Magnificently Malcontent

Chapter 1

          Somewhere in the house a door slammed and Jackie flinched. He knew exactly whose door it was. The sight of a dejected Chase only confirmed it. Marvin the Magnificent had once again shut himself within his room. More and more the cat hid away from the rest of them, and it wasn't hard to notice how his absence had shifted the environment within the whole house. There were no more random little tricks or the begging to show one of this new sleight of hand he had just learned. No more impromptu shows that ended with Henrik arguing how "zhat shouldn't even be possible!" and JJ's silent giggles. It was all replaced with slamming doors and bangs that were closely followed by frustrated cursing. When asked about what he was doing, Marvin would only back away and say it was just a new kind of magic they wouldn't understand. Marvin had also taken to wearing his mask all the time. Jackie could barely stand it anymore. The last patrol he went on was a complete bust, because he was so preoccupied with thinking about how to save his little brother. How can he try to save complete strangers when he can't even get Marvin to talk to him?

          Jackie was jarred out of his spiraling thoughts by Chase flopping onto the couch beside him. Chase's sigh told him everything alongside the dejected look on his face. The young father's eyes looked so tired as they did after every "conversation" with Marvin. He was just as lost as the rest of them, but they could all tell it weighed heaviest on Chase.

         "No luck again?" Jackie asked as he continued to stare at the stairs. Chase only shook his head. He took off his hat and raked a hand through his hair. His eyes were far away, and Jackie could tell he was thinking the same thing: when did this even happen? JJ had been the first one to realize something was off. He was the closest with Marvin out of all of them. He had found the magician hunched over some old book that looked like it hadn't been touched in a thousand years. Marvin had been completely engrossed and nearly jumped out of his skin when JJ tapped him on the shoulder. He about sprinted up to his room, and that was the first of a long line of door slams. From then on Chase and JJ tag-teamed trying to get him to open back up to them. Even Henrik has tried his hand at it by making up some fancy disease that he needed to check Marvin for. Nothing worked. Nothing ever worked. Jackie was starting to feel hopeless about the situation, which was a rare thing for the superhero who was practically a wellspring for hope. He had never felt more useless.

          Marvin slumped against his door. He knew what they thought about him. He knew they were concerned, but this was worth it. They would understand soon enough. They would. Would they? They had to. Marvin just couldn't let them find out what was going on quite yet. It would be his biggest trick yet, but if his brothers found out they would stop it. You know they won't like it. They'll call you crazy. It was a risk he was willing to take. He wasn't going to let anything get in his way.