Mayhem 2019 (JackSepticEye Prompts)

Day 2: Lost

It was official. The amazing superhero who-could-do-no-wrong Jackieboy Man was completely lost.

It wasn't entirely his fault. This city was new and he was still getting used to the layout of it, plus the nice lady who had given him directions might not have been all there. To top it all off, his GPS had been broken during a battle and definitely NOT because he'd accidentally thrown it instead of a smoke bomb. If he put all of these facts together, this was almost not his fault at all.

Jackie sighed as he walked, the gritty pavement crunching beneath his boots like dirt. Though he normally welcomed adventures like this, tonight had been a particularly bad night for him to have one. He had plans to meet up with a new roommate, a pretty oblivious guy who could give him some cover if anybody figured out his identity. Not the kind of thing he wanted to miss, especially with how close some others had gotten to discovering him.

He hadn't paid attention to where he was walking , but Jackie turned a corner and stumbled upon a run-down warehouse. Stupid warehouse, it definitely wasn't on his way to the apartment. He'd have to find another way.

Just as he was about to leave, an explosion of light burst from the broken windows, illuminating the area in vibrant green light. It was gone in an instant, but not fast enough to escape Jackie's notice. Maybe there had been a reason why he'd gotten lost and it had appeared as a villain trying to scheme without him noticing. 

Mind running with conspiracies, Jackie ripped his mask from his hoodie pocket, throwing it on as he began to sneak towards the warehouse. He didn't have much on him in terms of weaponry or fighting equipment, but he hoped he wouldn't need any of that. Keep it simple, in and out. Recon mission. Good.

As annoyed as he was about wearing street clothes for sneaking around, Jackie made his way around the warehouse and took note of every entrance. There were plenty of windows up on the second floor, but nothing outside was tall enough to reach them. There was a small door in the back and two large rolling doors in the front, the old wood serving as the only entrances into the building.

No better night for mischief, eh?

Jackie tip-toed up to the rotting back door, noticing the cut chain on the ground next to it. He stepped up and turned the doorknob, but knew instantly that opening it would make a lot of noise. It was reckless to jump in without knowing what he was getting himself into, yet reckless was exactly how he was feeling.

He grabbed a discarded crowbar, bracing himself for whatever might be inside. With a sharp kick, Jackie burst through the door and ran forward, yelling as he brandished his only line of defense.

"AHH!" There was another bright flash of light, knocking Jackie off his feet. He rolled and pushed his way back into a fighting stance, crowbar at the ready.

A man with long hair and a cat mask was kneeling on the floor, coughing from the force of the explosion. When he noticed that Jackie running towards him again, he scrambled backwards and put his hands in front of his face.

"No! Please, I'm not doing anything wrong, I swear!"

Jackie screeched to a halt at his words, though he kept his crowbar raised. "Then what was that explosion just then? That flash of light?"

"I--" The man glanced around, eyes worried. "It--it was just--I didn't--"

"Spit it out!"

The man let out a defeated sigh. "Alright, I was practicing some magic tricks for my show."

Jackie raised an eyebrow in doubt.

"Honest!" he insisted. "My neighbors can't stand the noise I make when I practice and it's not like I can just wing it during a performance. I'm in here 'cause it's away from people and in a place police won't catch me trespassing."

Jackie narrowed his eyes. "How do I know you're not lying to me?"

"My equipment's right over there in that box, it's just a bunch of gags."

He glanced over and saw that there was indeed a cardboard box with decks of cards, bouncy balls, and an excessive amount of handkerchiefs. 

However, Jackie still wasn't convinced. "If these are all for kids parties--"

"Street performing."

"--then how did you manage to knock me back with that explosion? Doesn't seem safe to be doing in front of a crowd."

It was the man's turn to look skeptical. "Did you think you were the only one that ended up with powers? I mean, it's pretty rare and a secret well-kept, but come on!"

Jackie didn't know what to make of his words. It made sense when he thought about it, so much that he wondered why it had never crossed his mind before. Yet, he was the only one who had decided to become a hero. If this man who had powerful magic at his fingertips was choosing to use it for money, no wonder his villains seemed to be stronger than the average person. The thought that he was the world's only hope to defend against magic didn't settle well with him.

Despite all his concerns, Jackie brushed them off and lowered his crowbar. After a moment's hesitation, he offered is hand to the man.

"Sorry I got so suspicious," Jackie said. "I should have just left you be."

"It's alright." The man took his hand and Jackie pulled him up. "Can't be too careful nowadays, especially with so many bad guys around."

Jackie smiled. "Guess I've got my job cut out for me, huh?"

The man laughed, then rubbed his head. "I should be getting home."

"Of course, I've got places to be too." Jackie walked over and handed him his box of magician's playthings. "You stay safe out there, uh--?"

The man took the box from him, giving him a look that made Jackie think he was wondering whether or not to trust him. After a moment of debate, he smirked, blue eyes glinting with the same mischief Jackie was trying to mimic.

"You can call me Marvin the Magnificent!"

~~~

AAAHHHHHHHH I GOT BUSY!!!! 

Finally got around to this one on the 8th, six days later than the prompt was supposed to be released on, but I notified you all in a conversations post so don't say I didn't warn you.

This one is kinda boring compared to the last chapter, but I'm thinking of making a sequel to it in a later chapter with some more actual dynamics between Jackie and Marvin. If I ever manage to make it to any other prompts, that is. :b

Btw, I'm positively PEEVED that Marvin lost the poll (he's not my fav, but the poor boy deserves better!). Secondary to that, I honestly thought Chase was gonna win and yet here we are, with Schneep on top. The community continues to baffle me (love you guys, your fanart is incredible).

Much love! <3

- an estranged hero