Magnificently Malcontent

Chapter 11

No one stayed in Henrik's room long after they figured out that Anti was actually targeting JJ. JJ had run out of the room before Chase could even finish his sentence. None of them blamed him, though. Anti had been out for JJ since he'd been created. Jackie tried figuring out why for the first 3 months, but after hitting dead ends too many times, he gave up. He had figured it was just another crazy, chaotic obsession from his ex-brother's deteriorating mine. Or at least that's what he had hope it was.

Chase was the next to leave after reminding the remaining two about their newly assigned jobs. Jackie took an educated guess that he was leaving to go comfort JJ. Chase was always chasing after one person or another, usually to check on their well-being. Jackie has been on the receiving end of his father-like doting. He only wished that Chase would take more care of himself rather than turning to his usual therapist, a bottle of whiskey.

Once Henrik started gathering his own materials to for his syringe concoction, Jackie decided it was time to exit as well. His room was right next to the good doctor's, so it wasn't much of a trip. However as he opened his door, the hero looked back towards the other end of the hall. That end contained Marvin and JJ's rooms, and Jackie's gaze landed on the door belonging to the magician.

Jackie looked to make sure no one was in the hallway and swiftly walked over to Marvin's room. He made sure to open and close the door quietly. It was probably best that his brother's didn't know he was in here. JJ would have a meltdown, Chase would freak out about him being somewhere where Anti had been, and Henrik... well Henrik wouldn't care. Jackie shook his head. This wasn't about them anyway.

He'd been in Marvin's room plenty of times before, but he'd never felt like an intruder like he did now. The room was far too quiet for a place that once housed the loudest of them all. There was something wrong about it being Jackie and not Marvin disturbing the silence. Jackie winced as heard the floorboard creek beneath his every step, somehow too loud and too quiet all at once.

The room itself felt different as well. Marvin's room was all too often a complete and utter disaster. Henrik likened it to the aftermath of a tornado. However Jackie could always feel this excited energy behind it. Marvin never put anything away simply because he was already onto the next big trick. The room was still a mess, but not in the same way. Books and papers were strewn about his desk and the floor underneath. There were broken decor laying a little too close to the wall to not have been thrown. All of it summed up to this frustration that Jackie could practically taste.

How alone had Marvin felt in the past month? How many times had he wanted his brothers' comfort? How many times had Jackie failed him? Frustrated tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. He just sat back and waited as Marvin had been going through this hell. Some big brother he was.

Jackie walked slowly over to the bed and sat on the edge. When he looked up, he could see an almost perfect recreation of the night sky. The only thing that didn't look realistic is that the constellations were in the wrong place. Marvin had made sure to put his favorites directly over his bed regardless of their correct orientation. Jackie could still remember the day he unveiled his creation to all of them.

Marvin hadn't come out of his room for almost the entire day except to peek his head out to accept lunch and the occasional "I'm working on something Marv-elous." The magician always had a way to get everyone excited about things they knew nothing about. Jackie almost laughed but stopped himself when he caught a glimpse of the broken mirror in the corner of the room.

Marvin was their ball of energy. Everytime he got excited, they all did too. Every rousing speech Jackie ever gave was only effective because Marvin was there to boost him up. So how did he let that energy slip through his fingers and become corrupted by this monster? For the first time in a long time, Jackie let the tears slip, let the carefully crafted mask crack and fall apart.

He didn't notice that another figure had entered the room until he spoke up. "Great minds zhink alike, ja?" Henrik sat beside Jackie and let him fall apart on his shoulder. "I vas just about to come here to zhink as vell. Maybe somezhing in here might... ah who am I kidding? I miss him too you know." Jackie paused and lifted his head. "Ve aren't veak for caring. If ve didn't care, ve vouldn't even be trying right now. Nein, it is because ve care zhat ve are going to vin."

Jackie sniffed, "Hen, as much as I appreciate it, maybe leave the speeches to me. I do them so much better." Henrik scoffed in mock offence and Jackie laughed. As the laughter died down, Jackie spied a small vial with a little bit of glowing green liquid left inside it. He nudged Henrik and nodded his head over toward it. "You remember the time Marvin convinced all of us that if we drank a bit of that, we would be able to speak any language known to man?"

Henrik chuckled a bit and shook his head, "Ja, but I also remember zhat it actually caused a pepper-like reaction to vhere our mouths vere on fire for zhe whole day."

"Milk was no help at all! And he just stood there laughing as Chase ran outside to use the garden hose on his tongue." Soon both men had devolved into hysterical laughter as they each recounted tales of how Marvin had pulled fast ones on them.

JJ eventually wandered back towards his own room in his attempts to avoid Chase. He was the last person JJ wanted to talk to at the moment. He was about to shut himself in his room when he heard laughter. The gentleman followed the sound to Marvin's room and found his two eldest brothers. He walked over to the bed and climbed in behind them.

"Oh JJ! Thank Sean, you're here. Tell Henrik about the time you and Marv got Chase to eat candy that caused bubbles to come out every time he opened his mouth." Jackie could barely get through his sentence because of how hard he was laughing. JJ smiled for the first time in what felt like eons. He began signing how he was able to convince Chase that the candy that he definitely didn't see Marvin messing with early was perfectly fine and used a sleight of hand trick to pretend to eat a piece himself. JJ needed this. He needed his family.

A cough from the doorway caught all of their attentions. Chase stood sheepishly in the doorway. "Guys, we really should focus on taking down Anti and M- his puppet." He couldn't bring himself to say Marvin's name.

The whole room became a quiet until Jackie piped up, "You're just saying that 'cause you got pranked the most." Henrik burst into laughter and JJ fell backwards on the bed with shaking shoulders. Chase stood frozen for a moment but soon fell victim to his siblings' infectious laughter.

That night they all slept in Marvin's room. They spent a little time cleaning the more painful reminders of his departure, but they left the remainders of his mischief. That night Jackie took comfort in knowing that his family was still here, and if he had any say in it, they were going to be whole again soon.