.

“But it involves you kidnapping my friend and his son when you promised me you’d leave them alone!” Alt cries, “I’m only working for you because of that! You can’t just go behind my back and try to make Jackie your memory wiped puppet and kidnap a fucking child!”

Alt starts to step back, breathing heavily through his emotions as glitches build around him. “If this was your plan this whole fucking time then- I-I quit! I’ll find my own fucking way back-!”

“No!” Magnificent shouts almost desperately, turning around to reach out to Alt to stop him. Him and Alt blink at each other, both seemingly surprised by Mag’s outburst. The mad magician adjusts his vest and looks away, sighing. “…if you must know why I did what I did… then I will enlighten you. If it means you will still carry out your mission and training.”

Alt looks skeptical but his glitches die down. “…alright… start talking then.”

Magnificent sighs and then waves a hand out. The edges of Alt’s vision starts to fill with magic light.

“I think it’s best if I showed you.”

————

Alt opens his eyes and looks around. It’s… some sort of city street- a suburb somewhere. It actually almost feels… familiar?

“It could,” Magnificent’s voice echoes next to Alt, making the glitch jump. Mag smirks and then his expression falls as he looks out. “This is London… nearly 17 years ago.” He glances back at Alt and raises an eyebrow. “I believe you’re a bit familiar with this town?”

Alt snorts out a response. “Yeah. A bit.”

The two look out and soon a boy in a green robe starts to walk across the scene. He has slightly longer brown hair pulled back into a loose tiny bun, holding a bundle of books in his arms. Alt’s eyes widen, “That’s…?”

“Yes. Believe it or not, I was not always the powerful magician I am today,” Magnificent says haughtily. “However, I was a prodigy. Magic always came easy to me.”

A couple of green robed kids run past little Mag, laughing and someone pushes past him, nearly throwing him off balance. The kid that pushed him looks back with a face of slight disgust and runs back to his friends. “Ha! Did you add the look on cat boy’s face? What a loser!”

“…interacting with the drivel that populated the school did not.” Mag spits.

Alt looks out at little Mag, feeling his heart clench a bit. Boy… did he know the feeling.

“Hey!” A new voice speaks up and suddenly someone drops down from a tree nearby. Little Mag nearly jumps outta his skin and holds out a hand, ready to blast some magic when he stops. It’s… just some normie. A girl from the looks of her uniform’s skirt. But she’s also- dirty. Probably from climbing up the tree. Her wild brown hair is cut short and thrown in many different directions and any skin that’s showing has colorful bandages or some kind of scrape. “You okay?” The girl asks, and her accent is… strange. Irish, from the sound of it. “Those green robed kids can be real uptight asreholes.”

Little Mag makes a face and rolls his eyes. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m also a green robed kid.”

“Oh yeah but uh- I dunno. Ya seem different,” Says the girl.

Little Mag snorts and rolls his eyes again. “I don’t need the opinion of some random girl climbing up a tree. You probably don’t even know who you’re talking to-“

“Well- you’re a magic circle student, right?” The girl says. Little mag looks back at her with wide eyes. She gives him a toothy grin. “I may not look it, but I know about magic! My mam’s a witch!”

Little Mag’s expression falls into one of disinterest, “Oh, a witch? So, commoner magic.” He snorts and starts to walk again. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Hey wait!” The girl shouts, running after him. As she catches up she scowls, “yer a right cunt, you know that?”

“Excuse me?!” Little Mag gasps.

“Ya don’t just leave in the middle of someone talkin’ to ya, asshole! Or assume that my mam is some commoner? The fuck does that even mean? Do all you circle pricks all come from royal blood lines or some shit?” The girl scoffs. “I know ya Brits were uppity but yer giving them a real bad name.”

“You have a real fowl tongue,” Little Mag mutters.

“I say it how it is,” The girl shrugs.

Little Mag rolls his eyes. “If you must know, most circle students aren’t from royalty. And while I’m not royal, I’m from a prestigious magic line. I’m destined for great things- and that means I don’t brush elbows with hardly magic nobodies.”

The girl gasps and then goes to stand in Mag’s path, scowling at him and pointing her finger at him. “You can’t just say that to someone! Who the hell taught you to talk like that?!”

Little Mag growls and pushes the finger out of his face. “My father. Brantly McLoughlin. And if you keep bothering me- I’ll have him send you and your hardly magic mother back on a boat to where you came from!”

The girl barks a laugh in his face. “Is that supposed to scare me? I don’t give two shits who your dad is! Nor will my mam- she’s not under the circle’s rules!”

This gives Little Mag pause, “She’s not?”

“No, you dumbass. She does natural magic. Witchcraft- stuff anyone can do.” The girl rolls her eyes. “I figured a big magic guy like you would know that the circle can’t control that.”

Mag blushes and snorts, trying to shove past her. “W-Well I’m still learning!”

“Thought you were a prodigy?”

“S-Shut up! And stop following me!”

“I’m walking home too, tight ass. My house just happens to be this way too!”

“Ugh!”

Alt covers a laugh. “Damn, Mag. This girl is ripping you to shreds.”

“Please focus, Alt,” Magnificent sighs.

The scene plays out with the two kids walking and then slowing down at the same two houses. The two of them look at each other in confusion.

Little Mag looks to his house and then snorts going towards it. “Goodbye then.”

“Wow- yer not even gonna ask your neighbor’s name?”

Little Mag’s head whips back to the girl and she smirks, jerking a hand to the house next to Mag’s. “That’s my house.”

Little Mag takes a deep breath and throws back his head with a sigh. He quickly looks back at his house to check for any sign of his father. If he saw him talking with this normie witch spawn-

The girl’s expression grows soft. “Hey… are you okay?” she asks quietly. “You look… scared.”

“Huh? What? No!” Little Mag scoffs, “I-I’m just-“

“I didn’t… recognize you outside that house,” The girl continues. “Since that’s... the only place I ever see you. Your window is right across from mine. I… see you locked in that room for… for so long. And I’ve lived here for a few months now.”

Little Mag freezes. He looks at that girl with wide eyes. But he sees only sympathy in hers.

“Are you in trouble?”

“No i… m-my father just- wants me to focus on my studies…” He warbles back.

“You can study and get sunlight. You look like a vampire.” The girl says bluntly. “When’s the last time you played outside?”

Little Mag hesitates.

“When’s the last time you played?” The girl asks with increasing concern.

“P-Playing isn’t… learning.” Mag says quietly.

The girl gasps. “You are in trouble! You’re not just an arsehole!” She grabs his hand and starts to pull him. “W-we should talk to my mam-!”

“No!” Little Mag tries to pull away. “My father will kill me! A-And you and your mum-! I-I can’t let him see me with-!”

The girl turns Mag around and grabs him shoulders, face drawn with sincere worry. “This… isn’t right. Haven’t you had a chance to… be a kid…?”

“You don’t know w-what you’re talking about,” Little Mag breathes.

The girl lets go and lets out a shaky breath. “Yer right… maybe I don’t.” She then extends a hand. “But… maybe I can learn? Starting with yer name?”

Mag hesitates then slowly goes to shake her hand. “Marvin McLoughlin.”

The girl grins, “Jaqueline Mann! Though most everyone calls me-“

“Jackie!” A voice calls from within her house before the door opens, showing another girl that looks just like her- but a bit more neat and clean. “The hell are you doing?! Mam made snacks! And Saoirse will eat it all without you!”

“Coming, Jaz!” The girl, Jackie, calls. She gives Marvin a sorry smile. “Hey… if you need anythin’- even if you’re a right prick, you can come over and ask. Alright, Marvin?”

“Y-Yeah I’ll… think about it.” Mag- Marvin says.

“Good. I’ll drag you out to play sometime. Those moss back pricks seem like terrible company.” Jackie giggles, giving Marvin a wink before rushing over to her house.

Then, the scene fades. Alt stares out in disbelief. “Jackie… Mann? But- he-!”

“Was my very first friend,” Magnificent says quietly.

The scene picks up again, showing its night now in between the two houses. Little Mag, or Marvin, is sitting on the seat in his bay window, reading his magic books. He suddenly jumps as he hears little clings and clangs against his window. He hurries to look and then groans and goes to open the window. “What are you doing?!” Marvin whisper-hisses across the way. “You could alert my father!”

“Sorry!” Jackie whispers back. “But ya wouldn’t get yer big head out of your book!”

“What do you want?” Marvin sighs.

Jackie grins and then throws something across the gap between their windows. Marvin yelps and startles back, staring wide-eyed as he sees a little makeshift net making a bridge between their rooms.

“My twin is at a sleepover!” Jackie whispers excitedly, “I don’t like those overly girly things so I have the room to myself! Wanna come over and watch a movie or something? Maybe play some video games?!”

“Are you crazy?!” Marvin hisses. “If my father sees me over there I’m dead!”

“So don’t get caught, pussy!” Jackie grins. “Yer a magic prodigy aren’t ya? I’m sure you got somethin’ up your sleeve!”

Marvin hesitates, looking back towards his door. He listens for any sounds out of the ordinary… but doesn’t hear anything. His father was usually preparing for bed at this time. And honestly? Marvin had read this part of his book so many times he could recite it in his sleep. His heart wanted to leap into his throat as he thought such thoughts but… he’s never really had anyone… reach out before. To try to be his friend. Can he really let this slip past him? A chance to… escape? To be free? Just for a little bit?

He narrows his eyes in determination and nods. He carefully climbs out his window and then in a wink of green blue light appears in Jackie’s bedroom. Jackie jumps and then gasps in delight. “Woah!! You can just do that??”

“I told you… I’m pretty great,” Marvin smirks.

“Magnificent, I’d say!”

“Ha… Marvin the Magnificent… I like that.” Marvin smiles more sincerely. He goes to the window and holds out a hand, casting an illusion on his room to make it look like he was asleep in his bed. Then he turns to Jackie and grins. “Okay… um… what movie did you want to show me?”

The scene fades as it shows little Jackie pulling little Mag excitedly to the little CRV television in her room.

“From that day on… we were inseparable,” Magnificent says, looking down at Alt. Alt looks back up at him with a mixed expression. Mag waves a hand and more of his childhood passes by, showing Jackie and Marvin playing together- falling asleep on the floor, playing video games, exploring outside in the woods, in a tiny fort where they carve their names into the wood. They grow up together.

“He helped me eventually escape my father. He helped me open up though… I was never good at making friends outside of him.” Magnificent explains. Then, his hand drops, the magic settling on an image of 3 people… Mag, Jackie, who had his arms around Mag and… “who is that?”

“Zara Caley.” Magnificent spits. “Or as you know her, Zara Mann.”

Alt’s eyes widen.

“Everything changed once she came into the picture,” Mag growls. “Jackie threw away all our hopes and plans for our future for that girl. He was ready to abandon me. He did abandon me.”

The magic shows one more scene that blooms to life before them. It's of a small apartment living room. Jackie is laying on the couch, throwing a ball up into the air. Marvin is carefully putting pins into… some costume on a mannequin, holding the rest in his mouth. Alt raises an eyebrow at Mag and Mag rolls his eyes. “In addition to my magic studies with the circle… I also took up costume design in University.”

“That’s the last thing I expected, honestly.” Alt snickers.

Mag rolls his eyes again and the scene continues.

“Yo Marv I’ve been wondering?” Jackie asks. “Are you having trouble picking between working for the Circle or like… going into costuming?”

Marvin hums as he stitches on some beads to the trim. “I’m not working for those uppity fucks, Jackie. I’m going to do my own thing. But… when I run my own show someday, costuming knowledge will be pretty beneficial. And if I need to save up for that… some magicians will pay top dollar for flashy outfits. It’s really a non-choice. I can do both.” He shrugs.

Jackie laughs and then gets quiet as he stares at the ceiling “I dunno what I’m gonna do dude… I love parkour and I love making videos- but I dunno how much of that I can do once me and Zara get married…”

Marvin stiffens and nearly swallows the pin in his mouth. He looks at Jackie with wide eyes, “married? Seriously?”

Jackie looks back at Marvin like he’s crazy “yeah man! You know how crazy I am about her- I don’t want to ever be without her…” he sighs and flops back down on the couch to look up again, expression dopey and love-sick, “as soon as we graduate I’m popping the question- I want our life to start together as soon as possible”

“….oh.” Is all Marvin can say as he tries to bite back the bile in his stomach.

“Hm? Something wrong, dude?” Jackie asks.

Marvin grips at his project with hardly concealed rage. He feels like he hardly sees his best friend anymore! With their studies and Jackie hanging out with those other friends of his…. And now this girl!

“W-what about me?!” Marvin suddenly snaps, looking back at Jackie with equal parts rage and desperation. “We… we said we’d always stick together- go on adventures together! You could parkour and make videos and study heroes while I traveled the world studying Magic and doing shows and-!”

Jackie winces and gets quiet, “…those were nice dreams when we were kids, Marv but… I dunno if that’s realistic anymore…”

As Jackie talks, the scene starts to crack, like it’s made of glass.

“I can’t go chasing superheroes like I’m 10 anymore… I wanna be with Zara- and go where life takes us together.”

Another crack, a loud shattering noise breaking up the image.

”I mean- I’ll support you and always be your friend but um.. I dunno if we can always be together… that’s just life, you know?“

Another, bigger crack.

“You’re gonna be a big star and well… I dunno dude- I’m dreaming of- of being a dad actually- cringey as that is-“

Crack. Crack. Crack.

“I kinda want life to just be… simple.”

The image shatters completely before seeing Marvin’s reaction- and as it falls to pieces Alt feels himself whisked away into the darkness with it.

———

Alt opens up his eyes with a groan and shakes out his head. He sees Magnificent still standing next to him, arms poised behind his back and expression withdrawn.

It’s quiet for a minute. Then Alt says quietly, “Mag I know it’s not my business but I don’t think what Jackie said was-“

Magnificent holds up a hand to cut him off. “You don’t need to say anything more. I showed you all that not to gain your pity, or to reflect on what I’ve done wrong. There’s no changing the past for me.” He chuckles. “My old friend helped me find that path I truly belong on. In a way, I’m grateful.”

“Why… did you take him, then? If you don’t… regret being this?” Alt asks quietly.

Magnificent hums, looking up at the ceiling in thought. “…becoming something more than human is a tricky art, Alt. And since I was once… human- those human attachments sometimes rear their ugly heads. Perhaps my humanity simply lashed out for something we can no longer have- a sense of familiarity.” He shakes his head with a laugh. “Perhaps it was too foolish of me. those… desires…sometimes they are too strong to resist.”

Alt narrows his eyes. “… That makes no sense.”

“Does it? Do you not sometimes have your thirst for blood, kitten?” Magnificent purrs, “Do you not long for the safety you still feel for your friends? Your brother? Isn’t that why we’re doing all of this? To get that back, hm?”

Alt feels like he got punched in the gut and he looks away, clenching his hands into fists.

Magnificent laughs and he starts to walk behind Alt, throwing out his cape as he talks. “But, it’s no matter. I made you a promise, my apprentice. And I shall keep it. I hope you will forgive my brief moment of humanity.”

“It’s… fine. I guess.” Alt grunts. He can kind of understand Mag now… seeing how close Mag and Jackie were as kids… made him think of what he longed for with Chase again. Isn’t he… doing something similar here? Betraying the present to improve the past? Pushing all his friends away to save his younger self this life of isolation he’s led?

Chase’s words echo loudly in his head, making him wince.

“you and Mag are one in the fucking same now, aren’t you?”

…was he? Is he… becoming like Magnificent? …why does that thought scare him so much? Mag was helping him- he was teaching him and helping him be stronger. Isn’t that… good?

He shakes his head and glares back at Mag. Because there’s one thing he’d never do… “Ollie,” Alt growls, “why did you take Ollie too? He- he had nothing to do with this- obsession you have with Jackie!”

Magnificent looks back at Alt and raises an eyebrow. And then he chuckles, making Alt’s body prickle with electricity in anger. “You don’t know? This feels like a subject you would have been interested in."

“Bold of you to assume I was a good student., magic or otherwise.” Alt rolls his eyes. “I taught myself.”

“Mmm… that does explain your remedial understanding.” Mag says flippantly. Alt looks like he’s ready to explode. “If you must know… it’s because Oliver has Sight.”

Alt’s magic dies down a bit. “…Sight?”

Magnificent grins and starts to circle around Alt as he explains. “Yes! Like the seers and oracles of Old… young Oliver Mann has the ability to see into other realities! Futures we have not seen, glimpses into what could be or could have been! Even views into the multiverse itself!”

Alt’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “The… multiverse…? Like… what you see in comic books and shit.”

“Oh Alt… it’s so much more than some artist’s idea!” Magnificent giggles with mad glee. “It’s real- I know it is! I’ve seen peeks of it too- realities so different from our own and bursting with new strange kinds of magic…! All for the taking-“

“…if you’ve seen it before… why did you need to kidnap at 4 year old to see it again?” Alt asks skeptically.

Magnificent frowns and sighs, “It’s been so long since I’ve encountered anything close to the multiverse. Peering into Jackie’s mind and seeing that his son was getting these strange dreams… these trance-like states of seeing something else. I had to act and see what more I could find… perhaps he could have been a key-!”

“No no nuh-uh,” Alt says firmly. “I don’t care what twisted goal you have but- if you want me to stay here and keep working with you, I have a new rule. No endangering kids. Ever.”

Magnificent opens his mouth to protest but sees the fire burning in Alt’s eyes. He smirks and goes to look back at Alt. “Very well, kitten. You are too valuable a… asset for me to lose over a very slim lead. I will respect your wishes.”

The mad magician snaps his fingers and whistles and his panthers’ heads all perk up, quickly running over to his side and getting off of Glitches, who they had pinned this whole time. Glitches shakes herself off and hurries over to Alt, turning small as she climbs up his shoulder and hides against his neck. Alt goes to scoop her up and comfort her.

Magnificent looks back at Alt and studies him for a second before smiling. “You know, despite your defiance today, Alt… you impressed me.” He gestures back towards where he had hidden Oliver and Jackie. “You were able to get past my very powerful glamor… and laid out a solid plan for your… escape.”

Alt blinks and looks back up at Mag with surprise. “Oh uh… t-thanks?”

Magnificent chuckles. “Try not to make defying me a habit, cub. But… well done.” And with that, his mentor leaves the room in a flicker of static- leaving Alt alone with his thoughts.

——————-

It’s well past sunset now- about the time Alt knows the Mann children are asleep. But… Mag’s talk about other realities and Sight has his mind reeling. Could Ollie really see stuff like that? And… could he… maybe see something for himself…?

Jackie always said Ollie had his own book for drawing and kept a lot of loose leaf paper drawings around. Hell- he showed Alt one when he saved him. But that image is burned into Alt’s brain. The green flames… so much like Mag’s. He… he had to see what else there was. Maybe there’s more- maybe there’s a way for him to see if… if all of this was worth it. There had to be something- something that would take away this dread and regret that weighed down his stomach.

Alt approached the balcony of the Mann children’s bedroom- seeing the lights turned off. He braced himself with a steady breath. Just a look… just a quick look and then he’d leave them alone for good.

Even if that thought drove stakes into his chest.

Alt then glitches inside. He starts to look around-

WHAM!

Something solid hits him in the face and sends him flying back towards the window. He cries out, holding his throbbing and now bleeding nose.

Jackie is on top of him, breathing heavy with wide manic eyes as he hefts a baseball bat over his shoulder. Where did he come from?! …was he staying in the kids room?

“Jackie?!” Alt hisses.

“What do you want?!” Jackie barks, “Why are you here?!”

“Jackie l-listen I-!” Alt tries to stammer.

Then there’s a rustling in the beds around them and a lamp gets turned on. Two sets of innocent eyes blink at the scene.

“Uncle Alt…?” Ollie breathes, clumsily putting on his glasses.

“Alt!” Kelsie yells in delight and throws herself out of bed. She rushes at him and then tackle-hugs him before Jackie or Alt can even respond. “I’ve missed you so so much!! Where have you been??”

Alt’s expression breaks as he goes to lightly rest a hand on Kelsie’s back. He hesitates, not sure what to say, “…away… I-I just… had to go away for a…a bit.”

Kelsie lets go and looks down at him with a frown.

“Yeah… Daddy said that too. But you guys aren’t telling the full story! Where did you go?? Are you back now?? Can we play again soon?”

Alt’s expression turns to one that equal parts panic and heartbroken. She’s so sincere. He had no idea he’d be… missed so much. He- hasn’t ever felt missed…

Jackie notices the expression on Alt’s face and the hardness of his softens. “Sunshine…” he says gently, kneeling down. “It’s late… and uh- Daddy made a mistake and hit Uncle Alt by accident.”

Kelsie blinks back down to see blood trailing down Alt’s face and she gasps. “Daddy! How could you hit Alt?! He doesn’t look at all like that bad man that look Ollie!”

Jackie laughs quietly, “Y-You’re right… that was my bad… but I gotta get him cleaned up, okay? And you have school in the morning so… you need to get back to sleep.”

“Okay…” Kelsie sighs. “Can I ask him one more thing though?”

“…sure, sweetheart.”

Kelsie looks back at Alt with her pleading blue eyes. “Are you coming back soon?” She whispers.

Alt feels his heart crack in two.

“I… I dunno,” Alt croaks back. “I’m sorry I… I really don’t know.”

Kelsie sighs and nods, “That's okay… you’re probably doing something really important huh?” She then hurries to get up and grabs something from off the side of her bed and then hurries to plop it in Alt’s hand. It’s a tiny black cat stuffed animal. Kelsie grins proudly at him, “then you hold onto that! and you’ll give it back to me when you’re ready to come back! So you can remember us and how much we miss you!”

Alt stares at the kitten, dumbfounded. “K-Kelsie, I-I can’t-“

“That’s very sweet Kelsie, thank you.” Jackie interrupts as he grabs up Alt by his arm and gets him to his feet, making sure he keeps the cat in his hands. “You two try to get some sleep now, okay?”

“Okay, daddy,” Kelsie says, hurrying to crawl back into bed. “Bye Alt!”

Alt looks back to see Ollie meeting his eyes. They look so sad- so much wiser than a 4 year olds should be. “Bye… uncle Alt.”

Jackie closes the door before Alt can say anything back.

Alt is pulled down the hallway towards the master bedroom- and then towards the master bathroom inside. Jackie then shoves him further in and grumbles as he starts rummaging under his sink. “Tell me why I shouldn’t call the cops on you right now.” He glances back at Alt with a hard expression. “or should I call Chase?”

Alt grits his teeth and laughs bitterly. “Oh you wanna play that card? Fine. Call him, and I’ll tell him about you and Mag.”

Jackie nearly hits his head on the cabinet, whipping around to look at Alt with wide eyes. “W-What? You-!”

“Yeah, Mag caught me up on your wholeee sad history,” Alt bites back. “Chase already couldn’t trust me because of my connection to Mag. What will he do when he finds out you go even farther-“

Jackie yells out and grips at his head before shouting at Alt, “Stop it! Just fucking- stop this whole fucking villain shtick, Alt! It’s not you!”

“What the fuck do you know about me?!” Alt yells back.

“Enough to know that back there- you had a look of complete fucking regret on your face as you lied to my daughter!” Jackie screams back.

Alt’s expression falls, anger gone. He pants where he stands and then looks down… at the cat Kelsie gave him. She looked so… hopeful.

Jackie watches him and then sighs, walking up and going to push Alt’s shoulder down so he sits on the edge of the bathtub. Alt blinks in confusion but then Jackie is lightly shoving a wet cotton ball under his nose. Alt hisses and goes to hold it and Jackie lets go. “Hold that till the bleeding stops.” He instructs.

Alt knits his eyebrows together but does what Jackie says. “…why are you helping me?”

Jackieboy sighs and goes to sit on the toilet next to him, looking at the ground, “I dunno. Feels like the right thing to do.”

Alt winces a bit at this and then looks away. Glitches collect and buzz around his shoulders as the room grows quiet- the tension is enough to make Alt’s skin crawl. He shouldn’t even be here…! If Mag finds out he went here instead of getting his ribs checked like he said then-

“Alt,” Jackie says quietly, but with a gentleness that lacks the bite it had before. Alt is snapped out of his thoughts and looks back at the father with confusion. Jackie sighs and meets his eyes. “…I can’t begin to try to understand… why you’re doing this. It… makes me angry that you’re doing this. This doesn’t seem like you.” He shakes his head and messes with the back of his head. “But what do I know? I’m just… a loser dad who met you a few months ago.” he laughs bitterly. Alt tries to open his mouth to respond but nothing comes out.

“But dude this… path you’re going down,” Jackie says gently, “it’s only going to end badly.” He shakes his head and plays with his ring, “I… didn’t know what Marvin was doing back then and… I couldn’t stop what happened to him. Until today? I thought he was dead.”

Alt’s eyes widen. “Really…?”

Jackie nods, “I tried to send him an invitation to our wedding… I hadn’t heard from him in… over a year I think at that point. But right after the wedding I… saw on the news that a tent caught fire during a new magic act… and Marvin was the only casualty.” He shakes his head with a bitter laugh. “I know now that was just a lie… a lie so he could… become this. I guess…”

Alt swallows thickly and looks away. Jackie sighs and messes with his hair. “You know… over the years looking back on everything… I wish I… saw the signs. Marvin started getting into darker magic… started acting weird and angry and… god I hadn’t noticed. Maybe if I had then… then none of this would have happened.”

Jackie notices Alt still not looking at him and gives him a meaningful look. He hesitates before laying a hand on Alt’s knee. Alt tenses slightly but Jackie just gives it a gentle squeeze as he says, “listen Alt… I couldn’t help Marv but… m-maybe I can help you.” His expression turns pleading. “Whatever he’s promised you? Whatever thing you’re getting out of this…? You gotta stop it, man! I can promise you it’s not worth it.”

Alt glances back at Jackie, confused and hesitant. Jackie switches to holding his shoulder. “You aren’t too far gone yet, Alt… I can tell. There’s part of you that doesn’t want to do this… to be this- villain, right? You can’t let your anger eat you alive.”

Alt is quiet, staring down at his legs- at the tiny cat that Kelsie gave him. His heart aches. But then… he thinks of Chase- of the anger in his eyes. Of the burning rage stuck deep in his core about how his life has been spent. Alt pulls himself away from Jackie and to his feet. “I told you once, Jackie. This is something you’ll never understand.” He shuts his eyes and turns away. “I promise… you won’t have to see me ever again. But I.. I have to do this.”

“Alt, please, wait-!” Jackie cries out.

But in a flash, Alt is gone. The only sign left behind is the faint crackling of magic in the lightbulbs of the room. Jackie slumps to the ground and shuts his eyes.

He was covered in blood.

But that’s what usually happens when you brutally murder someone.

But that was over now, all he had to do was make sure he wasn’t found with the body and he was home-

“Kai. . . ?”

He turned to the fearful voice, spotting the witness. No, his brother, Zane. He was frozen, in fear, in shock. How much did he see? Maybe he could play off that he found it? Scratch that, he was covered in blood and with the weapon. Zane wasn’t stupid. And that was the problem, he couldn’t get caught. No witnesses. And Zane was too smart, he could see it now, the pieces falling together in his head.

But a human thought faster than a computer could process. So by the time Kai saw Zane open his mouth, he was already rushing at him, making contact before he could fall into a defensive form. He knocked them both to the ground, pinning the machine under him, weapon at his throat, a hand clamped over his mouth. “Make a move and even you won't come back.” He growled, and the fear in the nindroids face, the betrayal. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help but find joy in the rush of power he got. His brother, frozen in fear, completely at his mercy.

He felt his face twist in the grin as he thought about what to do. He could just dismantle him, tear him apart. But he was family, a brother, killing him in a forgotten alley is not what he deserved. Besides, they would just put him back together, and his family was thorough and would bring swift justice to any who harmed them.

What to do then, what to do?. . . Ah! that would work.

Kai was grinning so broadly as he removed his hand from the nindroid's mouth, and punched his head hard enough to dent the titanium.

He yelled as Kai gave a few more swift punches to dent his frame. “What are you doing!? Stop!” Kai felt him try and move his arms, but he stopped when he dug the knife next to his eye.

“I was serious, move and I’ll tear you apart.” He said dragging the blade over his eye, careful to not break the synthetic skin.

He heard him gasp sharply, cringing from the blade. “You’re the killer, the blind butcher?!”

“There we go. Putting two and two together huh?” He smirked as he ripped open his gi trying to open his chest panel.

“What are you doing?!” Zane gasped as his panel opened, Kai watched the fear and confusion wash over his face. He thought for a bit and decided to indulge the nindroid with his questions.

“I can’t have any witnesses, so I’ve got to take care of you.” He said rummaging through the mess of wires and gears, he felt Zane tremble at his words.

“Y-you can’t! I’m your brother!”

“Yes you are, but you won’t keep my secret.”

“Of course I would! Please let go of me, I won't tell anyone!”

“Oh, I know.” He chuckled, continuing to look through his chest.

“Kai, please! It’s useless anyway, it won’t be permanent! Let me go!”

He looked up from the wires to stare at Zane, “I know, we can put you back together again,” he pulled out some wires, causing the machine to gasp, “and again,” He pulled another chunk of wires, “and again,” and another chunk of wire, “but you see none of that would matter if your memory stayed intact.” He saw the nindroid realize his intentions, fear turning to terror.

“When was the last time you backed up your memory?” He asked, his tone almost innocent as he finally found the switch.

“You're a monster!” He said struggling once again, uncaring about the weapon on him or the hand in his chest.

Kai had to laugh at that, “Oh, I know. Don’t worry though, it won’t bother you anymore.” He said as he flipped the switch. Watching with fascination as the nindroid’s body froze completely, then went limp, eyes turning green as his memory was wiped.

Kai stood up from the body, “Oh bother. Look at the mess you made me make.” He tutted at the machine, looking at the blood all over the white gi from Kai’s previous fun. Thinking it over he made his decision, dragging its body down to the dumpster next to the alley, dumping it in. He then stalked away to the little apartment they had as a secondary base.

Cleaning thoroughly as always, wiping down the evidence has become second nature at this point. All he had to do now was replace Zane’s gi, then drag his body back with a little sob story and a few tears. They’d eat it up, back up his memory, then everything would return to normal.