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huffle-dork · 9 months

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Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 12: SepticHeroes

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix

Read Swapboys | Read Septicheroes | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT | Septicheroes Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata

The apartment building on 88 Parker Street was very tall, and pretty utilitarianism. But it's the correct address. Now Magnificent just needs to get into Room 1010.

Magnifcent smirks at the building. Simple... easy. He disappears and reappears in one of the hallways and checks the numbers on one of the doors. 1001- perfect.

He shifts his appearance- but doesn't go for his usual one. No- he shifts into a man in an orange and white costume, and a white cat mask. He laughs and changes the appearance more, to look like he's injured. He could still milk the burn on his side but covered his skin in his signature dark magic veins. A little treat for himself, imagining the same look on that troublemaker once he got his claws in him.

He limps down the hall, finally spying the right room and hurriedly bangs on the door, putting desperation in his voice. "C-Chase?! Chase!!" He cries, panic evident in his voice.

Inside the apartment, Chase starts as he hears the cry. That’s not Jackie, that’s—He immediately stops his editing. “Frosty?! Up!” Frosty steps up close and Chase grabs the leash, letting Frosty help him up. He hurries down the hallway with Frosty and unlocks and opens the front door. “Marvin, why are you—Whoa, what the hell?!” Burns? Veins?! “Holy shit, man, get in here.”

Mag Marvin stumbles into the room and pants like he’s ran a marathon. He staggers and finds the closest surface he can lean against, grunting in pain. “C-Close the door- hurry!”

“Okay okay!” Chase glances into the hallway. There’s no one there but there could be. He closes the door. “Let’s get you over to the sofa, man. You look like you need to lie down.” He gently takes Marvin by the arm and pulls him over. “Why didn’t you go to Schneep? This looks serious.”

Wait a minute. Frosty isn’t with him. He looks back and sees him still by the door. Okay? Sure? But why are his hackles raised?

Marvin grunts and let’s himself be led, shaking his head. “T-That new bitch… h-he found all of us- I… hnghh-!” He cringes as a wave of pain overtakes him. “I-I dunno how I outran him but I just- you’re the closet thing I thought of…” He glances at the dog and bares his teeth at it. Stupid mutt…

“Everyone? You were with them? Oh wait, yeah duh, you were all at the safe house.” Chase frowns. “That’s kinda far… but I guess you’re in costume so…”

Frosty growls back at Magnificent when he bares his teeth. “Frosty? Down. Sit.” Chase shakes his head as Frosty reluctantly sits down. “I’m sorry about that, he’s usually better behaved around strangers… kinda has to be, yknow? Wait, remind me, have you guys met before?” They’re at the sofa now, and Chase gestures for Marvin to sit.

Marvin makes a face at Chase, “Is now really the time for that?” He grumbles. He glances at the dog- hopefully it won’t cause much trouble. “I-I can fill you in more in a second just… I-I need a first aid kit… I dunno if we have a lot of time.” He takes off his mask, to show he has a bloody nose and scratched/burned face.

“Oh shit.” Chase’s eyes widen. “Yeah, I guess not, sorry bro. I’ll go get the kit, you rest up here.” He whistles and Frosty stands up and follows him down the hall. Where did they keep the kit again? Right, in the bathroom. On top of the medicine cabinet. He reaches up and grabs it, stumbling for a bit before Frosty rights him. “Uh, I dunno if we can treat whatever those veins are, but I got everything else!” he calls. Hopefully they have everything.

Mag smirks as Chase wanders off. He twitches his head and the tv in the living room flickers on and blares static. As soon as Chase comes over to help… Mag can’t help but laugh.

Chase walks back into the living room, confused. “Did you turn the TV… on…” For a moment, he’s entranced. Then he tears his eyes away. “Why is it static?”

Marvin watches Chase carefully then grumbles out, acting as if he just opened his eyes from slumping against the couch. “What? I don’t fucking know- can we not get distracted please?”

“R-right. God, Frosty, what the fuck?” Frosty is now growling at the static TV. “If you can’t be nice I’ll have you go in my room and I’ll whistle when I need you. Yeah. Go on.” He whistles and points down the hall. Frosty’s ears and curly tail droop, but he’s well-trained, and goes down the hall.

Marvin smiles a bit at seeing the mutt run with his tail between his legs.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Chase says, sitting on the sofa next to Marvin. “He’ll be back soon, of course, but this is better for both of you. Where’s that remote? No, wait, prioritize. We’ll turn the TV off after.”

Once Chase sits down next to him, Marvin reaches out and latches onto Chase’s wrist, bringing him closer to try to look into his eyes. Is it just Chase or are his eyes… swirling. “C-Chase.. I… I gotta warn you-“ He pants, looking at his enemy friend desperately.

“Wh—okay, a-about what?” Chase is a bit weirded out. Marvin isn’t usually this touchy-feely, what with the burns on his hands and all. And is something… different… about his eyes? … No. it can’t be.

Slowly, Marvin starts to grin and digs his nails into Chase’s skin, showing off sharp canines and glowing green eyes that spiral with purple. “…Your friends are next~”

And then Mag tries to pump his hypnotic power straight into Chase, seeing if he can overpower him.

The effect is instant. Chase is not expecting this. He is not defending himself. He shudders a bit, then his eyes glaze over.

Magnificent laughs and shifts back to his normal appearance and then cradles his claws under Chase’s chin. “Mmm there we go… so good to see you exactly where you should be, Chase Brody~”

“What do I do?” Chase asks, looking to Magnificent for guidance.

Mag leans back and then waves at the boy, “Call your friends- we have much to discuss!”

"Mm-hmm." He pulls out his phone and dials Jackie's number. After a few rings, it picks up.

-----------

"Chase? Chase what is it?" Jackie says. "Hang on, I'm putting you on speaker so everyone can hear." The others all crowd around.

Alt and Bro gather around with twin expressions of worry.

On the other side of the call, Magnificent slips Chase’s phone out of his hands and in a snap, traps the vlogger in suspended green strings, making him hang like a puppet. Then he giggles. He switches the call to FaceTime.

Alt’s heart drops, “oh no-“ he whispers.

Magnificent pulls himself into frame and makes sure to position himself so that Chase hangs in the background. “Well hello heroes! Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time~!”

"Chase?! No!" Jackie grips the phone tighter. "You bastard!"

JJ jerks forward, almost shoving past Jackie, scanning the screen like he can't believe what he's seeing--or he can believe, and he doesn't like it.

"So you are this Magnificent!" Schneep says. "What do you want with Chase?!"

"Yeah, you bitch, are you too scared to face us without any bargaining power?!" Marvin adds. Jackie shoves him out of frame, too angry and concerned to even shout at him why that's such a bad thing to say in this situation.

Alt and Bro watch with wide scared eyes.

Magnificent laughs and then lets the phone hang in the air as he goes to prowl around Chase. He pulls Chase forward by his chin and digs his claws into his skin. "Careful careful what you say, kittens! I have dear Mr. Brody's life in my hands~"

He giggles and eyes the camera then appears in front of it, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's seee what do I want? Oh yes- I want that cat masked bitch's head on a spike" He suddenly growls, static almost fully taking over the screen as his eyes glow toxic green.

Marvin takes a step backwards as Magnificent threatens him. These strangers weren't kidding about him going after his other selves.

Then, on a dime Mag grins, "And well- I met someone who had their eyes on all of you as well! So we formed a- partnership~! And your darling Chase was first on the list!"

"Someone else...?" Schneep mutters. "Is it... that one...? They found Magnificent?"

A gust of wind rustles the curtains, but Jackie forces his face to stay calm. His eyes flick around the background. It's very familiar to him, but he doesn't give it away.

Mag hums and steps back, dragging claws back through Chase's hair and under his chin. "I'm not sure what i'll do what Mr. Brody yet though~ will I.... make him a pet of mine? I hear his memory is already shit- maybe it'll be a blessing to his poor damaged mind~!"

Alt suddenly shouts and glitches wildly as he shouts out, "NO! Magnificent, leave him alone!!"

"You're a sick fuck!" Marvin shouts. "No matter what you'll do, we're coming after you! You might as well let him go now before we fucking kill you." Jackie shoves him again, giving him a warning look and jerking his head towards Bro.

Bro gently pulls Marvin back and gives him a warning glare.

Then, with his hand that's not holding the phone--making sure it's out of sight of the camera-- Jackie makes a sign with his hand. Flat.

JJ's eyes widen. He steps out of view of the camera and quickly signs He's in Chase and Jackie's flat.

Both Bro and Alt's eyes widen as Jj tells them their location.

Magnificent laughs loudly and throws back his head, "Oh you naive kitten~ that's exactly what I want~!" He grins, "But, should we make it interesting? Maybe set a time limit? Some stakes? But, maybe not because~ As soon as you come to claim your friend, you will die~" He giggles with insanity.

Alt is stunned- Mag wasn't one to stray from killing sure, but he also wasn't one to go straight to killing. In a morbid sense- he liked to play with his food. But, either way this isnt good... Mag isn't targetting them for once- his eyes seem set on the people here so-

He suddenly shoves his way towards the phone and then as he touches the surface and turns to static. He glitches inside the phone- trying to rush through the connection to get to the other side.

"Alt!" Bro tries to shout after him.

As Alt glitches into the phone, he feels the rushing sensation of running down the circuits, glitching until he finds the connection. It is a bridge connecting two islands, and he glitches for the network, the other side getting brighter--and then it is like he hits a wall.

It feels like he is in a room. Electricity runs down the sides, lightning forming a cube around him. He is not really here. When he looks down at his body, it is not real. It is simply his brain processing what's happening into a familiar form.

Alt jolts as he's stopped and he looks around in panic. What the fuck? His heart starts going into overdrive- wondering if he's gonna get stuck- stuck in code and lose himself, nononono!

There is someone here. A figure of a man standing in front of him. Of course, it is not a man. It is simply a representation of a man. Alt perceives him as wearing a black costume, a hood pulled up over the head, dark armor that makes the man look less alive and more robotic. There is no face. There is simply a black screen, with glowing red eyes and a jagged, red smile. "What a unique power," says a voice. It sounds... almost like him. If someone made his voice into a Vocaloid. "As you can see, not unique enough."

Alt growls and shouts at the man, "W-Who are you?! What did you do??"

The smile widens. "I have asked Magnificent to call me Anti, so you should too, to make it easy."

Alt's blood runs cold. Oh... oh no. Another evil Anti. Fuckkkk.

The figure paces the length of the electric cube, body fizzling and glitching like Alt's own body does. "I have blocked you. I wish to talk, Alt. Or should I call you Anti? That's the name your phone is registered under. But judging by your web history, you probably had a different one long ago. Don't worry, I cannot find it, and have no intention of using it if I could. I am simply...observing you and your brother."

Alt bunches up like he wants to attack, body glitching even more than usual. "H-How can you look into my phone? My web history?? I-I'm not even from here!”

"It seems your phone is still able to use the WiFi and data here. And where there is a connection, there is a way in for me."

“You need to let me go- I can't just sit around chatting with some coward who won't even show his face!" Alt growls.

Anti laughs. "Show my face? This is not a space that will let that happen. Whatever you are seeing exists because your mind, even one so tuned to electricity as yours, cannot experience the digital world as it is. Besides, how would you know my face is real?" The face on the screen flickers, reflecting Alt's back at him, and then shifting to look like Bro, then this world's Jackie, then JJ, and then it returns to its simple red smile.

Alt's horror increases as Anti explains and steals his and his friends' faces.

Again, a laugh. "But if you wish to go, you can. I will simply warn you. I have no intention of harming you or your brother. Unless you threaten my plans, as those you associate with have. If you were to return home, I would even be willing to help."

Alt growls, anger spiking and making him glitch even more. "You-! You're the ones hunting them down- the reason JJ and Schneep can't even be out in the open! I don't need your fucking help, psycho! I can figure out this shit on my own!"

Anti tilts his head to the side. "Very well. If you change your mind, go to the North SepTech building. I will be there. No matter when you stop by. And with that, we have nothing more to discuss." The figure dissolves into red pixels, and the green lightning of the cube turns red.

Alt narrows his eyes at Anti and then looks around the room in panic as the light turns red.

Alt feels himself pushed back, back back, until he is forced out of the phone entirely and back onto the floor of the safe house. Alt is pushed back with such force he feels the breath knocked out of him. He crashes to the ground and skids slightly from the force, arcs of electricity bouncing off him. As he stops he spasms a bit with glitches and pixels, biting back whimpers of pain.

"Whoa!" Jackie jumps a bit. To him, it looks like Alt dived into the phone, and then immediately got pushed back out. Magnificent and Chase are still on screen, exactly where Alt last saw them. "Alt?! What happened?!"

Bro is next to him in an instant, trying to check him over, "A-Alt!" Then he glares at the phone and Magnificent, "What did you fucking do to him?"

Mag looks surprised though, "... I did not do that-"

Alt grits through his teeth and grunts out as he tries to get his muscles to stop, "G-Got stopped- b-by a-another A-Anti...!"

"Another--fuck, it's that bitch!" Jackie growls. "Of course! They're helping Magnificent, they wouldn't want Alt to get there right away!"

"Well it will not stop us from getting there through other means!" Schneep says.

JJ joins Bro by Alt's side, grabbing a throw pillow from the sofa as he does. He places it under Alt's head so that he doesn't give himself a concussion while spasming.

"Look, you motherfucker--and the other one, if they're still listening," Jackie says. "We are coming there. We are getting our friend back. And you, Magnificent, will regret it."

Magnificent only laughs, grinning wide, "I look forward to it, Jackie."

Then, as much as it pains him to leave Chase there, Jackie hangs up the call.

Alt's body eventually starts to still and he pants, gripping his hands into fists. But, he does look up and signs a thank you to JJ.

"Jeez, fuck, are you okay, Alt? Wh-what happened? They pushed you out?" Jackie asks, joining the others.

Alt stiffly pushes himself up and leans against Bro who helps him. He looks at the others, "I-I was trying to get to Chase- but i... i got trapped in- in this green room. With a man, who had like black armor and a digital mask on his face." He shudders, thinking of his impulse mask. "He said to call him A...Anti- he said he just wanted to talk... and that he was observing me and Bro." He looks back at Bro with wide eyes, "He... he knew my name. He said he could see our records through our phones..."

Bro's eyes widen, "What does he want? Did he say why he's working with Mag?"

Alt shakes his head, "H-He said... if we don't get in the way of his plans... he won't hurt us... he even offered to help us go home..."

Don't believe a word that man says, JJ says, looking a bit pale at the description of Anti's appearance. He does whatever he can to get what he wants. To fulfill... whatever secret goal he has, god only knows what that is. He is probably teaming up with Magnificent to get the rest of us out of the way.

"If Magnificent wants to kill Marvin, it would be easy for this... Anti... to nudge him towards that," Schneep says slowly. "And the rest of us, while he is at it."

"Coward. Fucking coward." Marvin grits his teeth so hard the others can practically hear the grinding noise.

"He always uses others to fight his battles." Jackie shakes his head.

Alt slowly nods and grips at his wrist, "...I can get why he wants to work with Mag then..."

"We don't have much time. We need to rescue Chase." Jackie emphasizes.

Alt looks at Jackie, his voice quiet, "... that's what they want though... we'd be walking right into a trap."

"I know, but what the fuck are we supposed to do?!" Jackie shouts. "I'm not going to let him turn Chase into a fucking pet!" Wind blasts the curtains open. Jackie takes a couple deep breaths, calming down.

"Personally I think this guy is underestimating us," Marvin says. "We know about his powers, so we can be prepared. He has Chase, but we have the numbers. And he did collapse pretty easily when I just grazed him with my solid-heat energy. Jackie, you've tanked a couple of those."

"Yeah, and they hurt like a bitch," Jackie mutters.

"Exactly!" Marvin says triumphantly. "I doubt he has infrared to see Schneep with, and your fucking air control is so much stronger than people think."

Bro nods, “Yeah! He’s used to us but the rest of you all are wild cards to him!” Alt looks away, still shaken from talking to Anti.

I'll come too, JJ says.

"Are you sure?" Schneep asks.

JJ nods firmly. It's different now that he has Chase. He looks at Bro and Alt. Which means... you should know what I can do. It... may disturb you. It disturbs some people. He pauses. Those strings that magician was using on Chase on the call... I believe mine are the same. The sign for 'same' is two fingers on opposite hands pressing against each other and drawing apart. As he signs it, a green string appears, connecting his fingers and extending as they separate.

The swaps look up at JJ. Bro doesn’t look too surprised, just a bit, his eyebrows raising up. But Alt jolts back like he’s been shocked and scrambles away from JJ slightly, a wild scared look in his eyes.

JJ puts his hands together again, the string disappearing. He's a bit saddened, but mostly, he accepts it. I told you I've done terrible things.

"It was not his fault," Schneep says defensively. "That Anti--they--h-he--I-I am still--I cannot believe that--" His voice is shaking.

It was never supposed to be used on people, JJ says. Just dolls.

Marvin, meanwhile, sees Alt's reaction and softens. "Hey," he says quietly. "I get it. It's scary. Same thing happened to me." He glances at JJ. "But now I know Jameson wouldn't do that again."

Seems I may have to, to rescue Chase, JJ says. But Alt, if you don't feel comfortable, I can indeed stay back.

Alt looks between the others as he tries to calm down. Eventually, he shakes his head and looks back at Jj with determination, “no no… you should be there. Mag…mag won’t expect someone with powers like him. We can give him a taste of his own medicine.”

JJ nods, looking relieved. Alright. If there's anyone who deserves that, he seems like the one.

"How do we get there fast then?" Schneep asks.

"Bro and I can fly and Alt can glitch," Jackie says. "We can go first?"

"Then we have less numbers, though," Marvin points out. "Look, I can call Kanchana. She can drive, and she can be here soon."

Jackie looks at Bro and Alt. "Do you guys have any ideas?"

Alt and Bro exchange looks. Bro raises an eyebrow at Alt. "Do you think you can glitch us all over there? You at least know how to get from here to the city now."

Alt furrows his eyebrows, "yeah... i.. i think so- honestly being in the... circuit whatever- it kinda gave me a boost once all the- shocking was over." Alt pushes himself to his feet then offers out his hands to the others, his eyes glowing. "If we link up- i can at least get us back to the city."

Schneep raises his eyebrows. "You can do that? Impressive. Teleporters here can rarely take more than two others."

"Well, sooner is better, so let's try it," Jackie says, taking one of Alt's hands. The others all hold onto him. "Try to aim for the apartment hallway, if you can, I don't want to take the stairs or elevator all the way up."

"If you guys can picture what the flat looks like- I think it'll bring us there... its- tricky sometimes. But, having a pull helps." Alt says.

As soon as the others are all linked up with Jackie, Bro grabs Alt's other hand and nods his head with encouragement. Alt slowly breathes and then closes his eyes. And then- all the boys dissappear in a flicker of static and pixels.

They form in the hallway, the septichero boys feel like their blood was replaced with pop rocks for a second- but it fades quickly.

Alt looks a bit dizzy as he sways but then shakes his head and keeps going. "Okay uh good- apartment hallway! good! Which one is it??"

Jackie takes a moment to recover. God--that sensation really threw him off. He shakes his head, forcing himself to recover, and points at Room 1010. "That's ours," he says. "Let's go!"

"Wait, we may need a pl--" Schneep starts.

"Jackie wait!" Bro calls out.

But it's too late, Jackie is already moving. Chase forgot to lock the door when he let "Marvin" in so Jackie's able to kick the door down and rush in. "Hey BITCH!"

As he opens the door a bunch of green glowing strings lash out to try to grab him.

Bro winces as the door opens. Alt quickly tries to glitch to help Jackie out.

"What the--hey?!" Jackie is moving too fast to stop even if he wanted to--momentum, and all that. He gets tangled up quickly, struggling against the strings but only making it worse.

"Jackie, for fuck's sake!" Schneep says, exasperated, and pulls out his knife. He disappears from sight--always good to have that advantage when it's possible--but the others see him walking up to the wall by the door, avoiding the trap by avoiding the doorway.

Meanwhile, Marvin rushes in, stopping just before the trap, and tries using blades of orange solid-heat energy to cut through the strings.

The strings try to tighten and yank Jackie forward- but Marvin's attack is too quick and slices through them easily. Magnificent yells in rage and tries to blast fire at the heroes.

Chase is still suspended behind him, nice and hypnotized.

Jackie recovers quickly and dodges the fire attack, while Marvin conjures a quick shield that just absorbs the heat of the flames. No one else is in range, unfortunately.

"God!" Jackie gasps. "Schneep, I know you can hear me, I'm sorry I didn't listen!"

"Yeah you are!" Marvin shouts. "What the fuck, Windstorm?!"

JJ quickly hurries inside and gets behind Marvin. Chase! he signs. Snap out of it! His hands move fast, too fast for anyone to notice the strings appearing out of nowhere and wrapping around his fingers.

Alt glitches in and tries to sneak up behind Mag, but Mag senses him and grabs by the throat and throws him across the room. "Stay out of my way! I'll deal with you once these troublesome heroes are dead!" The mad magician snarls. He throws green tinged lightning at Marvin's shield, trying to break it.

Marvin expands the shield, protecting both him and JJ. The lightning crackles harmlessly against it. "Ha!" Marvin grins. "It's not just energy you know!" After all, solid-heat energy is harder to break than ethereal magic. Behind Magnificent, one of the strings holding Chase snaps, seemingly on its own.

Magnificent is too focused on his revenge to even notice someone trying to free Chase. In feral rage, black magic crackles around him and then in an instant a black tiger- that is a tiger who's fur was black and stripes were purple, lunges at the shield, clawing and scraping and roaring.

The tiger hits the shield with such ferocity that it doesn't notice the way the energy burns and hisses against it. Marvin is surprised and loses his concentration, falling beneath the weight and claws of the tiger. JJ gasps. One of the strings loops around the tiger's chest. He pulls it off and it slumps to the ground, burned too much to move again. Marvin fares only slightly better, bleeding claw marks marring his shirt and skin.

"Asshole!" Jackie shouts, diving straight for Magnificent, aiming a punch fueled by wind.

JJ glances at this wild attack and decides he needs some support. He throws a second string at Magnificent, long like a lasso. One of them is bound to hit him!

Behind Mag, a couple more strings snap.

The tiger roars in pain, backing up and shaking itself out from burning its paws. The pain is so much Mag shifts back and falls to the ground, spitting curses in latin. The string wraps around him and yanks him up and he shouts in surprise only to then get a wind tossed punch directly in his face. He flies back and rolls on the ground, groaning.

Alt glitches to his feet. "H-Holy Shit-"

Bro flies over to try to help get Chase down, getting in front of his face and slapping his cheeks. "Hey hey! Other me! Snap out of it!"

"Yeah! That's what you get, asshole!" Jackie shouts, landing solidly on the ground. "Let Chase go!"

JJ lets go of his end of the string and it moves on its own, pinning Mag's arms to his sides. It doesn't wrap around his wrists, but one end is fairly close to his hand and could easily move.

Chase's eyes flicker, but he can't quite bring himself to shake off the trance.

Schneep flickers into visibility next to Bro, still holding his knife. "Keep going, one of us will succeed first," he whispers, and disappears again, resuming his cutting of the strings.

Bro nods and keeps trying to shake Chase awake.

"Never!" Magnificent snarls. He clenches his fist, and then- all the strings holding up Chase flicker and then disappear. Magnificent snaps and orders, "Brody! Dispose of your friends and anyone else who gets in your way!" If Chase needs it, Mag summons a green tinged knife for him to use.

"No!" Schneep reappears and grabs Chase from behind. "Chase, you do not have to do that!"

"I-I..." Chase pauses, breathing heavily, struggling. Then he shouts and stumbles, losing his balance and falling right into Schneep's arms, who quickly rights him. "Wh-what the fuck? What the fuck?!" He looks at Mag with horror in his eyes.

Magnificent yells in rage, tv static burning in the air around him as he attempts to snap himself out of JJ's strings, "Worthless fucking MAGGOTS! I'm gonna to tear each and every one of you apart!"

The strings break with an audible SNAP!

Magnificent pushes out and then in a blind rage, reaches out to grab JJ by the arm and attempts to drain him of his power.

This power is somewhat familiar, and yet so alien at the same time. It sinks into Magnificent's limbs, a petrifying power turning him to wood and plastic. He freezes up momentarily, and JJ yanks his arm free before he can get too much. What he managed to steal sits inside him, a stiff coating that converts slowly.

Magnificent stiffens and looks down at his arms with wide eyed confusion. "W-What is this?! Why is it hard to m-move?"

Alt hurries over and glitches JJ away, "Are you okay?"

I'm fine, JJ says, looking a bit shaken--more by the glitching than the draining, honestly. He looks at Magnificent. Not a very nice feeling, is it?

Bro helps pull Schneep and Chase back and doubles checks on Chase, "Hey other-me, you hanging in there?"

"I-I'm... I'm hanging, bro. Or I'm not, anymore." Chase laughs. "Honestly you probably would've won that fight anyway. I'm not... very capable."

Bro smiles sadly, "Let's get you somewhere safe then- maybe hiding in the bedrooms?"

Meanwhile, Jackie gasps and starts digging in his pockets. "I forgot I had these!" He pulls out a pair of metal circles--handcuffs, of some sort, though they look different than the models Alt and Bro are familiar with. More futuristic, somehow? With lights. "I-I don't want to use pow-sup but I don't think we have any choice here." He eyes Magnificent warily, then rushes forward, hoping to catch him before that strange paralysis wears off.

As soon as Jackie tries to handcuff Magnificent, the dark magician lashes out. Jackie gets one of his wrists but he digs his claws into Jackie's skin, trying to drain him. "Get out of my fucking way, Jackie!"

The power that he drains is a blast of air, he is standing in a wind tunnel buffeted by gust after gust and trying to breathe. But he manages to stay on his feet. A good portion of the wind funnels into him, where it stays, a swirling mass that slowly converts to his own.

Jackie cries out and jerks backwards, losing his balance and falling. "Wh-what...? Oh. H-how did you guys...?" he mumbles weakly.

Chase watches this happen with wide eyes. "I think you have bigger problems right now!"

"No!" Marvin thrusts out his hands, a red dome flickering around Magnificent--seems he's forgotten about the teleportation.

Magnificent is disoriented as he takes the power but at least he can move this time. He growls and teleports out easily, lunging to try to shove Marvin to the ground. "Fucking YOU! It'd be best for everyone if you just fucking died!"

Marvin cries out. He's injured so he's not able to get away, but he has enough strength to keep Magnificent from shoving him.

JJ gasps, forces himself to stand up, and lunges for Magnificent from behind. He grabs his wrists and a pair of red strings wrap around them from the point of contact.

The results are immediate. Magnificent feels a paralysis--like what happened when he drained JJ's power--creeping up from his arms.

Marvin takes the chance to run in the other direction.

Magnificent's furious expression is wiped off his face as the strings take effect. He slumps slightly in JJ's grip, eyes wide.

Alt backs up with wide eyes, "...oh my god you- you got him-"

JJ takes a deep, shuddering breath. He pushes Mag so he's standing upright, where he makes him stand there, not moving. It was luck, really. Put the cuffs on him!

Schneep moves first, helping Jackie to his feet and taking the cuffs from him. He walks over, probably less cautious than anyone else would be, and snaps the cuffs around Mag's wrists. "Jamie, I know you hate this, but please do not let him use his powers," he mutters. "We are not sure if this will work."

JJ nods. He drops most of his control, only making sure that Mag would freeze up again if he tried using his powers, fighting them, or running. Otherwise, he was free to do as he wished.

Mag shakes his head as most of the control is dropped. He growls at JJ and every attempt he uses to fight has him stiffening and stalling. He curses up a storm.

Alt sighs in relief and slumps down. His movement has Mag noticing him though. Hm... he did prefer to drown his puppets under his power. But, if he didn't have it... he always had one failsafe tucked under his belt. And since his blitz incident... the trigger should be very well kept. He grins and then snaps his fingers, calling out, "Anti! Say Goodbye."

Alt stiffens as his eyes widen and he gasps, limbs locking up. He grips at his head and cries out, "No no- nonono y-you fuc-!" And then, Alt's eyes get filled in completely with black and his head falls to his chest.

"NO!" Bro calls out.

Magnificent laughs crazily and then shouts, "Kill them, Anti!"

Alt's head snaps up, his expression blank as electrcity builds up around him. Then, he dives at Jackie and tries to pin him to the ground by his throat.

Jackie is still exhausted from his power draining, and cannot move fast enough to resist as Alt launches himself at him. He lets out a strangled shout and immediately tries pushing him off. Breezes flicker weakly around him.

JJ's eyes widen and he immediately tightens control again, making Magnificent back away and stand very still. He wants to help but he's not sure how! He doesn't want to puppet Alt.

"No!" Marvin shouts, diving for Alt and trying to pull him off Jackie.

Meanwhile, Schneep starts digging around in the backpack attached to his costume.

Alt builds up electricity to try to shock Jackie but he's pulled off by Marvin and shoved away. He stoically regards Marvin and then glitches a green -blue knife into his hand and tries to slash at Marvin.

Bro makes sure Chase is okay before flying down to try to help Jackie.

Marvin starts to conjure a shield, but hesitates, not wanting to accidentally burn Alt. Unfortunately he hesitates for too long, and gets one more slash wound to add to the tiger attack from earlier. He cries out and staggers backwards.

Alt just keeps going after hitting Marvin, advancing on him with his knife raised.

"Got it!" Schneep pulls something out of his backpack and throws it at Alt. It's a rope of some kind, aiming to tie up Alt.

Alt’s distracted by Schneep trying to throw the rope at him and he glitches out of the way, then dives to try to attack Schneep.

Schneep doesn't even move out of the way. The knife just goes right through him. "Chase! Bro-Chase! Can you snap your brother out of this?!"

"I-I can try!" Bro shouts and flies over and then pins Alt to the wall by his wrists. "Alt, cmon! Wake up!"

Alt struggles against him, breathing heavily, eyes twitching. Something in him is fighting.

Magnificent laughs, "Try all you want, heroes... I train my pets very well~"

"C-Chas-" Alt gasps, black flickering in his eyes.

Mag's smug smile fails and he yells in rage, only to be stopped by JJ's ropes. "No! You- You motherfuckers! I wont lose to you pathetic heroes!"

Alt slumps against the wall some, trying to break free and being able to slightly. It's a struggle as his mind is stomped on by the commands- triggers planted in his head over weeks of imprisonment. He gasps like he can't breathe.

I could... try to help? JJ suggests tentatively. If you are okay with that?

Bro looks at JJ and then back at Mag and slowly nods, "Y-Yeah... a-anything you can do to help! I... I don't think I can talk him out of this..."

Alt's mind is filled with nothing but abuse. Pet pet pet pet- pets do what they're told. Pets follow orders. Pets don't talk back. Pet pet pet pet. The glitch whimpers, digging nails into his scalp.

"You worthless cub! Obey me!" Magnificent screeches.

Alt's expression hardens slightly but he still seems like he's struggling.

JJ nods. He gives Magnificent a dirty looks and takes away his ability to talk. They don't need that right now.

Magnificent is basically a statue now, just with more rage in his eyes as he silently seethes.

JJ steps forward and gently takes Alt by the wrists. Strings appear, colored a gentle blue-green gradient, like the way Alt dyed his hair in his hero disguise. And JJ asks Alt to fight off Magnificent's effects. All of a sudden, Alt finds a boost of strength within him.

Alt blinks and almost jerks out of JJ's grip. But, then he feels a rush of strength and power in him and he glitches in response. And soon green-blue light flickers in the darkness in his eyes before it finally breaks like glass and Alt gasps. He heaves like he was just running a marathon and then looks at Jj with wide eyes. "...i... god- t-thanks JJ..."

Bro hurries over to Alt and puts a hand on his shoulder. "H-Holy fuck Alt... are you okay?"

"i...I think so-"

JJ lets out a breath of relief and smiles at him. No problem. The strings on Alt's wrists fade away on their own.

"Is everyone else okay, too?" Chase asks tentatively from where he'd been standing the whole time.

"Tired, but fine," Jackie says. "I think Marvin is the one to be most concerned about," Schneep points out.

Marvin looks down at the various slashes on his chest. "...yeah." He pauses. "Magnificent ruined my costume, that bitch. It's hard to get flame resistant material that actually looks good."

Alt glitches towards Marvin and is about ready to help stop his bleeding when he comments on his costume. Then, Alt can't help but burst into shaky laughter. "T-That's what you're concerned about?!"

Jackie laughs.

"Yes, it's what I'm concerned about," Marvin says. "I've felt worse pain than this, it'll fade." He hides how he winces when he moves. "This suit could've lasted for years without wear."

"I would doubt your comment about pain, but then I remember you plunged your hands into fire, so." Jackie sighs, and leans against the wall. "Honestly, though? I'm glad we didn't wreck the flat too much. I don't want to deal with the landlord on top of... all this."

Alt laughs quitely and then slumps against the back of the couch, mentally exhausted from all of that. He glances at the stock still Magnificent in the corner and then shudders. ... they should probably get him out of here soon... Then Alt finally registers Jackie's comment, "Wait- you plunged your hands into fire??"

"It's a long story," Marvin waves away Alt's reaction. "No really. It's a long story," Jackie repeats. "It took like fifteen minutes when he told the rest of us." "Basically I had to get rid of my fingerprints," Marvin sums up.

Alt blinks, "Oh... well- I guess that's one way to do it-" He answers.

"The first aid kit is out if you need it, Marv." Chase points at said kit on the coffee table.

Schneep hurries over and grabs it. "I think some of those slash marks may need stitches, but they are not bleeding too badly, so we can treat them for now until we get to my own kit." He pauses. "Although... there is a chance the safe house was compromised."

I'm sure Miss Yang or Soren could find us another, JJ says.

Schneep raises his eyebrows. "Oh, so Kanchana has her last name spelled but Soren gets a sign?"

Shut up, Schneep.

He just laughs.

"Hey Chase, where's Frosty?" Jackie asks.

"Oh shit!" Chase hurries off into the hallway. He returns not long after with Frosty in tow. "I told him to wait in my bedroom when this all started, I can't believe he didn't come running. But then again, he probably would've just been in the way, so I'm glad his training was so thorough."

Bro seems to relax seeing mostly everyone is fine and Mag is incapacitated. Then, he panics slightly with Chase about his dog but when he sees Frosty is fine, Bro squeals slightly and floats over to him. "Omg!! Pubby in person! Oh my god you are just the cutest!!"

Frosty seems to smile, his tail wagging. This guy looks just like his owner! Does he have two now?

Chase laughs. "He likes you."

Bro squeals in delight and touches down to give the good boy so many pets. "oh who's a brave boy! oh who's a fluffy good boy?? who's a boy??"

While Frosty is busy being showered in pets by the Chases and Marvin and Jackie talk with Alt, JJ and Schneep stare at Magnificent, uneasy. What do we do with him? JJ asks.

Schneep shakes his head. "If these three are staying here, we would have to get him to somewhere equipped for powerful supers... even though he is not one. But they have to leave eventually, so eventually, the answer is the same."

Alt watches the others warily and then he pushes himself up to talk with JJ and Schneep. "...as much as it'd be nice to stay... we gotta keep trying to go home... the longer we stay here- the more likely he can break out of this and try to hurt you guys again..."

JJ nods slowly. My power is not complete, even if it is pretty strong. And he's... as much as I hate to admit it, clever.

"I would not put it that way," Schneep mutters, glaring at Mag. "More like... squirmy. Wormy."

Alt nods to Schneep mutters, agreeing. "Yeah... he's.. a real tricky one."

The point is, he could probably find some way to get out unless I keep him frozen all the time, and that takes concentration. I have to sleep eventually.

Jackie joins the conversation. "It's impressive that sleep is the first thing that could break that concentration. I could get knocked out of the air if I let my thoughts wander, which is why you always take your ADHD medication, kids." He chuckles a little, then becomes serious again. "Do you... want to leave soon?"

Alt laughs wryly at Jackie's attempt at humor and then frowns. "... I don't want to force you to keep him like this... even if it would be cool to stay here a little longer... but its... its too risky."

Jackie sighs. "Yeah. I understand." He flashes a smile. "But hey, maybe you guys could come back some time in the future. When things are less tense for you. We could hang out. Do super stuff." He turns to Chase and Bro. "Did you guys hear all that?"

"Huh?" Chase looks up. "Something about risk?"

"Alt's saying it's too risky to stay here for too long," Marvin says. "Eventually JJ's hold on that bitch other-me is going to wane."

Bro stops his petting of Frosty and looks back out and then looks really sad. He flies over to be by Jackie and can't help but let his face fall a bit. "God... i know we need to but... this world is so cool! E-Everyone's super.... like us-" He holds his arms slightly and looks away. "I... I wish we could stay..."

Alt tries to smile. "Hey we'll... we'll mark this place down- we can try to come back when its safer, okay?"

Bro subtly wipes at his face and then nods slowly, "...right. ... we gotta take care of the bad guy. Hero work just... keeps on trucking."

Jackie gives Bro a sad smile. "I know, right? Sometimes it feels like it never ends. You guys better take a break when you get home. These guys are always going at me for never taking breaks, so I'm passing it on."

Bro chuckles lightly, "Here's hoping we can... I think our universe suddenly got allergic to us or something-"

"Do you want to keep the cuffs?" Schneep points to the pow-sup cuffs on Magnificent. "I know they may not work in your world, but... there's an equal chance they do."

Alt hums in thought and then shakes his head. "I don't think they will... you guys should keep those for someone it'll actually work on."

Jackie nods. "Alright." He takes the cuffs off, not looking directly at Magnificent as he does so.

JJ makes sure that his hold is tight--he doesn't want Jackie to get attacked again. Then he looks at Bro and Alt. It's guaranteed that my powers can't stretch into another universe. There IS a distance limit on them, it only encompasses the city or so. A universe is a bit farther than that.

Alt laughs, "Yeah I kinda expected that."

Schneep laughs too.

"Are we saying our goodbyes, then?" Marvin asks.

Bro and Alt share a look and then nod, "Yeah I guess it is..." Alt says quietly, looking up at the others. "...sorry for all the trouble." He says looking away and letting his hero markings fade back.

"It was no trouble at all," Schneep reassures Alt. "We have faced dangerous things before. This was a bit... unprecedented... but it was fine."

"Besides, it wasn't your fault, anyway," Marvin adds. "It's this bitch's. And... Anti, I guess. I guess that's his name."

"We have to find him sooner or later," Jackie mutters, then perks up. "Yeah, don't worry about the trouble. I'm a hero, I live for this stuff. If I wasn't getting in trouble for you guys, I would've been getting in trouble for some random people on the street, guaranteed."

Bro laughs and claps Jackie on the back. "Same! God- I hope someday my Jackie can meet you... when we come back we'll have to bring the whole gang!"

JJ smiles. It was nice to meet you both. I hope we can see each other again some day.

"Yes, I do as well," Schneep says. "I would love to compare universes."

"It's so cool that we even got the chance to meet you guys!" Chase says. excitedly. "I thought the multiverse stuff was all made up, crazy that it's real. And crazy that there are two heroes like you out there."

Alt and Bro both blush at Chase's compliment.

Alt looks bashful and mutters quietly, "...'m not a hero..." but then he sighs and looks up with determination, "...but i'm working towards it."

"I hope you guys figure out how to stop that Anti guy... we've barely been here a day and he already knows wayyy too much about us..." Bro grumbles. "I hope you kick his ass."

Alt laughs and then pulls out the TRVLR again, zipping his magic in and checking the coordinates.

Magnificent is silently trying to kill the others with his mind.

"Hell yeah, we will kick all of Anti's ass when we find him," Jackie promises. "And hey, Alt? Let me tell you something. Sometimes I feel like I'm still figuring out how to be a hero too. And I've been doing this for three years now." He smiles. "So don't worry about it too much, okay?"

JJ inclines his head. You'll do great, Alt. I know it. Seeing someone like Alt work so hard... made him feel like he could, as well.

Alt flushes more but he nods and smiles at Jackie and JJ. "..thanks guys... that means a lot."

Again, the past universe on the TRVLR is grayed out. Two UA prefixes and no sign of getting closer to home. Maybe it's time to try another. The first one Alt sees with a different prefix is UF-0606021FM. Might as well check it out.

Alt looks at Bro, "You ready?" Bro sighs and answers honestly, "Noooo- but yeah-" He grabs Mag's arm and then Alt takes Bro's hand. He waves to the others, "Bye then."

"Bye guys!! We''ll be back! I promise!" Bro grins.

And then, Alt clicks the jump button.

To the three of them, they fall for a split second, through a dark place filled with orbs of green light. And then they are gone.

"That's so cool," Jackie whispers.

Chase rolls his eyes. "Is this really the time? They just disappeared."

"Doesn't stop it from being cool." Jackie pauses. "I hope they come back. I want to hang out with other-Chase."

"I'd be offended, but I want to hang out with other-me too. And Alt. He seemed chill."

"Other-Chase said he could be a bit prickly, so be prepared for that."

"In any case." Schneep turned to Marvin. "You are sitting down on that couch so I can fix you up enough to get back to the safe house. Even if it may be compromised, that is where all my medical shit is."

"Alright, alright." Marvin makes a show of grumbling, but he sits down.

JJ laughs and sits down next to him. We'll have to clear all our stuff out, Henrik.

"Maybe you can call Soren for help," Schneep says teasingly.

"I can't believe you're on a name-sign basis with that guy," Jackie says.

He's a charming man.

"He was in prison, JJ."

So was I, that says nothing.

Jackie snorts and rolls his eyes. "Okay okay, you can fall for whoever you want, just be aware. I'm going to take a nap so I won't be able to say goodbye to you guys when you leave the house."

"Oh shit, right, I was editing," Chase says. "You guys use the space as long as you need."

It's not long before they all part.

#SITCV septicheroes #swap into the crystalverse #swapboys #alt anti #bro fantastic #swap magnificent #septicheroes #i remember during this i had that trigger for alt added cuz we defeated mag so fast XD #the septicheroes boys gave him a run for his money!!#tomorrow!! we go some place like- completely different ajghbak #im excited :3

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huffle-dork · 9 months

Text

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 11: SepticHeroes

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix

Read Swapboys | Read Septicheroes | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT | Septicheroes Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata

Jackie and Bro had been flying for a while. Jackie would never admit it, but he was starting to get tired. He settles down on the edge of a shingled roof for a moment and sighs, looking at the ground below. This is an area lined with shops. Lots of foot traffic. "Jameson used to live here, yknow," he says, pointing at one of the shops. "It was a family business. I mean, no one's taken over the building, but... sucks that he can't run it for now."

Bro touches down next to him and he looks tired as well. He shakes out his head and refluffs his hair under his hat. "Oh really? Why can't he work there now?"

Jackie sighs. "It's... complicated. I mentioned I was looking for a villain earlier. One we don't know anything about? Basically, he made JJ do some fucked-up stuff. Now the police and the League are after him so he and Schneep are hiding out. Oh yeah, did I mention they're cousins? I don't know if relationships are consistent across universes, since our Chase doesn't have a brother. Anyway. They're cousins here but neither of them can run the family business due to being, you know, wanted."

Bro's eyes widen. He shakes his head, "Yeah no.... our Schneep and jj- they're close but... not cousins."

Then, he gets a righteous look of fury in his eyes as he looks out. "...I get that. Magnificent did the same for my brother. Made him do fucked up shit. and Even though he was really disguised when he worked for him... Alt is convinced he needs to hide back home. He's afraid of getting caught... Even though it wasn't his fault! Mag tricked him- manipulated him... controlled him!" He grips his hands into fists. "... i don't get why- villains can just do that to someone...!"

Jackie lets out a huff of laughter. "Yeah... good and bad are complicated, but I know that hurting--manipulating--innocent people is terrible." He pauses. "Maybe your brother and JJ could talk about that stuff together. Maybe we can suggest that when we find him.”

"Heh... maybe- dunno how open he'd be about it though... he's a tough nut to crack. Our Dr. J knows that." Bro laughs.

Jackie pauses, squinting down at the street below. "Oh would you look at that. If that's what I think it is, it's perfect timing." He points at the street, where there's a flicker of green pixels on the sidewalk.

Bro blinks and looks down towards the street with a raised eyebrow.

In a fizzle of green blue pixels, Alt skids out onto the road and then heaves a bit, bending over his knees. "Goddamnit- why is this city so big??" Then, there's a shadow over him as Bro whoops and then divebombs his brother in a huge hug. "Alt!!"

Alt yelps in surprise and then pushes off of Bro and glitches away. "Jesus Christ Chase!" He acts mad for a second then slowly laughs. "You know for a flying hero- you're pretty tough to find-"

Jackie laughs as he sees Bro divebomb his apparent brother, a few pedestrians scattering to give him room to maneuver. They all look unsure at first, until Jackie flies down and starts making casual small talk with the pair. At which point they relax and go about their business... or stay to watch.

"You're pretty tough to find, too. Alt, right?" Jackie holds out a hand. "I'm Windstorm. No real names with all these people around, but you met some friends of mine so you should know it anyway, hahah."

Both the boys look a bit startled at the fact they just said each other's names out loud and look around at the apparent crowd they attracted. Alt hides in his jacket for a second, covering up his face. Then, he blinks and drops it to study Windstorm. He narrows his eyes and tries to think of who this reminds him of, before his eyes widen. Then he laughs, "No fucking way-" And he takes Jackie's hand to shake it. "Well, Windstorm, nice to meet ya!"

"Yeah!! Isn't it cool!!" Bro grins, stimming a bit. "Dude!! Heroes are apparently everywhere here! There's even a league!"

"Yeah i heard-" Alt laughs with a shake of his head.

Now Bro notices Alt's hair color and mask and he gasps, "Alt!! Whats with the costume change- is that a hero outfit??"

Alt immediately blushes- "N-No! No- i uh.. I'm just trying to you know- blend in! The others mentioned it might be good to..." He looks away, embarrassed but trying not to show it.

Jackie glances back and forth between them. Then smiles at Alt. "Well I think you look super cool, dude!...That was unintentional, I promise." He giggles. "Seriously though, you'd look right at home in a comic book. Right, Bro?"

"Hell yeah dude! It's awesome! We can totally make a cool uniform for you back at home too! If that's what you want!" Bro is bouncing on his feet with excitement.

Alt still looks sheepish but he laughs quietly and looks back at them. "I'll... think about it." But then he sighs, "... we can't get too comfy though, Bro. We need to try to find Magnificent before he gets someone around here seriously hurt." Alt looks back at Jackie, "... the others mentioned someone called uhhh" He quickly finger spells out the name M-A-R-V-I-N. "and i.... i think that could be Mag's target if i had to guess... do you know where he might be?"

"Oh shit, right, you guys gotta get home." Jackie had been so caught up in knowing new supers that he forgot they had to go back to their home dimension. "Uh--hang on, let's get to somewhere less crowded." He glances around. Most of the onlookers have moved on by now, so he turns to the shop he pointed out to Chase earlier. The sign reads Jackson Legacy Crafts. "Come on, in here." He takes a key out of his pocket, mutters "I knew I had that in there" and unlocks the front door.

Bro and Alt share a look and then nod, following Jackie inside.

"Jackson crafts huh...? Guessing JJ owns this-" Alt muses as he looks around.

"Yeah, I was just telling your brother about this place. JJ doesn't run it right now, I don't know if he told you about the situation with... why he's staying somewhere else, but suffice to say he can't right now."

Alt nods, "Yeah- they mentioned a bit about it. About that villain that can use tech and stuff. that super sucks..."

The interior of the shop is basically empty, floor collecting dust. The back wall is the only thing that gives any indication that it was once used. Framed family photographs--and one poster of a super called Timekeeper--decorate the wall behind the counter.

"Okay," Jackie says. "I promised Chase--my Chase--that I'd call him once we found you, keep him updated. Actually, I'll FaceTime him so he can see you guys." Jackie takes his phone out of his pocket, still talking. "Anyways, nice to meet you, Alt! That glitching thing you do is really cool, I love how it looks."

Alt blinks and then looks bashful again at Jackie's compliments but he does grin slightly. "Oh! Thanks! And you're- god, I can't believe you're Jackie...! our Jackie can do cool stuff but i think he'd break every bone in his body trying to be a superhero." He laughs and Bro can't help but join in, nodding. "Yeah- we used to be mates in uni- but i re-met him trying to save his neck doing a dangerous parkour move."

Jackie laughs. "God, I can see myself doing that. I really can. The only reason I haven't broken my neck doing stupid stunts is because I can fly. Hell, sometimes I still get hurt." As he talks, he dials Chase's number. It rings for a while. Then it picks up, showing Chase's face. "Hey bro, did you find one of the other guys?"

"Yoooou bet!" Jackie turns the phone so all three of the guys are in shot. "Look at us all!"

Alt grins and then glitches a bit before waving. "Hi! I'm Alt!" Bro grins and wraps an arm around Alt and then gives him a noogie, even as Alt tries to glitch to get him off.

Chase laughs. "Hey, nice to meet you! My brother in another universe, apparently. Hey, since the other-me got to meet him, here's Frosty." Frosty shoves his head into frame. "And also since he keeps trying to get on my lap.”

Alt smiles, “Aw cute!” He’s a lot better around dogs now then he used to be.

“Anyway. What're you guys gonna do now? You have some villain to find, right?"

"Yeah." Jackie nods and looks back at the brothers. "You guys know more about him than me, what d'you think he'll do?"

Alt’s eyes darken and he nods. “Yeah… knowing Mag- he’s either gonna try to find a crazy big power source to drain… or he’s gonna go after this universe’s version of him… and try to kill him. Or drain him- or both.”

“Why he got such a grudge against himself is beyond me.” Bro mutters.

Alt shrugs, “self esteem issues I guess. But- that’s what he’s been aiming to do for the last couple of worlds.” He looks back at Jackie. “That’s why I think we should probably find Marvin… make sure he’s okay. I’m really hoping Mag has stayed knocked out for while but… I know we’re not usually that lucky.”

"Marvin?" Jackie blinks. "We know a Marvin. I--you guys probably know that by now, I don't remember if I told you but maybe JJ and Schneep did. I, uh... don't know where Marvin is, though. He's never told us where he lives. Or what he does, mostly. He has some trust issues, to be honest--"

Alt raises an eyebrow at this but then shrugs, “I guess I get that…”

“You were kinda like that when we first met-“ Bro quips.

“Only cuz I was being used and controlled by a cat bitch every other day.” Alt deadpans back. Bro shuts up.

"Hang on, bro, the messenger's going again," Chase interrupts. If the guys listen closely, they can hear the sound of pen against paper.

"Really? Okay, maybe JJ and Schneep figured something out, then." Jackie looks back at the others. "While that's going on. What do you mean by drain?"

Alt meets Jackie’s eyes and hums, “well- in our world. He’s a dark magician- and dark magic is serious shit. People who use it constantly are always looking for more power- and Mag can steal that power from other magicians or… what you guys call super humans. Or if he’s desperate- even take the life force of someone… taking out all their energy until they’re just a husk and converts that into magic power.” Alt shudders at this before continuing. “…I don’t know if he even can though here… life force maybe but… magic? I’m not sure… that exists here- from what I’m hearing.”

“That doesn’t mean he won’t try though,” Bro adds darkly.

Alt nods. “Yeah he’s ridiculously stubborn… and is convinced he needs to drain power from every world he can get his claws on. Mad quest for power and knowledge- you know- classic villain shit.”

Jackie is silent, pale beneath his mask. On the other end, Chase is also silent. "What the fuck..." Jackie whispers. "That's... that's different than an absorber or copycat... Those guys can't kill anyone. That's... that's fucked up."

"Supremely fucked up," Chase agrees. "Uh... to change the subject really quick. The message is done." He holds up a note in front the screen, then puts it down before anyone can read it. "Marvin's at the safehouse. He's freaking out because... well what do you know?" Chase laughs darkly. "Because he had some encounter with a weird absorber who kind of looked like him."

"Shit," Jackie curses. "Is... is he alright?"

"Message doesn't say. And we can't just ask them, you know that."

Alt and Bro don’t reply but their expressions reflect their grim acceptance. Alt’s eyes glow with anger as he hears the description. “Yeah… that’s probably him.”

"We should get to the safehouse fast, then," Jackie says.

"Yep. I'll hang up now so you can do that. Good luck guys." And with that, Chase is gone.

"Okay. You two. This is going to sound a bit weird," Jackie says. "How good are you guys with tunnels?"

Alt seems a bit nervous about the tunnels, “uhhh… depends on if it’s narrow or not. I don’t do good in… tight spaces.”

“I can handle a tunnel, I think.” Bro responds.

"I don't think it's too narrow?" Jackie says. "It's about the size of one of those underground maintenance tunnels. If that doesn't sound good, you can teleport to the safe house where Schneep and JJ are, you know where it is. Bro, I'll definitely be taking you to the tunnel entrance. It looks like a sewer entrance through a manhole, but it's not. It's also not suspicious to see heroes going underground, so don't worry about that. For all anyone knows, we're tracking down some arms dealers down there. We're going to take it to the safe house."

Alt frowns and then sighs, “it’ll be fine- I gotta save up my glitches anyways…”

Bro wraps an arm around Alt and grins, giving Jackie a thumbs up. “Alright! Let’s do this then~”

"Okay." Jackie nods. "Stay close to me. I'll show you where it is. It might be a bit of a walk, so be prepared for that." And with that, he leaves the shop.

Alt grumbles, “yayyy walking.” Bro nudges him with an eye roll before dragging him after Jackie.

-----------

It is not normal hospital policy to let someone go immediately after the SDER department treats them. But Magnificent has his ways. He walks out only about forty-five minutes after being admitted. The burn pain has not faded entirely but it has significantly lessened.

Magnificent had convinced the doctors that he was healed enough to leave so he staggers out of the hospital, thinking of all the ways he’s ready to tear that orange masked kitten apart. Wounding him that much, humiliating him! He was going to pay in the most painful way possible. Now… he just had to find him. …but how?

He's barely out of the hospital car park when something floats out of an alleyway toward him. It's... a flying robot, like the one back in the office building. But slightly different. This one is larger, about soccer-ball-sized, and completely black. The camera in the center fixes on Magnificent's face. A ring around it spins, revealing a set of speakers. "Where did you come from?" a computerized voice asks... a voice that almost sounds like a robotic version of Alt's voice, like someone used samples for the voiceback.

Magnificent jumps slightly and then he narrows his eyes at the robot. He opens up a hand just in case he needs to summon some magic as he eyes it down. “…I could ask you the same thing. What are you?”

"This is merely a device for communication," the voice says. "Called a Semi-Autonomous Machine. The fact that you haven't heard of it is suspicious. As is the fact that you appeared out of nowhere in the East SepTech location.”

Magnificent chuckles and eyes the machine. “Well- very clever. I guess machines here are far more advanced than I had anticipated.”

“Your face is not registered anywhere. Or, it is, but that cannot be you, because Spitfire Cat was there in person with you. My only conclusion is that you either come from somewhere very isolated, or you are not from this world at all."

“Spitfire cat huh… well at least I have some kind of identifier now.” Mag crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow at the SAM. “So- your machines have caught me. But- you must have something else in mind for you to approach me outright. Who are you? And what do you want?”

"I prefer to remain anonymous," the voice says. "It has been my greatest strength so far. But if you must call me something, you may call me... Anti. I think that will suffice. As for what I want... I imagine you are planning to go after the man who burned you, are you not? I wish to lend my aid. It would be to my advantage if him--and others he associates with--were eliminated."

Magnificent’s eyes light up with mad glee. Ah… another Alt seeking his aid. How amusing… He smirks and shows off glowing eyes. “Is that so? Well then… I suppose we have a partnership then, Anti. Catch me up on what I need to know… and I can get rid of these pests for you.” Usually he’d ask for more in return- but the thought of revenge is too sweet to turn down. Besides… he’ll get his worth from this he’s sure.

The SAM's peripheral flicks like a tail. "There are four of them. Technically five, though the fifth is not a threat. You have already met Marvin Nedra, the Spitfire Cat, and his solid-heat energy that he forms into shapes and beams. The others are Chase Brody, who is but a normal human, Jackie Skye, who can fly and control air, Henrik von Schneeplestein, who can become invisible and intangible at will, and Jameson Jackson, who can produce strings to control other's bodies. Those last two are currently hiding somewhere I cannot find, some sort of safe house. Marvin is likely to head there as well after you absorbed his power. But if you wish, I can locate the other two easily. I've also armed this SAM with minor combat capabilities, if you require aid."

Mag can’t help but look impressed. “Your knowledge of your enemies is impressive, Anti. And very straight to the point.” He grins. “Send me to one of them and I can track down the other annoyances- I assure you. I’m sure my own are probably teaming up as we speak…”

A moment passes in silence. "Okay. I believe we should take out the weakest link. Chase is at the apartment building 88 Parker Street, in flat number 1010. If he is in danger, the others will come running. It kills time. The building is in that direction." The SAM's peripheral points down the street.

Magnificent chuckles darkly. “I like the way you think. Consider it done.” He sends a little cheeky salute at the SAM’s camera then starts to teleport down the path they indicated.

The SAM dips, like it's nodding its head. Anti says nothing as Mag disappears. The SAM merely rises into the sky and moves in that same direction.

-----------

There is a trapdoor in the hallway of the safe house. A knocking noise comes from it, and Schneep hurries over, opening it up. "I was wondering when you would get here," he says.

Jackie floats out of the trapdoor. There's a ladder, but he decides not to use it. "Sorry it took a while," he says. "But hey! We found these guys."

Bro follows Jackie’s lead and also floats out. Alt glitches up and then shakes himself out, grumbling. Bro laughs and then waves, “Hi guys! I’m Chase! Or Bro Fantastic~! Whichever you wanna use!” He beams.

Schneep jumps a little when Bro flies out, then laughs. “I see, I see. The resemblance is truly uncanny. Ah, Bro would probably be less confusing for me.”

Bro laughs and nods, "Fair enough!"

Alt half heartedly waves at Schneep. “Hey again-“

Schneep nods at Alt. “Good to see you again. I’m glad you found your brother.”

“Marvin is here, right?” Jackie says. “We need to ask him about the guy he ran into.”

“Yes, he and Jameson are in the living room.”

The group moves down the hall to the room in question. JJ is sitting on the sofa with a man in a white, orange, and red costume. He quickly puts his cat-shaped mask on when he sees Bro and Alt, but for a split second before, they saw his face, and it was familiar. “Whaaat the fuuuck…” He whispers upon seeing them.

Alt and Bro blink at the cat masked man and then Bro can't help but laugh, "Yeah that's a fair reaction!" He smiles, "Hi Marvin! I'm Bro Fantastic!"

"..m'Alt-" Alt mumbles then steps up, "Chase told us your message- can you tell us more about who attacked you?"

“Uhhhh… right.” Marvin is still clearly a bit weirded out by this, but he moves on. “Alright. I was in the East SepTech building—”

“Wait, what?” Jackie interrupts. “Why?”

“Becaaaause that McLoughlin guy is sketchy and you know it.”

“He is not. He’s just a bit weird.”

Alt and Bro exchange looks- wasn't McLoughlin Mag's former last name?

“I really don’t want to get into this with you right now,” Marvin says, looking like he very much wanted to get into it, “so I’ll just move on. Anyway. While I was looking around for… something, this guy appeared who… looked like me? If my face was all scarred up. He grabbed my wrist and… and I felt really terrible. Like my life was being sucked out of me. So I got out of there. I think I hit him with one of these on the way out, though.” He holds up his hand, and a small red ball of light appears, giving off a significant amount of heat. “A-anyway, he can teleport so I thought he’d follow me but I guess I hit him really good.”

Alt's expression darkens, "Yup... definitely Mag-" Then his eyes widen as he sees Marvin's power. "Oh woah-"

Bro laughs, delighted. "Oh! Sick power! I hope you made that motherfucker feel it~!"

Marvin gives a small little smile. “He really didn’t seem happy with what happened, I’ll tell you that much.” He curls his hand into a fist and the ball disappears. “JJ’s been filling me in on this whole multiverse thing. So that guy actually was me from another world, then?”

Alt slightly chuckles before nodding. "uh... yeah. His name is Magnificent. Formerly Marvin McLoughlin. Though- say that around him and he'll kill you. He's... bad news. And... if he knows you're this world's him... he's gonna try to go after you again... and probably do much worse than he already has."

“Not… happy to hear he’ll be back for me. Felt like shit after he did whatever… absorbing that was. But I’d be glad to give him a piece of my fucking mind.” Marvin replies.

"Yeah... he drains powers- or life forces if he's desperate... it's not fun... sorry he put you through that," Alt mutters.

“If we all look for him, we could overpower him, probably,” Jackie says. “Just through numbers alone.”

JJ frowns. You want me to help?

Jackie pauses. “Only if you want to, of course,” he says in a quieter voice.

“Bro, Alt, what are Magnificent’s powers?” Schneep asks. “We must be prepared if we are to help you confront him. Which, if he is looking for Marvin, we will eventually.”

Bro makes a thinking face, "uhhh what does Alt call it- freaking mind control bullshit-"

"Mental magic..." Alt sighs, "He can overpower the mind... hypnotism used to batter defenses- he can control you- turn you into puppets. Or.. if he has enough time... even turn you into a pet." He shudders, and in the dim light, the others can see Alt's eyes are almost reflective, like a cat's. "He can also summon other magic... fire usually- sometimes electricity. But, he'll aim to take someone down in his power first. Oh and- you saw, he can teleport, too."

JJ flinches when Alt mentions puppets, but he says nothing. And before either of the brothers can bring it up, Marvin says, “How many fucking powers did he absorb?”

“Marvin, no, he is not an absorber,” Schneep says. “Those are just his powers.”

Marvin blinks. “I’m sorry? What the fuck?”

“They are from different universes, the rules must be different there, I already had the breakdown you are going to have,” Schneep says tiredly. “Do not get me started on Alt’s technopathy and teleportation and fucking… spell circles.” He points at Bro. “I do not know what your powers are but I will bet they are just as confusing.”

Bro looks at Alt who just shrugs in response. “It might be a magic thing- magicians are close to being Jack-of-all-trades- some are expected to be even if they’re not made for it. Some specialize but… the circle likes a wide variety of powers under their belt.”

Bro thinks, “uhhh I think- I can kinda control the energy in my body- and I got an abundance of it! If I wanna run fast, I push it in my legs. If I wanna punch hard- I put into my fists! Flying… is kinda just something I’ve been able to do right away- but maybe it has something to do with that. Oh! And I can kinda use electricity and do like a cool electric bullet thing- but I hear it hurts like a bitch so I try not to use it too much.”

“Well in that case I guess the suggestion I was about to make about using Windstorm’s neutrinalin probably wouldn’t work,” Marvin says.

“I don’t want to use that anymore anyway,” Jackie says.

Alt hums, thinking. “…we’re still trying to figure out what we can use to stop him… usually- the rules of magic would stop him but he’s cheated the system. All I know is- Bro’s his biggest threat but we aren’t sure exactly why.”

“It’s cuz I’m a hero, duh! That’s just a law of the universe!” Bro laughs. Then the hero blinks, “What’s Neutrinalin?”

"Oh, it's a chemical that will muffle supers' powers when it's injected or consumed," Jackie says, sounding like he's quoting a textbook. "The League controls the making and distributing of it. I, uh... don't use it anymore because..." He glances at JJ and Schneep. "Well, uh... I didn't realize there could be... side effects. A-and even though the side effects don't appear for a while I... still don't... like to use it... after seeing them." He clears his throat. "Anyway, your powers are really cool, Bro. Sounds handy."

"I don't like this Magnificent's lack of weaknesses," Marvin mutters. "I mean... I probably could still blast his head off but--I mean, that's a last resort sort of thing."

Alt shudders, holding his arm. "I mean... that might could work but... he's also as hard to kill as a cockroach. and yeah- I dunno what will happen... if we did that." He looks anxious thinking about it.

"Also I don't kill, " Bro says with finality. "It's wrong. Magnificent has done awful things but... killing isn't the answer. Even if we don't have a name to his weakness.. it's something I can do- or Alt. Ive seen him able to neutralize Mag... he just doesn't get his powers as well yet."

"Not to mention we do not know what will happen to Bro and Alt's universe if all three of them do not return," Schneep says. "It may cause problems."

🎶 Dadada da dadada da dadada daa daa 🎶 Jackie jumps, surprised, then slowly settles back down to the ground and takes out his phone. "Uh... sorry..."

"You brought a phone here?!" Marvin gapes at him. "Did you not listen to Kanchana's safe house rules at all?!"

"Hey, there was no time to drop it off, I was concerned about you, dickwad!"

"Well thank you, prick."

Don't worry, they're not actually that mad, JJ says to Bro and Alt.

Bro smirks a bit, "Yeah no i get it- me and Alt bicker like that all the time."

Alt looks at Jackie, "...who'd be calling you here...?" for some reason, dread is starting to bloom in his gut. He has a bad feeling....

"It's Chase," Jackie says. "Which is weird, because he knows he shouldn't call me at the safe house." He pauses, also feeling that same bad feeling Alt has.

"Well... maybe it's an emergency." He picks up the call.

#SITCV Septicheroes #Swap into the crystalverse #septicheroes #swap magnificent #alt anti #bro fantastic #swapboys #im saddd tumblr wont let me do the chat text for anti >:C #it looks so cool in my google doc

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huffle-dork · 9 months

Text

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 10: SepticHeroes

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix

Read Swapboys | Read Septicheroes | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata

For the third time, Alt falls through nothing and ends up in a different dimension. And for the second time, he is immediately met with a, shall we say, intense reaction. He blinks into existence in a living room. Probably the most generic living room possible, with white wallpaper and furniture that looks like it could be from a store showroom. It's empty at first, but just a second later he hears a gasp from behind him. Before he can turn around someone grabs him and holds a knife close to--but not quite up to--his throat. "How did you find this place?" a voice asks--no, demands.

Alt jolts and quickly glitches out of the hold and in front of the figure to get a good look at them- but he holds up his hands in a gesture of peace. “Woulddd you believe if I told you I just jumped from another universe or-?”

The figure is wearing something--weird. It's like the color of the fabric is constantly shifting to match what's behind it, making it hard to discern any details of the outfit or the man's build. The man also quickly pulls a cloth mask over his face, hiding everything but his brown hair and bright blue eyes. He laughs, keeping the switchblade pointed at Alt. "What proof do you have? I may consider it," he drawls, mostly sarcastic.

Alt blinks a bit and lets his body fizzle and pop with glitches. “…did the glitching not do it for you? Cuz I can do it again-“

"All that proves is you are a super," the man says. "Not where you came from. Stop making up stories. Tell me who told you about this place."

Alt looks very confused, “a… super?” He backs up some, “Listen dude, I dunno where this place is cuz it’s clearly not home like I was hoping. I just pressed a button on this thing and ended up here!” He briefly pulls out the TRVLR to flash it at the man before putting it back away.

Footsteps. The man stiffens and turns towards a hallway entrance. "Jamie, nein! Bleib sicher! Hier ist ein Mann, er hat sich direkt hineinteleportiert." The footsteps stop. They sound like they're just out of sight.

Alt stiffens too as he shouts out in German. Oh- okay.

“Here I have proof. Your name is Henrik, right?”

The man stiffens, and turns back to him. "How do you know that? And what is that?" He reaches out and--somehow--manages to take the TRVLR out of Alt's pocket without even reaching in through the opening.

Alt jumps as he suddenly has the TRVLR, “Hey what the hell!? Fucking- careful with that!”

"Fascinating." He turns it over in his hands. "I do not recognize this style. Smooth, but also a block. It is definitely not SepTech. And I do not think there is a tech like this in the underground." He glances back at Alt. "Either this is something made by a new coming villain who you work for... or you are telling the truth. But do you have anything more?"

Alt stiffens at the accusation and his eyes flash green as he snarls. “I don’t work for villains. …not anymore. Also- the fuck is Septech??” He takes another breath and then glances at the doorway he heard the footsteps from.

“Okay. More proof- the man you told to stop. He’s Jameson Jackson. Am I right, Schneeplestein?”

Alt sees the man--Henrik, as he so correctly guessed--tighten his grip on the device. "Knowing our names does not prove as much as you think," he says slowly. Then he laughs. "It is fun, your attitude to villains and genuine question about SepTech proves more. Here." He hands the TRVLR back to Alt.

Alt blinks and looks surprised to be handed the TRVLR back. He takes it and pockets it before glitching a bit farther back, watching him warily.

Then Henrik turns to the hallway entrance. "What do you think?" A man steps into view. As Alt expected, the face (and mustache) give away that it is Jameson Jackson. He's wearing what looks like an oversized T-shirt and pajama pants with socks. Clearly, not expecting to go anywhere.

He seems genuine, JJ signs.

"Do you want to...check?" Schneep trails off.

JJ quickly shakes his head. I told you, we're not doing that. I'M not doing that.

"Okay, okay."

“…what do you mean, check?” Alt asks with a raised eyebrow.

Schneep pulls his mask down and presses a hand to his lapel. The strange shifting color of the outfit disappears, settling into shades of purple.

All of Alt’s questions disappear as he watches Schneep’s outfit change. “Woahhh what the fuck?? That’s sick as hell! Is that like- real time camouflage??”

Schneep avoids the question about ‘checking’ and chuckles when Alt is surprised. “Maybe you really are from another world if you are a super who hasn’t heard of chameleon cloth,” he mutters. "Who are you, then?" he asks, giving Alt a once-over.

Alt coughs back some of his excitement and sticks his hands in his pockets. “M’name’s Alt Brody. I’m a magician/rookie crime fighter from another universe- a parallel one. Cuz I have friends who look just like you- and I’ve met so many others now… but- I dunno where I am now. Some place with rad future tech- cuz last I checked we don’t have stuff that does that.” He gestures back at Schneep’s outfit. “…or how you just reached into my pocket- but… that could be magic so?” He shrugs.

He and JJ go quiet as Alt explains who he is. They both have a visible reaction to his name, with Schneep narrowing his eyes and JJ raising an eyebrow. When he’s done, they look at each other.

I have never heard magic mentioned so much out of the context of stage shows and stories, JJ says

“Yes, that is strange, isn’t it?” Schneep says. He looks at Alt and smiles. “I am flattered that you think it was magic, it means I am very good with my powers. Look.” He leans over and sticks his hand inside the sofa. Inside. Passing through it like it’s not there at all. “This is what I can do. I can become intangible, like a ghost. And I can make small objects the same.” He pulls his hand back out.

Alt’s eyes widen and he glitches closer to look at what Schneep’s doing. “Woahhh-“ But then he backs up and shakes his head and hands, “wait wait okay- you guys keep saying ‘supers’! Like- like supernaturals or… or superheroes?”

Schneep bursts into laughter. JJ doesn’t make a sound but he smiles wide, finding whatever Alt just said funny as well.

“Supernatural!” Schneep wheezes. “Alright, I am convinced. No one is that good an actor.” He collects himself, then puts his knife away, flipping it closed and sliding it into a pocket on his leg. “Yes, like superheroes. And supervillains. The catch term is superhuman but that is so long that it is shortened to just super.” He gestures to JJ and himself. “We are supers. You would be called one too, with your teleporting glitch powers.”

Alt’s mouth falls open and he looks between the two with wide eyes, “…Both of you?? JJ too?” Alt slowly makes a face, “…man- Chase is gonna love it here….”

The lighthearted mood suddenly sobers up.

I do, JJ signs slowly. But I don’t like to use them anymore. I must be honest, I’ve done some terrible things.

“It was not your fault, Jamie,” Schneep insists.

I would argue it was, but this is not the time to discuss it.

Alt’s expression seems to soften, though he seems confused- that a person so closely resembling Dr. J… would ever do terrible things. “…I… I get that.”

JJ looks at Alt. You mentioned Chase just now. Do you have one too? Are you related?

Alt messes with his hair and nods, “Yeah- Chase, my Chase. He’s my older brother… and he’s a hero in my world. Calls himself ‘Bro Fantastic’ ” Alt raises an eyebrow at them, “…is your Chase a hero too?”

Schneep gives him a small smile. "I think it is the opposite here. Chase is the only one of our little group who has no powers."

He is a hero in our hearts, JJ says fondly.

Alt seems surprised by this. I mean- he’s known Chase with and without powers- but now his powers were just as much a part of Bro as Alt’s glitching was.

"He also does not have any family. Definitely not a brother, that would have shown up in his records." Schneep sighs, a bit sad. "We have two others who are close. Jackie Skye and Marvin Nedra. Perhaps you have them in your world, too."

Alt hums, “Close as in friends or- wait they have powers too then??”

"Yes, close as in friends... in Jackie's case. Marvin is a newer addition."

He can be a bit of an ass, but his heart's in the right place, JJ adds. And he's very powerful.

Alt’s flabbergasted again. His Jackie would be so fucking jealous. And even though Jackie Mann was a good fighter and parkourist… he was wayyyy too clumsy to ever be a hero. He frowns at the mention of Marvin. Hm- a powered Mag already means they’re in trouble but… Mag hasn’t been able to drain Chase as far as he remembers…

Hold on a tick, is YOUR Chase here? JJ asks. Your brother? In this universe? Or is it just you?

Alt blinks at JJ’s question and then nods, “Yeah he’s here- I don’t know where but he jumped with me. And… someone else too. A villain named Magnificent.”

"Sounds like a fucking drama queen," Schneep mutters, and JJ laughs silently.

Alt bursts into giggles, “You’re not far off-“

But back to your brother and that villain. JJ makes a big show of looking around the living room. I'm guessing you don't appear in the same place.

The glitch shakes his head. “No I… I don’t know why but when we jump- we end up separated. I guess- it’s the multiverse pulling us towards related people? I haven’t figured it quite out yet…” he sighs, “but that usually means I need to find Chase hopefully before Mag does anything… he’s the reason we’re even entering these other worlds. He’s a power hungry maniac looking for new unique magic- or I guess in this place.. power. And then trying to crush versions of himself. Because he’s crazy.”

"We can let Jackie know to keep a lookout for those two, if you would like," Schneep offers. "We cannot guarantee he'll find them. And we probably will not know if he does." He pauses, pursing his lips. "The two of us are a bit... off-the-grid right now. For a couple reasons. We can get messages out, but we have no phones or computers here to get an instant reply."

Alt blinks and then laughs a little, shaking his head. “man- you make Jackie sound like he’s a leader or something.”

"It is funny you say Jackie is a leader." Schneep laughs. "He would deny it, but he is the only Hero in the group. Ah, Hero as an official term, indicating someone who is a member of the League. He can go out without suspicion. That means we have to default to him for a couple things. Such as looking for people like your brother and... Magnificent." He rolls his eyes at the name.

Alt nods slowly, “okay… huh- heroes being commonplace is blowing my mind a bit… Chase- Ah, Bro. He told me he’s lucky now the police work with him but he… he had to work a while to get them to accept him….”

Then he frowns and tilts his head, “You said you’re off the grid…? No phones or computers? God that sounds like a nightmare- what gotcha guys hiding out?”

Schneep hisses, inhaling sharply through his teeth. "A couple things." He glances at JJ. "Do you want to tell or should I?"

I will, JJ says. For one, do you remember those terrible things I mentioned? Well, we are now hiding from the police because of that. And the League of Heroes, who are sort of... an organization of superheroes. And then there is... someone. JJ pauses.

Alt knits his eyebrows in something close to sympathy. He remembers being in hiding for a while after he stopped being Impulse… “…superheroes are so common here they have a whole organization?? Huh… kinda like the magic circle then i guess…” he muses.

We don't know anything about them, but we know they are probably a-- he makes an unfamiliar sign, like he's typing on a computer and then pressing both hands against his temples.

"Ah, wait, if you are from another universe, you would not know what that is," Schneep says. "A technopath is a super who can control technology. Whoever is after us now can use cameras and the Internet to spy on us. Therefore, none of that."

We did consider getting an old flip phone or a landline, but calls can still be traced, JJ says.

Alt’s eyes widen as Schneep explains the unfamiliar term. “…a technopath…? Is that what it’s called…?” Alt slowly reaches into his pocket and then pulls out his phone. He opens up his palm and then the phone starts to float- then in a quick fizzle of static and green blue magic, the phone gets taken apart and then reassembled. Then, while it’s still floating- Alt glitches into phone, completely disappearing for a second before glitching back out and then catching the phone as it drops out of the magic. He looks a bit sheepish but he answers quietly. “I guess… I’m kinda that…? Never had a word for it… but I can’t like- use the internet or anything- I just… exist in the circuitry. Electric… powers and stuff.”

The two of them gasp as they see Alt disassemble the phone and then disappear into it. "What?!" Schneep gasps. "You can teleport and you are a technopath?!"

Oh, oh, I understand, it's like he is made of electricity! JJ says.

"Ahhh, okay, that makes more sense." Schneep nods, understanding.”"Well, it sounds more strange to us to hear about a world where supers are rare. There will be at least one in every town--and you get a lot in a big city like where we are now.”

Alt finds himself blushing, “…I mean- I can do… lots of things. But electric stuff is… easier. Think it’s cuz my magic is like- a current of electricity in my blood or something…” He messes with his hair self consciously. “I can… glitch, and use sound waves, and electricity. And tech stuff- but that’s… just what comes easiest to me. Other things I need help with like- spells or circles or…” He seems almost embarrassed that he can’t do more.

"How can you do so many different things?!" It looks like Alt just listing his powers is breaking Schneep's brain. "They are--they are different?"

You can two two different things, Henrik, JJ points out.

"No, mine are related, I have the ghost powers," Schneep says. "And spell circles? Spell circles?! You can do things with technology and spell circles?!"

Don't mind my cousin losing his mind, JJ says to Alt. It's just... so many unrelated things is not... possible here.

Alt blinks at Schneep's mind being blown and then can't help but laugh. "Oh! Well... where I'm from- the fact that I have magic makes me a magician- but I got my powers really late in life... I could glitch for a long time but I had no idea I could use electricity or even use magic at all! But... people who know magic- they know like... basic spells for lots of different things. Like how to heal or summon fire, or turn into animals... whichicankindadobutthat'salongstory." He coughs and then waves his hand, "Point is... im- kinda stunted magically... so... I should be... able to do more but I'm... I'm still learning..."

Alt sighs, “I guess… it might be good for me to just get out there and look- how off the grid are we right now?”

“... well." Schneep walks over to the window, which has its curtains drawn, and throws it open for a moment. Outside is a sunny day in the middle of a suburb. Taller skyscrapers are visible in the distance. "Not too much."

I still say it is foolish to stay in the city, JJ says.

"People never suspect that we would come back here," Schneep says defensively, quickly closing the curtains again. "And we came in through that secret passage so they never saw us inside here. It also makes it easier to contact Chase and Jackie and Marvin. But, yes, no internet devices of any kind. We cannot leave without covering our faces, but you should be okay to, you look different enough."

Alt blinks at the sight of the city in the distance. He thinks. “…I wouldn’t want to draw attention to you two though… if you’re trying to hide.” He fidgets with his phone and then looks at something on it. “…would disguising myself like… like a hero- would that help? I wouldn’t want to you know- get arrested for using magic or whatever-“

You wouldn't get arrested simply for using powers, you would need to cause trouble with them. But most heroes and villains do have masks and secret identities, it WOULD be strange for someone unmasked to be using powers. If you have a mask you can use, it would help.

Alt hums in thought and looks back at his phone. He blushes a bit and then mutters, "Chase is never gonna let me live this down..." Then, he sighs and summons some blue magic and waves it over his face. A red mask that looks like its made of paint blooms around Alt's eyes and the ends of his hair turns a bright green and blue like it's covered in glowing paint. He looks sheepishly at the others and then looks away. "... ive been wanting to help my brother back at home and... I've been thinking of a costume... I just need a face mask but... i-I haven't even shown Chase yet..."

Schneep gives up on thinking about how impossible Alt’s powers are and smiles supportively at his appearance changing. “I think it looks quite nice! You have a very clear sense of style.”

If your Chase is like our Chase, he’ll love it, JJ says. And if he’s a good brother he’ll be supportive.

Schneep nods and puts a hand on JJ’s shoulder. “We will still tell Jackie about all this, it would be better to have help in this big city. Good luck yourself.”

Alt slowly smiles through his reddening cheeks and nods, “Thanks…” He takes a deep breath and stands up taller, trying to channel his brother in his mind. “Alright well… it was nice to meet you too. Good luck out here… I hope things get better for you.” He then gives a tiny two finger salute before glitching away, making his way towards the city.

"Goodbye!" Schneep says.

And thank you, JJ adds, just before Alt disappears.

Schneep sighs. "This has been very strange. I hope we did not make a mistake."

I doubt so. JJ shrugs. I'll contact the others now.

-----------

Bro falls through darkness for a split second--and then keeps falling. And falling. He is in midair above a city scape, passing by skyscrapers, the asphalt street getting closer with every second--

Bro blinks open his eyes and is met with wind strong enough to make them water. But, he knows this feeling well enough. He grins and then pushes to fall faster for a second before pulling up and flying back up into the air, doing a couple twists. He giggles as he rights himself in the air and then adjusts his cap as he observes the city. "Well- that was new! Good to get back in the air though~" He says as he starts to shrug off his jacket and tie it around his waist. It was way warmer here already so he quickly pulls off little Chase’s jumper. Then, he fumbles to try to slip his jacket back on and wrap the jumper around him as he looks at the city below. He instantly recognizes this isn't Brighton- he knew his city now like the back of his hand. He sighs and shakes his head. "Wrong again- bummer but- least I didn't scare the shit out of anyone this time-"

As soon as he says that, a voice shouts "Hey!" When Bro turns to the side he sees a man... also flying. He's wearing a red and blue suit, and has a mask with white glass covering his eyes. The man stops a few feet away from Bro. "Oh you're fine," he says. Bro startles and then stares at the other man with wide but excited eyes. "Oh my god! You're a hero too! omgggg how cool!! I mean Volt was one but! Its been a hot second!"

"You were falling there so I thought--WAIT YOU'RE INJURED--No, no, wrong again, you just have a rip in your shirt, sorry." The man laughs.

Bro blinks and looks down at his shirt then laughs, "Oh yeah i keep forgetting about that- such a bummer... this was a prototype!" He pouts.

"What're you doing here? Anything I can help with? I don't recognize you." The man looks Bro up and down. Bro sees surprise behind the mask once he gets a good look at Bro's face. "Uh... yeah. I-I don't. Always cool to meet another flyer, though."

Bro blinks and adjusts himself in the air, and gives Jackie a raised eyebrow. He smirks slightly, "You're not a very good liar, fellow hero bro~!" He laughs, Then he pauses and feels his face before cursing and fishing out his mask to put it back on, his hair flaring to bright yellow green. "Though ha- I don't really look like a hero without my mask on!" He laughs. "Anyways uhhh what im doing here is kinda a long story- you on a patrol or something?"

The man laughs. "Am I not? Shit. Sorry, you just look like someone I know. Anyway yeah, I'm out of patrol. I don't know if you've ever heard of me, but I'm Windstorm. I mean, if you're with the League they'd have to let you know about me when you came into the city, but they didn't tell me about you so I'm guessing you're still freelance?"

Bro grins, "Sick name! I'm Bro Fantastic- though... sounds kinda silly next to your name." He says with a blush, messing with his hair. Bro then blinks rapidly, "... the league? huh- I've never heard of them... that sounds so official- wait... are heroes like a regular government thing here?" he says, his eyes sparkling like the nerd he is.

Windstorm looks confused. "What d'you mean you've never heard of the League? I mean, I know there are some places they don't reach but... I mean, I don't want to assume, but you don't look or sound like you'd be from there. And they're not... government..." His voice drops to a mutter, "As much as they pretend to be."He looks down at the street below. "Hmm. Pedestrians are looking. You wanna land to talk or are you good to hover? In my experience it's harder to talk while actively flying."

"Oh and uh- it's whatever you want! I can talk and fly, s'no issue. I do it without meaning to sometimes, actually." Bro laughs.

"Haha yeah, I do that too sometimes, but for extended periods I need to concentrate so let's put down somewhere." Windstorm scans the area. "There, they have a flat roof." He points at a building not too far away. "Follow me," he says, and flies off.

Bro blinks in confusion, knitting his eyebrows together. But when Windstorm says to follow him, he nods and follows right behind him. When they get to the roof, Bro drops out of the sky and does a tiny nose dive before slowing down at the last second before he does a cool parkour roll onto the roof and jumps back up to his feet. He laughs and whoops, "God! I've been holding back in these last couple jumps goddd it feels good to do shit again without worrying~!" He turns back around towards Windstorm and crosses his arms behind his head, grinning like a dork.

Windstorm laughs. "You got some fancy moves, man. Must've had a lot of practice." Then Bro's words register and he looks confused. "Jumps? That sounds like... like you're teleporting places. Or, being teleported. Is that it?"

Bro beams, looking proud of himself. He- feels like such a fuck up sometimes back at home but- this is awesome already. Seeing other heroes. Then he blinks and nods, putting his hands in his pockets. "Uh- kinda. It's... a bit more complicated and...you might think im insane but- if this is a world where supers have an entire league then... maybe not."

He braces himself and then looks back at Windstorm, "I'm... from a parallel universe. Me and my brother have been tracking down a villain from our world whos trying to hop to other dimensions for power. And- other shit i think. I think Alt gets that better than i do. I just know he's crazy and... dangerous. Anyways- we've been trying to get home with this guy- but we keep ending up in the wrong universe- cuz i guess we're supposed to know our universe's zip code to travel to it?" He tries to laugh and shakes his head. "It's... confusing. Honestly, im just glad im here to keep my brother and innocents safe from Magnificent."

Windstorm blinks, processing all this. Then a slow grin spreads over his face. "You mean it's real?" he says. "Other universes, travel between worlds?! I-I thought the comics about Heroes having adventures in other worlds were exaggerations! If not completely made up for the press, but it's real?!"

Bro's entire expression lights up and he stims a bit, giving off some sparks of blue energy as he nods, "Yeah! It's real dude!! Ive been to like- god... 4 now?? no- 5! It's... it's insane- but really cool."

The wind around them on the roof seems to pick up a little. "Oh I should've guessed! That's why you look so much like Chase! I mean, I guess you could be a shapeshifter but that wouldn't explain the flying--wait, are you Chase? Chase Brody from another universe?!"

Bro laughs as he feels the wind pick up and then grins wide and does a little dance, "Yes! That's me!! i-I guess you're friends with this world's chase then!" He then makes a thinking face, "My brother technically can shapeshift but uh- that's a sore spot for him..." He shakes his head and can't help but stim more. "Dude!! It's so nice to have someone who gets it like right away!! This is AWESOME!!"

Windstorm giggles excitedly. "Dude, this is so exciting! God, you must've seen so much. Yeah, Chase is my roommate. I don't think he has a brother, and he definitely doesn't have powers like you, but you're for sure the same guy. Do you--I probably shouldn't give away my secret identity to some guy, but I already gave the roommate bit away so let's go all in--Do you know a Jackie where you come from? Jackie Skye? Cause that's me!" He wiggles his fingers, stimming.

Chase's smile lights up even more and he zips over to Windstorm and grabs his hands, sparks practically coming off of him. "You're Jackie?! Oh my god! Oh my god- my Jackie- he's Jackie Mann actually but!! He's my best friend!! And he's the biggest hero nerd I know oh my god he would die knowing I met a hero version of him! But- you- you have to be like my Jackie!! That's why we're just like like-" He lets go and makes rapid pointing motions between the two of them, "clicking so well! Dude!! This is soooo cool!!"

"Yeah I clicked so well with Chase when I moved in! I could actually introduce you to him if you want we're not too far from where I live--ah, but I probably shouldn't take you inside, that's probably going a bit too far with the identity thing." He laughs. "He'd love you, dude!" Chase grins, "He sounds like a chill dude! I'd love to meet him!"

Then Windstorm shakes his head. "Okay. Okay. Serious time now. This is great, but, uh, what was it you said? There's some villain who came with you, and... your brother? My Chase doesn't have a brother. Probably, he might've forgotten--that's a long story, don't ask me about it now. The point is. Villain. What was it? Mag... Magna... Magnificent?"

Bro calms down too and nods, trying to get back to business. "Yeah Yeah right- my brother... his name is Alt. He's- he's magic. I dunno if you guys have that too but- if you see someone like- zipping around but he looks like he's straight out of a computer game? That's him. Anddd yeah- Magnificent... he's an evil magician looking to gain power from the worlds he visits... I dunno what's he's gonna try to find here but... it won't be good most likely. So... god- I guess i better get moving to find them..." He sighs loudly. "Mannn! I wanna vibe just for second! Why does Mag gotta be such a douche!!"

Jackie shakes his head. "Villains suck sometimes don't they? I, uh... don't think we have magic here. Well, no one knows where superpowers come from, or why some people just have them but others have to gain them. I guess that could be magic? Hmm" He pauses, thinking. "I haven't seen anyone who looks like a computer game around. And I've never met an Alt in this world to compare him to.”

Bro laughs a bit, "Yeah... you probably wouldn't know him as Alt if he has a counterpart here- he likes Alt better but it seems like in most other worlds he's known as Anti." Bro shakes his head laughing, "Alt says that all the time! That powers and magic are the same but! I don't get it cuz they feel different to me! But he says its all just energy we can utilize and shit like that-" He rolls his eyes, "He started becoming such a know-it-all once he started learning magic better, I swear."

“He would've just got here? Well, we can look around together, if you want? I know the city really well." He laughs. "You probably get it, you get really familiar with your city."

Bro brightens up as Jackie offers to help him look, "Oh yeah! That'd be great! Alt is easy to spot once you know what you're looking for! Just a bright green blue blip of light and like- the sound of glitching. An extra pair of eyes would be super helpful!"

"Glitching? So he really is like computer stuff." Jackie chuckles. "I've never met anyone called Anti, but it's always possible I will eventually." He pauses. "Maybe that's who... well, I've been looking for a villain recently, a technopath. We can't find anything about them, maybe they're this Anti guy? Like...Anti-Virus or something, that'd be a cool super name." He shakes his head. "Nevermind. Priorities. Okay, we can fly around, sounds like we'll need to be closer to the surface." He steps back off the edge of the roof, the air catching him. "Coming?"

Bro can't help but be relieved. So far the Antis they've met besides Anti Mcloughlin had been bad news. He almost expected Jackie to react badly to hearing Alt's name but he's glad they don't have to worry about that for now. "A technopath? Huh- no but wait Anti-Virus is a metal as fuck name!! Dude- wonder if Alt should use that," He laughs. Bro blinks as Jackie steps back off the roof then he grins and runs to take off next to him. "Yeah! Let's go!"

"Whoo!" Jackie grins--it feels good to have someone to fly with, he's never had that before. "Come on, we'll go down Wonder to start with."

But they're not flying for long before-- 🎶 Dadada da dadada da dadada daa daa 🎶

"Ah fuck, hang on, man." Jackie stops midair. He looks around, then flies over to a nearby building and stands on the stone decorations sticking out from the facade. He pulls a phone out of a pouch on his belt and presses a button, not minding his gloves or his precarious position or the chance of dropping the phone. "Hey, Chase!" he says, laughing. "This is both the worst and best time to FaceTime."

Bro blinks in confusion and follows after Jackie. When he hears who it is, he grins mischievously and then pops up behind Jackie, floating upside down over his shoulder and waves. "HELLOOOO OTHER ME!!"

"Whoa what the fuck?!" The screen jolts as someone seemingly drops the phone on the other end. Then it recovers, and Bro sees a version of himself with brown, slightly longer hair. "Who the hell is that?!"

Jackie laughs. "That's you from another dimension!"

"Oh. Oh! Okay, this message makes a lot more sense now." The phone is placed on a flat surface, giving a wider view of Chase... and the dog who is peeking over the surface. Bro laughs, very pleased with that reaction. He rights himself to float over Jackie's shoulder as he listens. He awws when he sees the dog and whispers, "Omg pubby-"

"Message? From JJ?" Jackie asks.

"Yep." Chase holds something in view of the camera. It's a small wooden doll, like something an artist would use to reference poses. Except one arm has a yellow string wrapped around it, and the other ends in a wooden ring that holds a pen. "Crazy to see this little guy just moving out of nowhere." He puts the doll out of view again. "Anyway, it wrote something about a guy from another universe popping into the safe house. Something about glitches? The handwriting isn't the greatest. Apparently they went out to look for you and their brother."

Bro brightens up and grins, "Hey! That's my brother! They definitely met Alt!"

"Oh! Okay so that's you." Chase looks surprised. "Do I have a brother, then?"

"That probably would've come up in your records," Jackie says.

"True." Chase sighs, but then quickly recovers. "Oh, Frosty's in frame? Hang on, lemme show you a better look at him." He grabs the phone and flips the camera around, filming a very cute Samoyed sitting next to him. "This is Frosty, other me. He's my good good boy. Aren't you?" He reaches out and gives Frosty some pets on the head. Frosty enjoys it very much, shifting position slightly. Now Bro can see the harness, with the words --"rvice Dog Do Not P"-- printed down the side. "We just got back from our walk."

Bro awwws even more, leaning in, "Oh my god!! Frostyyy hi! What a good boy! Oh! And he's a service dog!! My friend Henrik has one too! Her name is Sahne and she's the best!"

Chase blinks, surprised. Then he laughs. "Henrik? Like, Henrik von Schneeplestein? What is this, reversed life? He's my doctor. Or, uh, was, shit's been complicated recently. Tell your Henrik that his dog sounds cute. Sahne must be German but I don't remember if I've heard it before."

Bro laughs, "yeah i think we're all swapped around or something! My schneep is an actor! Oh and deaf- and Sahne means cream!"

"Thanks for letting me know about the message, by the way," Jackie says. "I'll stop by the safehouse next chance I get to check on them."

"No problem." Chase nods. "Well. I can see you're on a building, so I'll head out. You have got to bring other-me round so we can see each other in person."

"I can talk to you on a building!" Jackie protests. "Without dropping your phone? I don't want to be responsible for that, haha. Besides, we should keep this short anyway, in case it attracts, you know, attention."

"Right." Jackie nods. "We're going to look for other-you's brother and this villain that showed up with them. I'll call you or stop by the apartment to update you when needed." "Thanks, bro. And hey, nice meeting you, other-me." Chase laughs. "Even if it's fucking bizarre. Bye."

"Yeah it's weird but cool! Hope we can meet up soon, other-me!"

"Bye." Jackie says.

After the call ends, Bro grins, "He's neat. I like him- and he has a cute dog so extra bonus points! Man i want a doggg but we have Glitches- ... she gets along fine with Sahne though hmmmm"

"Glitches? If it's not a dog, I'm guessing that's a cat, then." Jackie laughs. "Cats are nice. Usually." He pauses. "I was going to make a joke about a cat that's not very friendly, but you don't have the context. Basically, there's a guy I know who's a super who has a cat theme. And he's sometimes an asshole. Pretend I made a funny joke." He pockets the phone and steps back into the air. Bro snickers, "Nah I get it- that's exactly like my brother~ He's a prickly asshole sometimes too. But fun to make fun of~"

"Schneep as an actor, huh...? Can't picture it. Can't picture any of us as actors, really... though I guess JJ can be alright. I didn't know they had service dogs for deaf people. The more you know." Jackie continues.

The other hero beams, getting to talk about his friends. "Yeah! Schneep is great- he's a big ol' goof ball- ray of sunshine kinda guy! And i didnt know they had hearing dogs till I met him either! It's pretty cool~"

"Aw, he sounds great!" Jackie grins. "Maybe our Schneeps can meet each other one day, that'll be a sight to see. The Schneep I know is kinda grumpy but he really cares. And he hangs out with Chase, who is a great ray of sunshine if you ask me, so clearly he gets along with the sunshines."

"Yeah! Dude, If we can figure this shit out my Jackie neeeds to meet you!"

Jackie stretches. "Anyway. Let's see if we can find your brother. I'd like to meet him."

Bro laughs and stretches as well and nods, "yeah! Let's rock it~!"

"Alright! Here we go!" Jackie grins and zooms off.

Bro beams and laughs and he races after Jackie.

-----------

Magnificent appears in some sort of office space, the sort lined with boring cubicles and desks. The lights are off, the blinds are drawn, and there are no computers or decorations on the desks. Clearly, this place hasn't been used for a while. He lies there for a couple minutes before regaining consciousness.

Magnificent groans as he’s brought back painfully into wakefulness. He sits up stiffly and clutches at his bruised face- then clutches at his injured hand as it buckles trying to keep him up. “Fucking brat!” He growls to himself as he struggles up to his feet and lights a green flame in his hand. “Hm… now where have I been brought to now…?”

There is nothing especially unusual about the unused office. But the door is slightly ajar, light pouring in from a hallway beyond. There are... footsteps? It's hard to tell, they're light, like someone is being carefully quiet.

Magnificent stiffens, and-not wanting to run into more trouble, teleports to hide behind some of the desks. He extinguishes the flames and settles in to listen.

A moment passes. Then the door slowly creaks open. A thin beam of red light shoots from the doorway to a camera hanging in the corner of the room. Then a man slips into the room. He's wearing a red, orange, and white costume, with a black cape and belt...and a cat-shaped mask. He glances around, then goes for the nearest desk and starts checking drawers. "Of fucking course not," he mutters to himself.

Magnificent sends out some of his magic to see who had entered and... is confused by what he sees. But, he recognizes the cat mask and he smirks. He teleports behind the man and chuckles darkly, "Well well... what do we have here?"

"Motherfuck--!" The man slams the drawer shut and spins around, raising his hands. Orange light appears before him, forming a shield. He glances over Magnificent. "Who the fuck are you supposed to be?! Why are you here?"

Magnificent grins sinisterly and prowls around the man with a purred chuckle. "Well~! What a unique power you have, kitten! Who are you supposed to be, hm?"

"Wha--That's what I just asked you!" The man eyes him warily.

"Oh forgive me then- sometimes I tune out the words of little worms who don't matter~" The mad magician laughs smoothly.

"Look, I don't have time for this right now. If you want to take whatever, go ahead, as long as it's not what I want." But if this stranger (he has to be a villain, no one else would dress like that, but he doesn't recognize which one he is) is planning to harm innocents in the building... well, that'd be a different matter.

Mag loops around the man's back, giggling. "oh? you're but a lowly thief with power like that? what a waste..." He says disapprovingly. He tries to lash out to grab the man's wrist.

The cat-masked man slowly spins around, keeping the shield in between him and the strange man--but he's not expecting him to reach around the shield and grab him anyway. And why would he? Who would expect someone to willingly get close to something giving off as much heat as the shield does?! "Let me go you crazy bitch!"

Maybe its because the villain hardly feels it- his mad thirst for power overpowering all his other senses. He digs his claws into him, grinning madly. "I don't think so, kitten. I think you'll be a great little snack for me~!" Anddd he tries to drain the man- not even realizing he might not even be able to.

The power--oh, Magnificent, you have held fire in your hands, but now you are trying to touch a star. Can you handle it? Or will it burn you?

It is searing, like drinking boiling water, but it shudders into Magnificent where it sits, converting much slower than his drained power usually does.

Magnificent yells out and crashes halfway to the ground, holding his wrist as the magic burns inside him. And it keeps burning- blaring orange searing in his blood, taking forever to mesh with his own.

The man yanks his wrist free of Magnificent's grip, stumbling backwards, looking at the spot of contact with wide eyes. He seems a bit tired, but not as much as his usual victims would be by this point. "Wh-what.... what the hell...?" the man whispers, shaken. He stares for a second--and then turns and bolts for the door.

Mag sees the man running and growls in anger, soon pushing himself to run after him- trying to teleport in front of him to cut off his path.

The man shouts in surprise when Magnificent appears before him. What?! HOW?! Did he absorb teleportation from someone?! No time to think about it! He shoves him aside, metal claws on the end of his gloves scraping against the man's skin, and runs out into the hallway.

Magnificent bites back a scream of pain as he's hit with the claws and staggers back into a wall. The man turns and blasts the ceiling above the doorway with white-hot energy, sending debris crashing down over it. That won't stall a teleporter for long, but maybe it'll be long enough to get out of here!

Mag shouts in surprise as the ceiling caves in on top of him and blocks off his path. He yells in rage and quickly teleports back down the hall, trying to find the little brat. "Get back here!"

The man laughs as he runs down the hall. "Fuck no!" He glances over his shoulder and throws a ball of red-orange light.

The ball clips Mag's side, burning right through his clothes and leaving a perfect singed hole in his cape. Pain laces from the spot of contact as Mag is pushed to the side. It leaves a burn behind.

Magnificent screams bloody murder as the light screeches across his side. He curls up on the ground, writhing in agony as the power burns him. It doesn't look like he can pursue the escaping super any further.

The man glances back, wondering if he feels bad about that...no, probably not. He keeps running, turning around the corner of the hall and jumping out through the unlocked window he came in from. Back in the hallway, a camera that he missed on his first go-round points at Magnificent. (It is not his fault he missed it. It was too small and too well hidden.)

Magnificent curses up a storm, trying to figure out how the hell he can fix this- fuck! It fucking burns- maybe he can...? He mutters a quick spell to summon some water to push against the wound. He can't notice anything else besides the searing pain.

Nothing happens for now. But there is clearly movement elsewhere in this building, even if the hallway is currently empty. There is the murmur of voices and footsteps through thin walls and floors. They may be coming to see what caused the crashing sound of the still-smoking debris. Outside, something activates.

Magnificent now starts to realize even if the office was empty, clearly the building isn’t. He feels a bit of panic before something occurs to him. In a fizzle of static, he dons his civilian disguise and then pulls out his best acting. Though- most of it isn’t acting at this point. “H-Help…! Someone please h-help me-!”

It takes a moment. Then a group of people come rushing around the corner.

"Oh my god!"

"Who is that?"

"He's hurt!"

A man in a white lab coat pushes past the others, with brown hair and two different colored eyes: blue left, green right. He looks a bit confused as he sees Mag's disguised face but pushes past it. A small... robot?... flies next to him, a softball-sized green circle with a blue ring around a camera in the center and a metallic peripheral of some kind coming from the back. "Holy shit, are you alright?" he asks. "What happened?! S-some of our cameras went down--are you alright?"

Mag grits his teeth then looks up at the man with a pained expression. "I… I'm not sure-! I was just walking and i ran into some- some freak in an orange suit and cat mask! I t-tried to stop him... i-i think he was stealing something but then h-he burned me..! He jumped out the window-" He then curls up as a wave of pain washes over him, but- it does help his performance.

"Spitfire Cat was here?" the man says, surprised. "H-hold on a second. Jeanne, can you call an ambulance? Get the SDER here immediately. And the police! Paul, talk to security and see if we can catch him." The man steps to the side, pulling out a remote with one red button on it. As the others mill about, he speaks into it, his exact words covered up by other voices. The flying robot stays where it is. The camera is pointed at Magnificent's face.

Magnificent stays where he is, trying not to pass out. But, now he notices the robot. He narrows his eyes, looking at it curiously. ...was this purely tech or was some magic involved...?

He senses no magic from it. None that he recognizes, at least.

He frowns and bares his teeth at it, pressing his face back against the floor. This place was strange... none of the power he's seen so far is making any sense... but at least it was something he could take. Even if the cat's burned... surely he can find another... better suited source.

The group of people hovers about, slowly growing in size. They reassure him that an ambulance is on the way.

"I can't stick around for long, but I hope you're okay," says the man in the white coat. "If you need anything don't hesitate to reach out, okay?" He doesn't explain who he is. It's like he's expecting Magnificent to already know. He must be someone important in this world.

Magnificent almost wants to ask who the man is- but he can't give himself away. "yes... t-thank you-" He tries to say. It's mortifying having to defer to mortals to heal him but... he doesn't really have a choice with his wound. Guess it'll make for a more fun game as his prey recovers as well... And he'd find that cat and string him up like a carcass. It's not long before the ambulance arrives.

#swap into the crystalverse #SITCV Septicheroes #Septicheroes #swapboys #bro fantastic #alt anti #swap magnificent #i love being able to see bro so happy and excited here #and mag getting wrecked ajghbak #sorry im late imma edit so hard so im on time tomorrow ;A;

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huffle-dork · 1 year

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Hufftober Day 5: It’s Broken

Doubled also as a birthday present for one of my best friends @crystalninjaphoenix and Fanart for their amazing Septicheroes series!! If you haven’t read it DO IT ITS SO GOOD!! This is a scene from the latest chapter One Last Puppet Show!

#Whumptober #whumptober 2023 #inktober #inktober 2023 #septicheroes au #huffleart #jacksepticeye #Jameson Jackson #Jackieboy man #marvin the magnificent #henrik von schneeplestein #Chase brody #septicart

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huffle-dork · 6 months

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Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 1: SepticHeroes Revisited

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs | Read Septicheroes

Read SITCV | SITCV SepticHeroes Chapters | AO3 Link

The swapboys have once again found themselves in the Brody Brothers’ apartment. Jackie Mann sits on the edge of their armchair, kicking his feet. He has a backpack next to him as he fastens a bracelet on his wrist. “The kids were so bummed you wouldn’t let them watch this happen at our place, Alt.” He laughs.

Alt rolls his eyes, “Well- I’m not sure they’d react too well to seeing their dad just * pop * out of existence right in front of them. Even if they know about magic.” He goes back to checking over the TRVLR settings.

Jackie holds up his hands with a laugh. “Alright, alright! Fair point!” He smiles, “They’re with their mom anyways~! Since this is a quick visit- I’m sure they’ll hardly miss me at all!”

“Then why did you pack such a big bag, dude?” Chase laughs, pointing at the backpack.

Jackie laughs, “Please! Between all the injuries I sustain and you two? This thing is a necessity- it’s got extra snacks and a med kit- bandages, water, chargers, an extra jacket for me-“

“Oh my god Jackie if you need anything they have stuff there!” Alt says with a laugh.

“You’re taking a bag too, Alt!” Chase points out.

Alt turns red and turns away, “I’m bringing my iPad and my… art and stuff…” He adjusts the headphones around his neck and his usual mask. “So I can you know- have something to do while you all geek out about heroes and junk.” On the subject though Alt does double check that he has what he needs- his spellbooks, iPad, notebook, pens, and… the tracking bracelets he made for all of them. The brown leather bracelet is tight on each of their wrists, with runes inscribed on the inside and a turquoise gem on top.

“Please Alt- don’t act like you’re not gonna join the hero fun!” Bro grins. Alt rolls his eyes but doesn’t respond, readjusting so everything fits right in his backpack.

“See though? Alt gets it! Better safe than sorry! Take it from a dad- it’s better to be prepared for anything!” Jackie says with a grin. “I even have those little plastic ponchos for if it rains!”

“Oh my god-“ Bro bursts into giggles. “Well besides being cautious- are you excited to meet these guys, Jackie?”

Jackie’s eyes light up and he excitedly stims, “Hell fucking yeah!!! I get to meet me! As a hero!! That’s so fucking cool! Ohhh I’m gonna be such a dork I can already tell oh jeez what if I embarrass myself or talk too much or fall off a building trying to look cool and-?!”

Alt turns to the others and laughs, holding up the now powered TRVLR. “You’ll be fine, Jackie. Windstorm is super cool- you’ll get on like a house on fire.”

“Yeah bro! We instantly clicked- he’s just like you! ‘Cept he can fly- and he’s not a dad-“ Bro says.

Jackie laughs, shaking his head. He jumps off the couch and hoists his backpack onto his shoulder. “Well then- l-let’s jet before I lose my nerve! If you’re all ready, Alt.”

Alt grins, “Yup! One superhero universe all locked and loaded!” He then looks to Jackie and Bro, “you guys remember how the tracking bracelets work right?”

“Yeah yeah!” Jackie says, “You touch the gem and say… looney-“

“Loonu, Jackie,” Alt laughs.

“Oh yeah- and then those wisps pop up and tell us where to go!”

Alt grins, “Good, you got it!”

“LessGOOOO!” Chase cheers, wrapping an arm around Jackie’s neck and pulling him tight to his side. Jackie bursts into laughter. Alt laughs too and grabs Jackie’s hand and then presses the jump button- heading to UA-1212021SH.

And for once- Magnificent doesn’t try to stop them. He’s actually home- asleep with his panthers, unaware his usual annoyances were traveling to other worlds without him.

And yet, as the group pressed the jump button, Mag is woken up by a sudden falling sensation and green light. A ripple spreads through the Space In-Between.

--------------

Jackie lands by himself in a room. The falling sensation lingers with him for a bit--strange, did it do that before?

Jackie rubs at his head and groans, “Ugh… how are they used to that…?” He mumbles.

Well, this isn't the time to dwell on it.

"Holy hell!"

He's landed in a bedroom with yellow-painted walls. There's a window with curtains drawn and two doors, one of which is slightly ajar to show a connected bathroom. The room is faily bland. The furniture-- a bed, a dresser, an armchair, and a nightstand--are more functional than decorative. Pretty much the only thing that has any personality is a TV stand across from the bed, with a television and game console that are currently on. Two people are in the room, each holding a video game controller and staring at Jackie in shock. One is a man in a button-down shirt who has a distinct mustache. He is sitting in the armchair. The other is a person with longer hair wearing a pink sweater. They're lying in the bed. Both of these people have identical bright blue eyes.

"Jays, I thought your friend was a flyer, not a teleporter," says the one in the bed.

The other shakes his head and puts the controller down to sign, He isn't. I don't think this is J-hoodie. I think it's something else.

Jackie blinks up at the two people and quickly gets to his feet. He waves awkwardly and stiffy, lifting his hand up really fast almost like a salute. “Um hi! I…I’m Jackie! J-Jackie Mann cuz um- you probably know another Jackie who looks like me but isn’t me uhhhh my f-friends Alt and Chase- well Bro Fantastic-! They wanted me to come visit and- fuck I knew they said we landed in random places but I thought I’d land near other me…!” He then blinks. “…fuck I’m talking too much aren’t I? S-Sorry for interrupting… this-“ He gestures vaguely at the room and the tv.

The two people blink. And then the one in the bed laughs. "Don't worry about it, love. We weren't really doing much anyway. JJ, is that, uh, Bro Fantastic guy the alternate Chase you told me about?"

JJ nods. He smiles at Jackie. So you're their Jackie, are you? It's nice to meet you! I'm Jameson, and this is Dahlia. He spells out all the names so there can be no mistakes. My sister. She wasn't around when your friends fist visited.

"Nice to meet you!" Dahlia says cheerfully.

Jackie blinks in surprise and then grins. “oh sick- my JJ has a half-bro, not a sister! Crazy! S’nice to meet ya too, both of you!”

"Well--I was his brother," Dahlia says, a smile twitching at her lips.

JJ raises an eyebrow. That's surprisingly open of you.

"Well, if he's another Jackie, I think he's a good guy. And maybe like our Jackie, ifyouknowwhatImean."

Jackie blinks and then his eyes widen. He points at Dahlia with a Pog face and goofy stance as he fumbles to spin his bag around. Then he points to a trans patch stitched on the side. “I’m too!! Trans that is!! Female to male!” He grins sillily.

"Yeahhhh!" Dahlia throws her hands up into the air.

Dahlia, careful! JJ says, using her name sign of flower-time for the first time.

"I can put my hands in the air, JJ, I'm not made of glass." But she does lower her hands.

Anyways, Bro and Alt managed to get home, then? Good for them! JJ says.

Jackie rocks on his feet and adjusts his backpack and nods. “yeah! Though I think they said they had a bit of rough go of it after they met you all. But, now Alt’s pretty confident in his jumping so! They thought I’d be nice for me to meet some other mes!” He laughs.

Dahlia grins and JJ can't help but smile back, then he looks at Jackie. Well, our Jackie isn't here. It's just the two of us and another friend in the house. Schneep is staying here too but he's out right now. We can contact him, if you want.

"Are you here by yourself, by the way?" Dahlia asks. "Or do we need to watch out for more of you guys?"

Jackie messes with his hair with a nervous laugh. “Oh well- that makes sense! Uh Alt and Bro are here too! Chase was so excited to see everyone again- and Alt is too but he’s being Alt and trying to act like he’s not.” He laughs. “Oh but! We have a way to find each other this time!” He shows off the bracelet on his wrist. “Tracking spell~!”

"Tracking spell?" Dahlia asks.

That's some of the magic in your world, is it? JJ asks. How does it work?

Jackie grins. “I just gotta say the word and then this magic orb-y stuff shows up and will lead me to the signal of another bracelet!” He raises up his sleeve and whispers to the stone at the top of the bracelet, “Loonu!”

The green-blue trail appears, pointing diagonally across the room and going out the window. JJ stands up and opens the curtains, revealing the cityscape outside.

"Ooo, flashy," Dahlia says, impressed. "We don't have that here. Or if we do, I've never seen it. Where's it going?"

It's pointing to the center of the city, JJ says. Which doesn't mean much. Henrik figured out last time that you all appear near people you're close to. So that COULD be pointing to Jackie, Chase, Henrik, or Marvin.

"What about the, uh... Anti, was it?"

If Anti counts, then Alt and Bro could be anywhere.

"Hmm. True. Well, maybe contact Jackie's flat first, see if either of them are there."

“Yeah- that’s the issue aint it? At least for us we only gotta worry about the two. Alt saidddd blue means close- green means far away. I think-“ Jackie shrugs. “If you guys wanna ring your friend that’d be brilliant! I don’t wanna interrupt anything. But I also… don’t know where I am at all so-“ He laughs.

JJ shakes his head. it looks more blue than green, so that's good. I'll text Jackie.

Jackie grins, rocking on his feet again. “Thanks dude! ‘Perriciate it!”

"I belieeeve we're sort of on the edge of Daindover," Dahlia says slowly. "Near the East SepTech location. Though I suppose that means nothing to you.”

“It does indeed mean Jack shit to me.”

“Uh, we're in JJ's boyfriend's house."

We're not dating, JJ says stubbornly.

"Yet," Dahlia adds with a grin.

I can't believe you of all people are encouraging me to date S-heart.

"Ehhh could be worse."

Jackie’s eyes widen and then he grins, “Oooh a boyfriend~?” He tries to tease- then stops himself. “oh wait. I probably shouldn’t tease you- you aren’t my Jay. I would give him such a hard time if I found out he liked someone.”

"It's okay, I'll tease him for you," Dahlia says jokingly.

Jackie bursts into giggles. “Deal! I like ya, Dahlia!”

"Though to be honest Jays doesn't get teased easily."

I'm just still shocked that you approve, JJ says, then takes his phone out of his pocket and starts texting.

"Like I said, Soren could be worse. And I believe him when he says he's turning over a new leaf. And if he's lying, I can beat his ass."

“Oooh Soren~? That’s a fancy name- must be a fancy dude- someone as sophisticated as J’s mustache!” The father giggles more.

JJ grins a little at the mustache comment.

Dahlia laughs as well--though she stops quickly as it gains a wheezing edge. "I guess you can say that. He had a big, important family--though it's pretty much just him and his niece's family now. I suppose you don't know him in your world. If he's there at all."

“Oh neat! Yeah I don’t think we know a Soren- but that makes sense. S’abig universe out there! Lots of people to meet!” Jackie grins.

Then, after a moment, JJ nods. Jackie, Jackie says that one of your friends is at his apartment, he says, differentiating the two with slightly different name signs (J-hoodie, J-visit).

Jackie beams at JJ and laughs at the sign differences. “Oh neat! Sign name! J-hoodie must be your Jackie! But yay! One mystery solved!”

JJ grins. One mystery solved. Now we just need to figure out how to get you together and figure out where your other friend landed.

Jackie looks up to think and then digs out his phone, “oh yeah- I could just… text them I think. Maybe- …my plan miiight not work across dimensions.”

"You guys can go out, it's fine," Dahlia says.

JJ shakes his head. I don't want to leave you alone.

"Jays, like I said, I'm not glass."

But you are still recovering.

Dahlia shrugs. "Soren is still here. If I need something, I'll ask him.”

That is... SO strange to hear coming from you.

Jackie blinks, looking back at Dahlia, “oh- are you… injured or something?”

Dahlia sighs. "Yeah... I was in an accident a couple of years ago. Got knocked out, and when I woke up it was two years later. As you can expect, that has some lingering side effects." She makes a face. "I started growing facial hair again." It's a joke, but it's clear that there's real sadness beneath it.

Jackie winces at the mention of the accident then, “Nooo! That’s awful!” Jackie says with complete sympathy to Dahlia’s last statement. He gets it. He’d be devastated if any of his features started going backwards!

"Thanks, Jackie." Dahlia smiles gently. "I'm getting used to it. I can heal faster than most people, but this is a lot of damage. It'll be fine, though."

Jackie gives her a sympathetic smile and nods.

JJ walks back over and gives his sister a side hug. Then he looks at Jackie. You can try texting if you want. I know that Alt's phone connected to the Internet last time.

Jackie blinks at Jj then smiles, “Right! Letsss see-“ He texts Alt: Alttt! I’m alive! I’m by this world’s Jj and his sister! :D

Jackie giggles, “This is insane- texting my friend to come find me like we’re meeting up at a shop- but it’s in another universe… fucking wild man.”

Jackie's text doesn't go through right away. But after a while, it does, with a little sent through WiFi notification attached underneath the bubble.

I can imagine it's very strange, JJ says. But it's good to meet you! Strange, but nice. I hope we can spend time together.

Jackie blinks and smiles as his text goes through and he pockets his phone. “Yeah! I hope so too!”

----------

Alt falls through the dark space, feeling it ripple slightly, and then appears somewhere that he--after a moment--recognizes. This is Jackie's place--the hero Jackie's place, the one he shares with this world's Chase. Speaking of whom--

"Whoa!" Chase jumps.

Alt blinks around and smiles as he immediately recognizes the place. Then he jumps and glitches back to hide slightly behind the closest furniture he can find.

Chase is sitting on the sofa with Frosty, who barks when Alt appears but calms down when Chase pats his head. "Who the hell--oh! Oh! Y-y-you're uhhhh--fuck, I'm so bad with names. One of the guys from the other world! Hey!"

Alt blinks up behind it comically and then smiles shyly. “Heyyy! Other Chase hi! Um- Alt. That’s me- um… s-sorry to just- drop in!”

"Alt! Right." Chase nods, giving Alt a bit smile. "It's good to see you again! You, uh, stopping by? Oh, hang on." He twists to the side. "Jackie! The guys from the other world are back!"

Footsteps rush down the hall and Jackie appears. He's wearing a red hoodie and the lower half of his supersuit, either just about to leave or just returning from hero duties.

"Hi!" Jackie waves at Alt excitedly. "Hey! Welcome back! Where's your brother? Oh right, you guys didn't appear in the same place last time, you probably didn't this time, either. Anyway. How are you? Did you guys figure out how to get home?"

Chase laughs. "Give him time to answer, bro."

Alt blinks and glitches a bit in surprise at Jackie's appearance. But then he laughs and glitches closer, grinning wide. "Hey man! Good to see you two again!"

"okay to answer questions- I dunno where Ch- Bro is but I can find him quicker than last time! I'm good- and yes! We got home... relatively okay." He grins, lifting up a finger for each question he answered.

"Oh cool! I'm glad you guys could do that." Jackie grins. "Why are you back, then? Stopping by to visit? Sounds great if you are! We can show you around the city!"

"Yeah, that'd be fun!" Chase says excitedly.

Alt smiles. He stuffs his hands into his pockets and adjusts his mask. "Yeah- to visit! And also, we brought our Jackie along this time! He's dying to meet you all."

Jackie's eyes light up. "Oh! Other me! Cool! I'd love to meet him too--hope he didn't appear too far away. Ooo! Maybe we can get the whole gang together! Do you think Schneep and JJ will want to come? I know they might be busy, but they're more likely to come than Marvin, right?" Jackie laughs.

Alt laughs at the Marvin comment. "If they're up for it- Jackie's pretty excited to see stuff. But, of course we don't wanna get in the way of anything too!"

“uhhh, we've kinda hit a dead end in our investigation. Last we saw you guys we promised to kick Anti's ass but uhhh... That's a bit difficult, turns out." Jackie smiles. "We can use a break. If heroes never take breaks, they collapse."

Alt looks excited at them being free. "Shame about the trail going cold but! That means we can hang!"

"Hell yeah," Chase agrees. "In that case, should we start calling people to see where other-me and other-Jackie are?"

"Mm-hmm." Jackie nods. "Lemme text some people real quick." He takes his phone out of his pocket and starts texting.

Alt grins happily, pixels buzzing in the air around him. "Bro will be so happy. And Jackie!" He then blinks and looks to his phone, checking the screen. He laughs, "Speak of the devil- the timing is insane... My Jackie is with JJ... and his... sister? What??"

"Oh yeah!" Jackie grins. "We didn't get time to tell you last time you were here!"

"Well to be fair we were still adjusting to it, too," Chase says. "Yeah, JJ has a sister that he didn't tell me or Jackie about at all."

"Bit of a complicated story," Jackie says. "She was a hero, too. Not a capital H Hero, just a hero in that she was helping people out. But then she was in an accident. and got put in the hospital for a long time."

Chase nods. "I was there, too. A building collapsed. And, well, that's why I need Frosty." Frosty wags his tail at being mentioned.

"Anyway, we got her back recently, but she's still recovering," Jackie continues. "Her name's Dahlia. She's great."

Alt looks between the both of them in surprise. "Woah- that's... intense." But, then he smiles. "But, I'm glad she's better. That must be making JJ very happy... is he still in hiding? Him and Schneep?"

Jackie sighs. "Unfortunately. I keep pushing the police to review the Puppeteer case but they're so slow. I'm hoping that now that Anti's out and doing stuff they'll move faster."

"We're being a bit less cautious with phones and stuff, though, as you can see," Chase says. "It just got exhausting so we decided they're worth the risk."

"Well that will make stuff easier~" Alt laughs.

"Anyway, if Jackie's there, where's Bro, then?" Jackie asks. "He must've showed up by Schneep or Marvin, right? Assuming Schneep isn't also in Soren's safe house right now."

"Text the doc, maybe he'll answer." Chase shrugs.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Jackie nods and keeps texting. "He's been bad at answering texts lately, though. I wonder what he's doing..."

"In the meantime, feel free to hangout, Alt!" Chase says cheerfully. "We'll figure out how to get everyone together once we're sure where everyone is."

Alt glitches over to an armchair and sits down- not getting comfy, just balancing on the edge. But like- that's kinda big for him.

He texts Jackie back: Sick dude- I'm with other Jackie and Chase, we'll figure out where you are soon, hang tight.

-----------

Bro falls a few feet and lands on the flat roof of a building. No, it's not a roof. The building is still under construction, with beams and scaffolding extending high above. But this is the highest floor that's been completed, so it's basically the roof. Across the street is a glass and concrete triangular building with the words SepTech glowing green across its side. And Bro doesn't land alone. Somehow, there's someone else with him. Magnificent has arrived in this world as well.

Bro pushes himself off and brushes himself off, adjusting his costume so its just so. He had to make a good first hero impression! Yes, he'd been here before but now it was official cuz he's actually in his uniform! He grins and starts to look around and then yelps as magic is thrown at him from behind.

"What the-?!" Bro jolts into the air and then stares at the angry face of Magnificent crouched on the ground. "M-Magnificent?!"

"Why have you brought me here, hero?!" Magnificent snarls, throwing another barrage of magic at him. "Where is that idiotic cub?! Don't you two know better than to bother a villain when he's scheming?!"

"What are you talking about?!" Bro yells, dodging the magic. "Did you hitch a ride with us again?!'

"What are you talking about?! You-" Magnificent's face falls for a second as he looks around. Then, he slowly starts to laugh. "Oh... I see... you and your brother are playing dimension hopper again, are you? And yet it seems... the universe still chose to include me~" He grins at Bro his eyes lighting up bright green as he chuckles. "And how unfortunate for you, hero." He spits.

Bro backs up, looking around for any sign of Alt or Jackie around. Shit shit shit! This was supposed to be a fun adventure! They warded and cast protection spells! Alt was gonna be pissed...

"Now- tell me Hero... where did you bring us this time, hm?"

Before Bro can answer that question, there's the sound of footsteps. The unfinished building has an unfinished staircase leading up to this floor, and the sound seems to be coming from there. But... there's no one in sight. Even as the footsteps sound like they come up onto the floor Bro and Magnificent are on, there's still no one there. ...But Magnificent can hear a faint voice come from that direction. "Schiesse," it curses.

Bro blinks and looks around- the complete opposite way the footsteps are going- thinking he's missing something.

Mag hears the curse and he grins, going to try to teleport behind the invisible super and try to grab him.

There's a yelp, and a person flickers into view. They're wearing an outfit that seems to be shifting colors, disguising most of their features. Magnificent manages to grab him--but not for long, as the person quite literally slips out of his grasp, passing through his arms. "Y-you! What are you doing back here?!" If it wasn't obvious who it was before, the voice gives it away. Schneep.

Magnificent curses as Schneep literally slips from his grasp.

He backs away from Magnificent, then looks at Bro. "Ah! Um, h-hello, ah--What the fuck?!" He points at Mag.

Bro makes an 'i dunno' exggerated shrug then points at Mag with both of his arms. "I dunno bro!! We tried to make sure he wasn't gonna follow us this time!! Alt was so careful!!"

Mag laughs evilly, "And yet~ here I am~!" He giggles and then sends a blast of magic out at both of them.

Schneep doesn't move--not processing the magic as a threat until it slams into him and knocks him down. He yelps, forgetting to concentrate on his intangibility and slamming against the floor. "So that... is an... energy attack," he says as soon as he gets his breath back. "Noted..."

Magnificent laughs loudly and builds up more magic in his hands. "There's more where that came from, Henrik~! I have yet to taste that delightful power of yours~"

"Ew why you gotta say it like that??" Bro makes a face then gets hit out of the air by Mag's magic. He hits the roof and skids before trying to get back on his feet.

Schneep gets to his hands and knees--and then shouts out "SPITIFRE GET UP HERE!"

More footsteps from the staircase, and now someone else joins the fray--the brightly colored costume and cat mask makes him easily recognizable. Marvin's eyes lock on Magnificent. "Motherfucker!"

Mag's eyes light up with delighted manic glee at seeing Marvin. "Well hello again!" He throws out magic his way, "Do me a favor and die-!" He growls out.

Marvin's eyes widen. He conjures up a shield to block the magic but Mag throws it with such force that the attack still knocks Marvin over.

Schneep gasps and scrambles to his feet, rushing over to help Marvin up.

"Why don't--you die?" Marvin says through gritted teeth. Before Schneep even pulls him up, he shoots a beam of orange energy at Magnificent.

Magnificent grins and throws out a shield that shimmers like murky pond water. He throws out his hand and then tries to douse the water on top of Marvin and Schneep.

Schneep looks up and turns intangible, the water going right through him. Marvin gets doused, but all it does is make him annoyed. "Do you think I'm made of fire?! Idiot?!" He makes a blade of yellow energy and throws it at Magnificent, spinning end over end and getting longer as it gets closer.

Magnfiicent cries out as the blade grazes his arm. He glares at Marvin and hisses, "Principles of magic have to apply somewhere here." He bunches up his hand and then sends out a blast of freezing magic at Marvin.

Bro yells out and tries to tackle Mag away.

Mag just teleports out of the way of Bro, making him fly past him and back into the hard floor of the roof.

"Magic doesn't fucking exist here you pri--" Marvin is so busy yelling at Mag that his reflexes aren't quite as sharp as they should be. The magic blasts him before he can finish conjuring his shield and frost coats his skin as he falls down again. Schneep also collapses. The magic blast passed right through him, but he can still feel the temperature change, and the cold is so shocking that his knees buckle right away and turns him tangible again. "J-jesus fuck," Marvin whispers.

"W-we have to retreat!" Schneep gasps. "Get the others!"

"Not yet!" Marvin's skin...glows? and the frost covering him melts away. "We gotta take this fucker down!" And he aims another beam of red energy--but not at Mag. At the floor beneath his feet, cutting through it, aiming to collapse it.

"You're not going anywhere~!" Magnificent cackles and attempts to teleport to try to grab Schneep again- he doesn't notice the floor until it cracks. He yells out and manages to catch himself on the edge, tearing at the floor desperately with his claws. Then, he falls.

Bro hurries up to his feet and back into the air. He rushes over and holds out his hands for Schneep and Marvin. "H-Hurry! I can fly you out of here!"

They glance at each other, clearly a bit nervous, but they both take Bro's hands in unison. "I better not dangle," Marvin mutters. "That's so undignified."

"Take what you can get," Schneep snaps.

Bro laughs, "If you don't wanna dangle I might have to hold you like a baby- I dunno which is worse." He hauls up Marvin and pulls him to his chest and then grabs Schneep and tries to load him on his back. Then, he rockets off into the sky, just trying to get them as far away as possible.

"OHJESUSFUCK--!" Marvin shouts, surprised at how fast Bro goes. Schneep doesn't say anything, just holds on tightly.

The cityscape passes beneath them. Bro is heading deeper into the city, where the buildings get taller and shinier, occasionally interspersed with older-looking townhouses. Soon the construction site--and Magnificent--is out of sight.

"I-I think we can go down now?" Schneep says, voice almost lost in the sound of rushing wind.

Bro laughs and nods, finding the closest place he can. He almost wants to set them on another rooftop but... heroes are common around here! He finds an empty looking park and sets them both down. "Sorry about that, are you two okay???"

Marvin staggers for a bit. "M...my face is cold," he says, sounding mildly surprised at that. He pushes off his mask briefly to wipe his eyes. "I-I didn't realize flying was so cold?"

"The wind makes it so," Schneep says. He fared better than Marvin; between his goggles and his mask most of his face was covered. "But I-I am fine. It was a bit more... tall... than I thought. But I'm fine now."

Bro can't help but laugh, "Yeah it gets kinda chilly. That's why I have my jacket!" He says, lifting up his arms to show off his signature Bro Fantastic jacket.

"Yeah, just... wasn't expecting that." Marvin shakes his head. "Anyway. Hi, other Chase. Why?"

Bro bursts into even more laughter as Marvin's bluntness. "Ha ha! No yeah- It's a fair question!"

"Don't be rude," Schneep mutters. "But Marvin has a good point. We are happy to see you again, but why are you here? With Magnificent?"

Bro straightens back up and then frowns, "....Magnificent wasn't supposed to be here. Alt made sure he couldn't! But... we wanted to come see you guys again... and we brought our Jackie to come meet you- and the other him." He then blinks and then narrows his eyes at the two of them, "...but... what were you two doing at an abandoned construction site? In your super get up?" He raises an eyebrow.

Marvin blanks. "Uhhhhh..."

"We can tell him, he is also a hero where he comes from," Schneep says.

"Right." Marvin nods. "Nice outfit, by the way. Uh, well. We were staking out that building across the street. The East SepTech location. Last time we saw you guys, we talked about that villain who made JJ do all that terrible shit. Anti-Virus." He laughs. "God. What an appropriate name."

"It turns out that Anti-Virus was part of SepTech," Schneep says. "Very... integral to it, in fact. But now, Anti is gone. We are not sure where. Or how to search, in all honesty. But we figure that keeping an eye on SepTech locations is a good place to start."

"In case Anti returns," Marvin agrees. "There's a... long history between them."

"Oh okay- I thought you were maybe trying to steal shit- but considering it was like- abandoned that now seems dumb." Bro laughs. "That bitch Anti is just gone? Fucking coward..." He shakes his head and sighs.

"I'm sure Anti is planning something," Marvin mutters. "Calculating bitch..." He shakes his head. "But we should handle Mag first."

"Back to what you said," Schneep says. "You just came to visit, but Magnificent somehow came along, is that it? So... Alt and your Jackie do not know he's here."

"Yeah... they wouldn't know. It seems like Mag was surprised to be here too... which means... he wasn't planning it." Bro scratches at his head. "... last time we used the TRVLR- he like... messed with it and its power... maybe that had something to do with it?" He looks back at the other two, "The point is though... He wasn't planned. But... I dunno how much trouble he'll be... we all seemed to really kick his ass last time!"

Schneep frowns. "If he messed with your universe traveling device, that is not good. Perhaps he found some way of... attaching himself to it? I don't know. Your world's powers are strange."

"But Bro is right, we can kick his ass!" Marvin agrees. "Well, Jameson was a big part of that, I think. And he does not want to leave the new safe house much. Wh-which, I understand. Now that Dahlia is back, he does not want to leave her in case something happens to her again."

Bro tilts his head to the side, "Dahlia? Who's that?"

Marvin's eyes widen. "Oh shit! Right, we never mentioned her! Schneep, you tell him."

"Dahlia is my cousin, and JJ's sister," Schneep explains. "Anti kidnapped her to force Jameson to do things for him, and Jameson agreed because Dahlia... is a hero. W-we found her, and she is awake from the coma she was in, but she is still quite weak." He takes a deep, shaky breath. This is clearly an emotional subject for him.

Bro's face falls with concern, "Oh... fuck. I... I'm sorry Schneep... I mean... at least she's awake now! That's good!" He tries to smile. "I know I-I heal really fast... maybe its the same for some supers here!"

Schneep laughs. "Th-thank you. Dahlia has said she heals faster. Which I believe. Her powers are strong. And so are Jameson's. Really, their whole side of the family got lucky."

"You're pretty powerful, too, Henrik," Marvin says.

"No, I am not. I have done the research, my powers are not stronger than any other super who can become invisible or pass through things."

"Well you use them really well, so that counts."

Schneep laughs again. "If you say so."

Bro grins. "No I agree! Powers are only as strong as the people who wield them! Anyone can be strong- anyone could have power. But, the people who learn to use them well and for good are the strongest!" He then looks around the city and sighs, "Well... guess its another race to find my brother and now Jackie... i hope they ended up somewhere safe. Sounds like it's all been kinda calm though- before Mag showed his ugly tail."

"Pretty calm, yeah." Marvin nods.

"Oh! We started using phones again, perhaps they have texted me," Schneep says, reaching into a pocket in his outfit.

"How many fucking pouches and pockets do you have?"

"I was a thief before this, they were necessary." Schneep pulls out his phone, then yanks off a glove with his teeth and starts tapping at the screen. He nods. "Yes, they sent messages. Your Jackie is with JJ and Dahlia, and Alt is with our Chase and Jackie."

Bro relaxes slightly, "Oh good- they're safe... that's... that's good."

Marvin raises an eyebrow. "Do you think they could've appeared near Anti? Would've been helpful to know where that center of operations is."

"Probably dangerous for them, though, so let's be happy. I am letting them know Bro is with us. Should I tell them about Magnificent?"

"Ummm... maybe I should tell them- let them... just be happy for a second." Bro says with a wince. "We can... deal with that in a bit. I don't think Mag will find us all right away..."

Schneep nods. "Very well, then. I think we are closer to the safe house than the apartment, so I will ask if we can meet there."

"Can't Alt glitch pretty far distances, too?" Marvin asks. "He can probably bring Jackie and Chase to the safe house. Unless he needs to have been there to do that?"

"Ummmm-" Bro thinks, "It's easier for him to glitch to places he's been to but like... I dunno. He got us to Jackie's apartment building without ever being there last time- I think he can sometimes be pulled places as long as someone has like... a visual or something."

"That is good, then. Jackie definitely knows what the house looks like." Schneep nods, finishing up his text message. "We should make our way there now, then."

"Are we gonna take the train in outfit, have Bro fly us again, ooooor walk the whole way?" Marvin asks. "Honestly, none of those sound ideal to me."

"Is riding the train dressed in uniform so bad?" Bro laughs, "I thought supers were more common around here!"

"Well yeah--but we're wanted supervillains," Marvin says.

"... oh. That... didn't get brought up last time." Bro says, blinking rapidly. But, who is he to talk? Alt was a villain for a bit too.

"Spitfire Cat is pretty recognizable, in particular,"

Schneep adds, gesturing to Marvin. "So, can you change quickly, Marvin?"

"No," he grumbles.

Bro looks at the small bag he brought with him, containing a change of clothes for him in case he needed to be out of uniform. "Uhhh i got... a jacket, shirt and some... jeans? If you'd like?" Then he looks and smirks at them, "Or- flying is faster."

Marvin hesitates, then quietly takes the offered clothes. "We can take the train," he mutters. "I'm putting this on over my clothes." As he does, he continues to talk. "And don't worry, we're not going to attack random pedestrians or anything, Chase. We're not those types of people. Schneep just steals stuff from large businesses and my crimes are more... symbolic. I don't hurt innocents."

"Hey I'm not judging. I already know you two are cool." Bro grins. "I try not to judge without knowing the full story- if i can help it. I learned my lesson about doing that..." He sighs, refluffing his hair under his hat.

Marvin grins. "Heh. Windstorm--Jackie had that same sort of journey, too. Learning not to judge, I mean."

"Learning that two of his friends were criminals helped on that," Schneep says.

"Alright, I'm ready." Marvin takes his mask off and hides it in his jacket. The only weird thing about him now are his gloves, but those can be brushed off. "The nearest train station is that way. Come on. You two will get stares but the ride won't be long."

Schneep abruptly vanishes from view. "What stares?" his disembodied voice says jokingly.

“Cheater." Bro laughs as he takes off his mask and shoves it in his pocket.

"Ha ha." Marvin rolls his eyes. "Just keep up, Schneep, we don't want to lose you."

Bro looks over himself. It's not perfect but, no one in this town knew him. It'd be fine. He follows after the other two towards the train.

-----------

“Hey Alt, your brother ended up with Schneep and Marvin," Jackie says. He's sitting on the sofa with Chase now, still half-wearing his suit. "Schneep wants us to go to the safe house where JJ and your Jackie are. He says that Bro says you can glitch us there?"

Alt looks up at the others and then glitches to his feet, stretching. "Sure thing- I'm decently powered. You all have been there before? That helps~" He grins.

"I have a few times, but Chase has only been there once," Jackie says. "Is that a problem?"

"Nope that should be plenty." Alt shrugs his bag back on.

"I want to come," Chase says, pouting a bit. "All I did last time was talk to you guys on the phone and then get hypnotized."

"Will you have trouble taking Frosty, Alt?" Jackie asks. "Chase needs him."

"Mmmm no I don't think so! I glitch with my cat all the time. That's how she got her name." Alt smiles. "We just need to link up! So like- as long as we all have a connection somehow."

"Ohhh yeah your cat!" Jackie awes. "I wish we could meet her!"

Alt laughs, "I feel like she'd get into trouble on these trips- but I have about a million pictures. Despite the fact she's a little void and i wear mostly black."

"You can show us the pictures of your cat when we get there." Jackie chuckles.

Chase laughs too. "Alright, let's link up, then. Focus on the house. Or, uh, I think we should aim for just outside the house. I don't want Soren to suddenly shoot us for intruding."

"Shoot us? He doesn't have a gun, Chase."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me he wouldn't figure out how to get one."

"... I both like and dislike what I'm learning about this Soren guy-" Alt mutters.

“Soren is a mixed bag," Jackie mutters.

Alt offers his hands out to the others, green-blue magic pulsing in his eyes.

"Whoo!" Chase makes sure to grab Frosty by the scruff. "Let's go!"

Once, the others have linked up and Chase has a good good hold on Frosty, Alt concentrates at they all zip away towards the safe house.

----------

Magnificent falls down one floor, delaying him slightly. But it's enough of a delay. By the time he recovers, that annoying hero and those two infuriating supers are gone.

The world flashed to white as he head hit the floor hard- and for a good long while all he can hear is ringing in his ears. Magnificent springs up once he has his bearings and then teleports back up to the roof- but... its clear that they're all gone by now.

He curses and kicks at the floor and then starts to pace. "Okay... collecting my thoughts... we're back in the world with the supers... which I had a hard time stealing power from... but its possible. And my annoyances are here... so... hmm.... What to do...." He laughs to himself, his eyes glowing bright. "I want to end all those annoying supers. Drain them for every ounce of power in them and lord over their corpses... they will not humiliate me again... I need to find this world's Jameson... he will be the first one I destroy." He looks out over the edge of the unfinished building towards the city, arms behind his back as he searches around. "Now... where would my little kittens be hiding~?"

"How very vicious." The voice comes from behind Magnificent. There's something floating just beyond the other edge of the unfinished building. It's... that black flying robot from last time. It floats closer to Magnificent. "I see you've returned," says that same computerized voice. "Do you remember me?"

Magnificent jumps in the air like a startled cat. He whirls around, magic bright in his hands. But, once he realizes who this is, he slowly grins. "Well Well... Anti, wasn't it~? I do remember you." He glances around and then tilts his head at the robot. "... why are you here?"

"Those supers were staking out SepTech for signs of me, so I was stalking them in turn," Anti says. "They had no idea that what they were looking for was right under their noses all that time." Part of the robot slides open, revealing a small device. Its use is revealed as it projects a life-size hologram of a person. ...Wait. No, it's not exactly a person. It's a 3D animated model, depicting a man wearing black robotic armor and a hood. The man's face is replaced by an LED screen with a simplified face: two red circles for eyes and a curving red mouth. "But then you arrived. And that other one. And now I wish to talk. Face to... not-face, as it is." The model gestures to his LED screen.

Magnificent's eyes widen as he sees the hologram. He prowls around it and studies it with interest. "Impressive... very impressive."

"Thank you. I did work hard on it." Somehow, Anti's robotic voice sounds smugly proud.

Mag stops to stand in his original place and smirks, gesturing at Anti. "Well, let's hear it then~"

"You wish to take out my nuisances. I wish to do so too. So far I have preferred hiding and concentrating on my plan. But this is an opportunity I cannot ignore. What if I aided you once more? More... directly this time."

“Oh? In the flesh?” Magnificent giggles, “How bold of you, Anti!”

"Oh, if only in the flesh. Unfortunately, I am... limited." Anti's model gestures at himself. "This is the best I can do. But I have several of these Semi-Automatic Machines equipped with combat features. They can act as backup for you."

“Ah I see. Well- I can work with that.” Magnificent hums. His face falls to something deadly serious in a blink, his eyes flashing dangerously. “I want those wannabe heroes dead. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

The model tilts his head. "I know where they are hiding from the police. And everyone is heading there. All of those from your world, and the supers from mine." He chuckles. "Though it is funny that you call them all 'heroes'. I can promise many of them have less than stellar records."

Mag chuckles and shrugs, “On the rating of heroes to villains- no one tops me in villainy~! I bet those records mean nothing.” He giggles and then tilts his head back at Anti, “do we have a plan, Anti, dear? Or are we charging in, machines blazing~?”

"'Machines blazing' is what I was thinking, in fact," Anti says. "They know I have been laying low. They won't be expecting it. I will gather my Machines while you head to the house. Its address is 78 Ivy Lane. In that direction." The model points to the north.

Magnificent hums and then giggles in manic delight. “Alright. I can do that~” He laughs and tilts his head at Anti, “This will be one hell of a collab~!” Then, in a blink and buzz of static- he teleports off the roof to search for the heroes.

“Indeed.” The hologram of Anti disappears as the Machine flies away, ready to meet up with others of its kind.

#SATCV #swap across the crystalverse #SATCV Septicheroes #Septicheroes au #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #jackie joins the group!!#tbh we had one other multiverse rp before this one but thats not quite ready to share yet!!#so they'll be hints to it here and there but it shouldnt take away from the story! ^^#so excited to be posting more of these for you guys!!#we have written soooo much fun new stuff and i can't wait for you all to see them!

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huffle-dork · 6 months

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 3: SepticHeroes Revisited

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs | Read Septicheroes

Read SITCV | SITCV SepticHeroes Chapters | AO3 Link

A few minutes pass in silence. And then Jackie inhales sharply. "They're coming!" He flings the curtains open so everyone can see.

There are five of the SAMs flying down the street towards them. Three are the black models they'd seen before, one is the same size but red instead, and one is green and softball-sized.

Soren nods. "I'll go on up, then. Chase?"

"Yeah, I'll come with," Chase says, grabbing Frosty's lead and following him up the stairs.

I won't be much use against Machines so I'll hang back, JJ says. He reaches into a lamp in the living room, pulling out a metal pipe for defense, and then backs up.

"Everyone else, get ready," Jackie says.

Jackie Mann hurries up the stairs and holds his knife out, watching the door.

Alt glitches to his feet and bubbles up magic at his hands. "... Hopefully the shield holds..." He whispers anxiously.

Bro looks nervous as he gets into a fighting stance, watching the door.

The red SAM starts glowing. And then it flies towards the window, glowing brighter and brighter--and it lets out a blast of energy, shattering the glass and Alt's shield at once.

"Holy shit!" Jackie shouts, using a gust of wind to deflect most of the flying glass. "Cover!"

As the shield gets immediately cracked, Alt screams and crashes to the ground, gripping at his chest like the blast hurt him.

Bro pales and hurries over to crouch by him, "A-Alt!"

"H..How...?" Alt coughs, looking even more pale. "H-How did they do that??"

The small green SAM flies into the fray first, and its camera flips over to a screen, its projector sliding open too. Both the screen and the projector show a 3D animated model of a man with an LED screen for a face. "Hello world."

Both Alt and Bro look up at the man. Bro hurries to put a hand out to protect Alt. And Alt pales even more, shaking slightly. "I-It's you!"

Jackieboy growls and bares his teeth, pointing his knife at the hologram, "The fuck do you think you are, tin man?! Too cowardly to fight us in person?!"

Anti laughs in his robotic voice. "Unfortunately fighting you in person is impossible. I am not there. But there is someone who is coming soon." The three black SAMs fly into the room. "And I'm willing to get things ready for him."

"Fucking bitch! Just leave us alone!" Jackie yells.

One SAM has part of it slide away as a gun-like attachment pops out the top. The other two have the end of their peripherals shift into something like laser pointers. And they all fire at once, with the two laser pointers firing energy blasts at Bro and this world's Jackie while the big gun fires a heavy-looking projectile at Marvin.

Alt tries to yell out, "Chase! Watch out!" But, the energy hits Bro and he hits one of the back walls, momentarily disorienting him.

Jackie yelps and jumps out of the way of the energy blast, but Marvin gets knocked back by some sort of canon ball, sending him sprawling across the ground. Schneep gasps, glancing back and forth between Marvin and Bro before JJ gestures for him to go help Bro. Schneep nods and rushes to his side while JJ helps Marvin up.

Alt growls and whips out a hand to try to shoot one of the SAMs with a blast of lightning.

Two of the SAMs dodge the lightning attack but one of them is too slow and gets immediately fried, falling to the ground completely dead. "Oh?" Anti says. "So you can do THAT, can you? Fine, then." And both of the SAMs aim their weapons at Alt, firing the canon and the energy attack. Marvin sits up, clutching his stomach. He gasps as he sees the SAMs fire on Alt and throws a ball of energy in their direction.

Marvin's attack brushes both SAMs but don't do enough damage to divert their course.

Alt's eyes widen and he gasps and tries to get out of the way- but the energy blast hits him first before the canon hits him and sends him, skidding back. He curls up into a ball, coughing and clutching at his chest.

"Alt!" Bro cries as Schneep helps him up. He whips on the SAMs and growls, momentarily forgetting his powers are blocked and trying to aim to punch a SAM as hard as he can.

The SAM doesn't try to dodge Bro's attack, thinking that a neutralized hero won't be able to do much. But, surprisingly, there's enough force behind Bro's punch that the SAM with the canonball attachment goes spinning into the wall.

Marvin laughs. "Nice one!" he says, and aims a second attack at the other SAM. The beam this time shears off its peripheral.

Bro blinks in surprise then grins, getting into another fighting stance. "I'm not completely out! Watch it, ya eyeball freaks!"

Meanwhile, Schneep turns his attention to Alt, checking him over.

Alt coughs more, his chest aching terribly after being hit. It's hard to think. He blinks up at Schneep with an unfocused gaze, "S-Schneep-" God- it hurts to breathe... he keeps having to drag in deep gasping breaths.

"Shh, it's okay," Schneep mutters. "That hit you in the chest, there could be damage, but you are still breathing and that is good." He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a cold pack, which he hands to Alt. "Put that where it hurts most and I can tie it into place."

Alt nods and takes the pack, placing it over the pain.

"You may not be out yet, but you haven't faced the worst yet," Anti says. "He's coming." Marvin eyes' widen as Anti says that. He gets ready, conjuring a protective shield around Alt and Schneep before scrambling to his feet.

Alt blinks at the shield and then shrinks in on himself as he feels a familiar presence in the air. “…fuck-“

Schneep looks up at the shield, feeling the heat it gives off. "Oh no."

Evil laughter echoes around them before static shimmers in front of Marvin and a clawed hand reaches out, aiming for his face.

Marvin shouts in surprise as he dodges to the side, Mag's claws scraping along his mask but not doing any permanent damage. "Fucking shit!" he shouts.

Magnificent growls, baring his teeth as he skids into a cat-like stance, just having missed Marvin.

JJ whips into action, throwing at string at Mag, aiming to wrap him up.

Mag sees the string coming and then slices at the air with his claws as his eyes burn with hatred. He laughs, showing his fangs. “Oh no- we’re not playing that game this time, kitten.” Mag holds out his hands and a bright spiral appears behind him, trying to draw the people around under his power. “We’re gonna play my way this time~!”

“N-No! L-Look aw-!” Alt tries to yell, but his voice gets cut off with a strangled gasp.

The spiral is… beautiful. It’s so hard to try to look away once it captures your gaze. Magnificent’s smooth voice beckons you to listen… to obey.

“Yes… that’s it puppets! Why don’t we make this interesting hm?” The mad magician cackles, “Kill your friends- kill any super that gets in your way.”

Jackieboy and Bro know better, they manage to cover their eyes.

Alt tries but- he slips and purple green magic spirals in his eyes. He staggers and tries to get up- ignoring the shield- almost trying to walk past it, despite the heat coming off it.

Schneep is too busy looking through his backpack for bandages to pay attention to the spiral. And Marvin acts fast enough to close his eyes. But Jackie and JJ are looking at Magnificent when the spiral appears. They both slump, relaxing immediately. JJ looks over at Marvin, more strings appearing around his fingers.

"JJ...?" Marvin says in a shaky voice. "Please don't--"

But JJ attacks anyway, strings lashing out.

Jackie's spiraling eyes look at Bro and Jackieboy. He lunges for the two of them, aiming to punch whoever's closest.

"Alt!" Schneep grabs Alt and pulls him back before he can walk straight into the burning hot shield. "No! Wake up!"

Bro’s head whips up as he sees the spirals in Jackie’s eyes. “n-no- Jackie! C’mon man! Don’t listen to-!” The hero gets cut off as Jackie punches him right in the face. Bro staggers back, blinking spots out of his eyes.

“Hey! Other me! Not cool!!” Jackie Mann shouts, sliding down the stairs parkour style - then he tries to kick Jackie in the face.

Jackie easily dodges Jackieboy's kick, turning his attention to him instead, lunging at him for another attack.

Jackieboy skids as he misses and has a second of losing his balance before he gets punched by Jackie. He holds his cheek and staggers back. Bro sees this and yells, trying to grab Jackie’s arms from behind to stop him.

Jackie is in the middle of swinging back another punch when Bro grabs him. He struggles against him, trying to pull free.

Alt looks back at Schneep and his expression darkens. He quickly glitches to face him and then tries to tackle him to the ground by his neck, his pocket knife suddenly in his hand.

Schneep yelps as Alt grabs him and quickly goes intangible before Alt can pin him down.

Alt blinks at the empty space below him, blinking slowly.

Schneep backs up, disappearing through the wall to their backs and circling around to the other side of Marvin's shield. He pulls a pocket knife of his own out and goes for Mag--but is intercepted when the red SAM from earlier rushes at him, emitting some sort of energy pulse. Schneep yelps and falls as the SAM runs into him--not being hit by the machine itself, but by the energy it's emitting. He clutches his head--why is it aching all of a sudden?

Mag looks amused as the SAM attacks for him, grinning and waving at Schneep from behind it.

Marvin gasps and slices through JJ's strings before they get close. He's suddenly breathing heavily, eyes darting back and forth. "J-Jameson, please don't do this again! Y-you don't want to be like this anymore!"

Alt hears Marvin’s shouting and bares his teeth- finally glitching out of the shield and then trying to lash out to attack Marvin from behind with his knife.

Marvin spins around, sees Alt, and quickly ducks.

JJ, still hypnotized, lunges for Marvin as he drops to the ground, and Marvin immediately freezes up when JJ grabs his wrists. "No!" he screams, panicking, struggling. "JJ! No! Don't do this! Please! What about your friends?! What about your family?! What about Dahlia?!"

Something in JJ's eyes flickers at that. Dahlia? Dahlia. Dahlia... And suddenly he gasps, spirals disappearing. And he jerks backwards, looking down at his hands in horror.

Alt’s eyes flicker at the scene of Marvin freaking out- some part of him sympathizing.

But, Mag shouts angrily as his hold on JJ breaks and this snaps Alt back to attention, magic flaring brighter in his eyes. He yells too and sends out a sound wave to try to hit Marvin and JJ.

Bro seems to have forgotten he’s powerless right now- Jackie easily fights his way out. Bro staggers then shouts at Jackie. “C’mon Jackie! Windstorm would never work for a bad guy, right?! Fight this!”

Jackie's eyes flicker. "Wind... storm...?" he repeats. He shakes his head, backing away and pressing his hands over his eyes. Then his head snaps up. "H-holy shit!"

Bro deflates with a relived smile, “H-Hey hey it’s okay! You’re-“ The sound wave goes off and startles Bro and Jackie, who whip around to look.

This moment comes at the same time Alt's sound wave fires off, sending both Marvin and JJ sprawling across the floor. JJ reacts worse than Marvin does, clutching his ears and writhing. Marvin gasps and scrambles over to JJ, covering him protectively. His eyes snap to Magnificent and he aims a beam of energy at him--and that red SAM swoops to intercept it. The beam slams into it, burrowing a hole in its side--and yet it stays flying.

Magnificent yells as his control gets broken again. “Insolent pests!” He cringes as Marvin’s blast comes towards him but- the SAM intercepts. Mag grins, laughing. “Ha! These things are handy!”

Alt glitches in front of Marvin and JJ, towering over them with bright spiraling eyes. He opens up his hand in front of Marvin’s face, magic bubbling up hot and dangerous as he aims like he might try to shoot Marvin through the skull. “No!! Alt stop!!” Bro tries to yell.

Marvin's eyes widen--and he kicks Alt in the knees, knocking him to the ground.

Alt hits the ground like ton of bricks, jostling his injured chest and making him let out a strangled gasp. His eyes flicker wildly.

Bro looks at Windstorm with wide eyes and then his eyes flicker to Mag. His expression darkens. “We need to take out Mag. But the eyes are getting in the way!”

Magnificent yells in anger, then slams a hand against the wall. Green flames burst out and then crackle around the room-cutting off their exits. “None of you fucking heroes are winning today!” He snarls dangerously. “None of you will leave this place alive!”

The whole group tenses as the fire appears--but Schneep gasps. He points towards the hallway leading out of the room, now blocked off by flames. It's--someone--

A blur rushes across the room towards Mag, crossing the length in less than a second, and Mag suddenly feels something hit him very hard against the back of the head.

Now it’s Magnificent’s turn to hit the ground like a ton of bricks. He wasn’t expecting this at all. He’s out- and the fire flickers out around them as Mag slips into unconsciousness.

Standing behind him is one Dahlia Jackson, holding the metal bat Soren had earlier.

Bro and Jackieboy stare dumbfounded at the now downed Mag and triumphant Dahlia.

The magic in Alt’s eyes breaks when Mag falls and he rolls onto his stomach, coughing and gasping. He starts to shake wildly, trying to take in the scene.

The remaining SAMs have all been knocked to the ground, though they're all quickly getting back up.

Jackieboy cheers and jumps up, “YEAHHH DAHLIA!! That was bad fucking ass!”

She grins at the group... and then blood begins to leak from her nose and she immediately collapses.

Jackie gasps- JJ lets out a voiceless scream and hurries over to her. Schneep is right behind him, checking Dahlia's vitals.

Bro rushes over and kneels down by her too, but tries to give Schneep room. “W-What just happened?! How- how did she do that…??”

“Is she okay??” Jackieboy asks worriedly, hovering behind them.

The guys don't say anything for a while, Jackie and Marvin hurrying closer while Schneep works. Then, Schneep sighs. "She overexerted herself," he mutters. "The nosebleed is a side effect of using her powers too much, yes?"

JJ nods. It starts coming from her ears too if she goes too hard.

"Yes. And because she is still so weak, even a short use of the powers was too much. She needs rest."

Jackie lets out a breath of relief.

Marvin is also visibly reassured. "Thank goodness," he mutters. And Jackie looks at Bro. "'How did she do that'...? Heh, y-yeah, I guess we never explained her powers, huh? Dahlia is--was, maybe, I dunno if she still wants to do it--a hero called Timekeeper." His eyes light up. "She can manipulate time to her will, speeding up or slowing it around her. She must have slowed time for us, which is why she looked like she moved so fast!"

Bro’s eyes widen and then he grins, “Just like Henny! Oh my god- now they need to meet!”

"Whoa!" Marvin suddenly shoots a blast at one of the SAMs, which is up again and aiming its canon attachment at Bro. It dodges, but at least Marvin succeeded in drawing attention to it.

Bro yelps as Marvin yells and then he turns to protectively holds his arms over Dahlia.

Alt peeks up his eyes and then growls seeing the SAM. He narrows his eyes and tries to see if he can dismantle it with his magic.

The SAM falls apart into pieces.

Marvin blinks as he sees that happen, then laughs. "That also reminds me of someone. Maybe Alt should meet her, too. Next time you guys should come on a non-school day."

Alt blinks at Marvin and then laughs breathlessly, pushing himself up on shaky arms. “Sounds like s-someone I’d like to meet too.”

Then Marvin spins around and shoots another beam at the red SAM, finishing off the job he started. It falls to the ground with a hole right through it. "Think you can do that with the last one?"

The last black SAM has its peripheral burned off earlier, but it's preparing to fire something else--looks like more neutrinalin darts.

Alt looks at the last SAM and nods, jerking his head to the side as his eyes flash green, trying to take this one apart as well.

The SAM's lens pops out, followed shortly by all its panels falling open and then its hovering mechanism failing as it crashes again.

Jackie applauds. "That's so cool!" Then he looks at Alt and his smile fades. "Are you okay?"

Alt’s eyes quickly dim back down and then he sighs and grips at his chest. He smiles tightly at Jackie. “M-Magic exhaustion and ngh- getting hit in the chest by whatever those things fired… I… I’ll be fine…”

"Alright... if you're sure," Jackie says.

"We have medical supplies, if you have time to get patched up," Schneep offers.

Jackieboy hurries over to Alt’s side and helps him sit up properly, the smaller boy resting his head on Jackieboy’s shoulder. Alt smiles gratefully. “thanks…”

Footsteps. Soren comes running into the room, aiming a--that's a crossbow. Why and how does he have a crossbow? Everyone in the room shivers for a moment as the sight of him rushing in and aiming it, eyes flashing menacingly, is pretty intimidating. But as he lowers it, the feeling abruptly disappears.

Bro stiffens as Soren comes in and then relaxes only slightly- “…why the fuck do you have a crossbow??”

Soren examines the crossbow in his hands. "Because I couldn't find a trustworthy firearms dealer in the city. Underworld's really gone to shit in the past year."

"Also, What the fuck happened?! Dahlia disappeared--Dahlia?!"

She'll be okay, Soren, JJ says. She took out Magnificent and Alt took apart the Machines, like how G-computer does.

He looks at JJ, raising an eyebrow. "Really? A man of many talents." He gives Alt a grin. "Nice job."

Alt flushes a bit then smiles at Soren’s compliment. “T-Thanks.”

"You know this isn't over, yes?" The green SAM is still intact.

Alt stiffens as he hears Anti’s voice.

"Shut the fuck up you--you hellspawn!" Marvin snaps.

"I didn't spawn from hell. I spawned from man like the rest of you."

“Yeah? Well why don’t you fuck off before we spawn you outta existence, freak!” Jackieboy shouts.

"Get out of here!" Jackie shouts. "How dare you use that SAM?!"

Anti laughs.

Alt’s eyes burn with magic as he glares at the last SAM, looking ready to take it apart too.

"Fine," Anti says, noticing Alt's look and none too eager to lose this more specialized SAM. "But I will see you again. And next time, you won't be ready." And the SAM flies back out through the broken window.

Alt glares after the SAM as Jackie Mann shouts after it, “Yeah! Run with that tail between your legs, bitch!”

Jackie grumbles wordlessly, folding his arms.

"The fucking window is broken?" Soren notices. "Dannazione, come osi..." He shakes his head.

Schneep gently lifts Dahlia up. She's awake, but looking really out of it. "Come on, Dahllie, let's get you some rest," he says quietly. "You all can come upstairs too, I am sure Chase is worried about all of us."

Bro gets to his feet, still feeling kinda weird without his powers. He almost offers to take Dahlia from Schneep but thinks better of it.

Alt starts to push himself up and Jackieboy helps him. Alt narrows his eyes at Mag and then mumbles some spell words- ropes of magic coming to wrap up his arms and legs and a magic gag over his mouth. He sags a bit against Jackieboy who keeps him upright as his eyelids flutter. “Okay bud- no more magic for a bit…” Jackieboy gently scolds him, putting on his dad voice.

“D…didn’t… want him… causing trouble…” Alt mumbles sleepily.

“That really helps, Alt, thanks,” Jackie says, grabbing Mag. “We’ll keep an eye on him. But you should rest up, okay?”

The group heads upstairs again. Bro helps Jackieboy take Alt up. Chase is waiting in the bedroom, standing up and looking nervous. He jumps when the door opens, grabbing a knife Soren lent him, then relaxing as everyone comes in, all looking relatively unharmed. “E-everyone good?” He asks. “We h-heard a bunch of shouting downstairs a-and then all of a sudden Dahlia was gone—”

“She helped,” Schneep says, putting Dahlia down on the bed. She rolls over, closing her eyes. “But she completely wiped herself out.”

JJ gets to his knees next to the bed so he’s level with Dahlia’s face. When she opens her eyes he signs, Thank you, but be careful, Dahlia, okay?

“Yeah…” Dahlia mumbles, closing her eyes again.

“Oh, Alt, wanna sit down?” Marvin asks. “You uh… you’re tired. Do you need anything?”

Alt tiredly smiles and nods. Bro is quick to help Alt sit down and worriedly checks him over. He’s a bit warm but- not worryingly so. Alt blinks and starts to shake his head but then pauses, “…maybe some water? S-something to eat… it’ll be a second until I’m back up completely though. Food doesn’t fix everything…”

“Oh oh alt! Cant you like- drain electricity from stuff for power? I swear you’ve done that once-“ Jackieboy says, leaning on the back of the chair.

Alt shivers slightly, “…I could but… I don’t want to b-break anything… I-it’ll be okay… I’ll be okay.”

Bro frowns in worry, looking between Dahlia and Alt.

“I’ll go get you some water, then,” Soren says. “And snacks. Do you think you guys will stick around for dinner, or do you have to deal with him quickly?” He points at Mag, who Jackie just kinda dropped in the corner farthest from the door.

“Man! I’d love to stay for dinner… but this fucker will probably wake up.” Jackieboy gestures to Mag, “Jays always says people don’t stay knocked out that long.”

“Yeah… we should probably take him home… once Alt has enough energy to power the TRVLR that is… maybe we can take a break…” Bro mumbles, not looking happy.

JJ looks over at Soren. Before you go, can you— and he makes some signs that don’t really make sense. It translates directly to relax me but it must mean something else in this context.

Soren bites his lip. “You know it’ll fade as soon as I leave the room. If you’re still worried when I get back, though, sure.”

JJ nods. That’s fine.

Bro does blink at the sign language and looks between Soren and JJ, “…’relax me’? What does that mean?”

JJ blinks. He gestures at Soren to explain. “I can affect people’s emotions,” Soren says. “Make them feel happy, sad, angry, afraid—it sounds worse than it is, really, cause I have to see you to do it. Jem worries a lot, so I try to help out.” He glances at JJ. “But I can’t do it all the time.”

I know, JJ says. I’m figuring stuff out.

“You need a therapist,” Schneep says bluntly.

I know! That’s kind of difficult to find when we’re in hiding. JJ sighs. He glances at the rest of the room. I’m not going to air all my personal feelings, but I DO know how to deal with problems in ways that don’t involve direct emotional change. It just helps sometimes for short periods of time.

“Wouldn’t agree if I didn’t know that,” Soren mutters. “Alright, I’ll be right back.” And he quickly leaves.

“…you do need therapy,” Marvin says.

Well so do you, JJ responds.

“Touché.”

“Ooooh- okay,” Bro says, nodding. “That makes sense- hell we all have a therapist but if I had an easy access to something to relax me right away I’d take it.”

“Damn seems like we need to bring Dr. J here too!” Jackieboy grins.

Bro bops him on the head, “We’re not bringing Dr. J to another dimension for him to just do his normal job for our doppelgängers! Really Jackie??”

“It was a joke!!” Jackieboy says defensively, then pauses. “…kinda. Jay wouldn’t judge- …but maybe it’d be weird to… therapy an alternate version of yourself.”

“It’d be super fucking weird!!”

Alt looks at Jj tiredly but mumbles out quietly. “…I get it… getting controlled by Mag really messed with you, huh?” He grips at his wrist, massaging his purple markings.”…I know the feeling.”

JJ looks at Alt thoughtfully. He nods. I almost did something I promised myself I would never do again… he signs slowly.

“H-hey.” Marvin clears his throat. “It wasn’t your fault. You know what mind control is like. It wasn’t really you. And i-if you’re worried about me… it’s fine. I forgive you.”

…Thank you, Marvin, JJ says. He shakes his head. Anyway, Soren is really smart about people’s emotions, and it’s not just because of his powers.

“Could’ve been a therapist if he wasn’t a fucking crime lord,” Jackie mutters.

“I don’t think he is still like that,” Schneep says slowly. “Everything has sort of disbanded.”

“Because you put him in jail,” Chase adds, looking at Jackie. “So you should really know.”

“Well yeah but—but that’s not the point. I’m saying that he would’ve been a great therapist in another world where he wasn’t a villain in the first place. He could still be one now, but I don’t know many people who’d be eager to have Pathos as their therapist.”

Alt looks at JJ sympathetically and then finds himself giggling quietly as he mutters. “Heh… Pathos means feelings… that’s funny- good name-“

“Oh god he’s getting loopy,” Jackie mutters.

“‘M not loopy… yer loopy…” Alt grumbles.

Bro blinks and looks between everyone, “…I feel like I’m missing vital info here- Soren was a villain???” He throws his arms up into the air and then gestures at Schneep and Marvin, “How many of you were villains before that I had no idea about?!? …I mean- it doesn’t change anything! But I still feel like this should have gotten brought up!!”

"Uhhhh... everyone but me, Chase, and Time--Dahlia," Jackie says. "Which like--Bro. I get it. Do you know how much it rocked my shit to hear that Chase's doctor had been moonlighting as a master thief for years?"

"Master thief?" Schneep repeats, clearly flattered.

Jackie makes a face at him. "Not to mention the whole thing with JJ as the Puppeteer. My whole world just flipped upside down then. I mean, sure, turns out JJ was blackmailed to do it, but at the time... my, like, brain fucking broke."

"At least you're now much more open?" Chase says.

"I... yeah, I guess. I used to have a very, uh, black and white type of view on heroes and villains. But having it turn out that some of my friends are them, and then Marvin and Soren turned out to be, you know, people beyond their crimes, it... yeah." Jackie falls into a contemplative silence.

Bro looks at Jackie and nods, holding his arms. “…I’m trying to be… better about that too. The black and white thinking… I.. I really hurt people… thinking like that.”

“…cuz I was a villain too.” Alt speaks up, “…only for a couple months… and I was hella influenced by Mag when doing it but…” He closes his eyes and takes a steady breath, “…we’re all so much more than the bad things we do… especially when we try to be better.”

Bro blinks then smiles softly and hugs Alt to his side.

Meanwhile, JJ gives Alt a small smile.

Alt looks up at JJ and then smiles too.

Soren soon returns. "Alright, here." He hands Alt a water bottle and a plate with a peaunut butter sandwich, a banana, and a wrapped chocolate bar. "Not my best work, but if you guys have to leave soon I figured faster was better. And I also grabbed my old phone. It's charged but there's no SD card on it, so don't worry about breaking it if you need an electric boost."

Alt blinks open his eyes and they light up with delight. “Oh my god- this is more than enough, thank you!” He hungrily starts to dig in.

"Hey Jem, are you okay now?" Soren asks gently.

JJ nods. A little bit. I can handle it now.

"Okay, let me know."

Jackieboy laughs, sitting down on the floor. “Man- I wonder if like- being hungry after using magic or powers is like- worst then being regular starving… I wouldn’t know. But like- I forget to eat cuz of my ADHD and that sucks!”

"Oh, I know, it's the worst, isn't it?" Jackie agrees, jumping in with his other self. "Especially since like--okay I don't get hungry directly from using my powers but I do have to concentrate and if I'm concentrating on flying I'm not thinking about how hungry I am so I don't eat."

"Broooo," Chase says, turning the word into a booing sound.

"Oh don't give me that, you forget, too."

"Frosty helps remind me, though," Chase says, patting Frosty's head. "You don't have him, you gotta do it yourself."

“Bro tell me about it! I swear I sit down to make my kids and me lunch and then I’m like oh I should do the dishes real quick and then I’m like oh a mug! Let’s make coffee! Then I’m like oh yeah I need to make a coffee date with the mates soon- and next thing I know I’m on the couch watching videos on my phone with two sandwiches half made wondering why I feel like rubbish!” Jackieboy laughs. Then he pauses and frowns, “…my life sounds so boring compared to a superheroes though-“

"Bruh, tell me about it," Chase says. "Everyone in this room except for you and me has powers."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Chase," Jackie says. "Just because you guys don't have powers doesn't mean you're not needed. Or wanted. You're like, my best friend."

"...oh." Chase looks unbelievably touched by that comment.

Bro grins and pulls Jackieboy into a hug with his arm around his neck. “Yeah! You’re my best friend too ya dummy! I don’t know where I’d be without you and your stern dad voice!”

“I don’t have a stern dad voice!”

“Oh you so do-“ Alt laughs.

Bro nudges his Jackie. “So, Don’t sell yourself short, Jackaboy- dealing with kids is hard work!”

Schneep glances at Jackieboy. "And this may sound cheesy, but I bet you are your children's hero. Good parents are something to be valued."

Jackieboy looks touched.

Bro softens and then hugs Jackieboy tighter. “And believe me bro- Schneep’s right. your kids… they think you’re the coolest guy in existence. You’re a big hero in their eyes.” Jackieboy’s eyes get a bit misty and he quickly wipes at them with his jacket sleeve.

“But, since you were curious! I know I feel ravenous after flying around for a bit- but only afterwards.” Bro continues. “Flying takes a lot of thinking!”

“Really? I thought it just made you an airhead-“ Alt snickers.

“Hey!”

Marvin snorts at Alt's comment. "Hah. Airhead." He nudges Jackie. "You."

"Wha--excuse you?" Jackie glares at him.

Alt bursts into giggles.

After a few more minutes Alt seems to be back in working order, finishing up the food. He grabs Soren’s old phone and grips it in his hand, draining the energy from it. His eyes glow brighter green and soon enough pixels vibrate around his shoulders and he grins, glitching back to his feet. He winces slightly as he moves his chest too much but he grins. “Fuck yeah! Oh, that was just the boost I needed!”

"Whoa!" Chase grins. "That's so cool!"

"Whoooo." Dahlia raises a hand into the air, giving a supportive thumbs-up and announcing to everyone that she's more awake now. Schneep and JJ laugh.

"Just in time too, I bet bitch other-me is gonna wake up at any moment now," Marvin says, glancing at Magnificent.

"So are you guys gonna, like, drop him off and then come back, or are you gonna stay in your world for a while?" Jackie asks. "Because I'd be down for both."

"We do not know if time between worlds is consistent," Schneep muses. "Perhaps even if they come right back, much time will have passed for us."

Like Narnia, JJ says, spelling out the name.

"Th' endin' ov that series sucked," Dahlia mutters.

Jackieboy laughs at this. Then, he turns to Bro.

Bro frowns, sighing. "...I dunno how much time passes to be honest... We might be able to come back but... we don't know if the TRVLR is-"

"Maybe it was just a fluke-" Alt says with a shrug, "Sure once we bring back Mag we can come back! But, just in case- maybe we should get each other's numbers- just so we can warn you next time we're around." He says with a grin.

Jackieboy frowns, "Can that work across dimensions?"

"Eh... probably not- but I know an Anti who could help with that- or maybe my glitches make it so I can... cuz I talk to him a lot," Alt replies. It does indeed seems like Mag is stirring- but is not quite awake yet.

Jackie raises an eyebrow. "Really? That'll be cool. Yeah, hang on." He reaches into a pouch on his supersuit and pulls out his phone. "I dunno about everyone else, but I'll give you guys mine."

"Me too," Chase says, taking his phone out.

Schneep frowns. "That does not seem like the best idea to me. What if it does not work and you end up texting someone else with my number?"

I'm a bit reluctant to give out my phone number these days, JJ says.

"It's fine, if they have Windstorm and Chase's those guys can contact the rest of us," Marvin says.

"Motherfucker I can't contact you," Jackie says. "I still don't have your number."

"And you never willlll~"

Alt laughs at Marvin's comment-

Jackie rolls his eyes. "Okay, Marvin's up in the air, but the rest of us should be informed if you can contact us. Here, gimme your guys's number, too."

The boys all quickly exchange numbers. Alt, Bro and Jackieboy all give theirs. Jackieboy bounces up and down, "I hope we can get this to work!! I wanna hear all the cool hero things that happen here!"

"Um?? Hero best friend right here?? Kinda offended??" Bro says raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms, "Am I not good enough anymore?"

"You know what I mean! I wanna hear what other me gets up to! Besides they all have different villains and shit!” Bro snorts and rolls his eyes.

“Oh my god- dude if we could face time my kids would lose their minds if they met you!" Jackieboy says excitedly, clutching his phone.

"That might be pushing the universes' boundaries a bit-" Alt laughs.

"Oh I'd love to talk some more whenever you guys come by next!" Jackie says excitedly. "I could tell you all about my rouges gallery. Hyper Spike, Glacier, Titanium, Dark Storm--Marvin was actually one of my rouges for a long time but we're chill now so I wonder if I could chill with some of those guys."

Jackieboy’s eyes sparkle, “I have no idea who any of those are but I wanna know!! Oh my god- new heroes and villains to learn about!! That’s so fucking cool!!”

"Dark Storm's a bitch, he won't want to chill with you," Marvin mutters. "But, uh, yeah, I-I'd love if you guys could... come visit again... and chat."

Alt smiles at Marvin and nods, “Yeah… someday we can just- chill. But… gotta get the cat home first-“

Bro kneels down by Dahlia and blinks at her, "Hey- you gonna be okay? We never said thank you for saving our asses back there-"

Dahlia grins up at Bro. "Not a problem, it's what I do. I'll be fine. 've come back from this before."

"The coma makes it a bit tricky," Schneep mutters. "But we will take care of her." JJ nods, grabbing his sister's hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Hope we'll see you guys again," Chase says.

Bro smiles and nods, “I get it- just… take care of yourself. Seems like you got a lot of people who care about you.” He gets up and then grins and lightly punches his other self’s arm, “You will! We’ll be back! Promise!”

Jackie Mann frowns at Mag and then looms over him- just in time for Mag to blearily open his eyes. He glares up at Jackieboy and struggles, shouting out against the gag. Jackieboy’s expression darkens and he kicks his foot against Mag’s cheek. Mag’s head snaps to the side and he looks almost stunned.

“That’s for ruining our trip ya egomaniac!” Jackieboy bites.

“Okayyy here Jackie just- lemme handle the mad angry hostile villain.” Bro says, dragging Jackieboy back. He goes to lift up Mag and then- finds he once again can with ease. He relaxes and laughs, grinning. “Just in time! Seems like power suppressing stuff wore off!”

“Thank god.” Alt sighs with a smile. He pulls out the TRVLR and finds their own dimensions again, setting it up to jump.

"Whoa, I feel like that wore off faster than usual." Jackie laughs. "I guess that's the benefit of being from another world." He then glares at Mag. "You stay away next time. Or we'll kick your ass even harder than we just did." Dahlia glares at Mag as well. And Soren smiles, an expression accompanied by a chill of... fear? When was the last time Magnificent felt fear?

Magnificent squirms and spits out curses against Alt’s magic- all up until that surge of fear gets sent through him. Then he quiets, seeming to shrink against Bro’s shoulder. Bro blinks then laughs, “Hey! That’s a handy trick!” He beams and nods his thanks to Soren and the others.

JJ, in between Dahlia and Soren, signs, Don't come back.

"You all can come back, though," Schneep says, nodding at Jackieboy, Alt, and Bro.

"Any time!" Chase adds.

"We'll see you around," Marvin says. "Good luck with all this."

Jackieboy grins, “We’ll be back real soon! For a proper day!”

Alt smiles and salutes, “Until then~!” He then grabs the others and presses the jump button, preparing to go home.

And the familiar falling sensation happens, the world around them going dark. But... again, there it is. That ripple. And, like fish in water, the group feels themselves diverted just slightly off course as the space around them shifts.

#SATCV #SATCV Septicheroes #alt anti #bro fantastic #jackie mann #swap magnificent #super fight time!!#and dahila being BADASS LETS GOOO!!#new world tomorrow!! :D

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huffle-dork · 6 months

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 2: SepticHeroes Revisited

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs | Read Septicheroes

Read SITCV | SITCV SepticHeroes Chapters | AO3 Link It sounds like your friend Bro showed up near Schneep and Marvin, JJ says. And now everyone is coming here to meet up.

“Oh good!” Dahlia says.

Jackie perks up from where he was resting against the wall. "Oh sick!" He grins.

“We should probably let Soren know so he doesn’t try to freeze them for intruding.” Dahlia says.

JJ raises an eyebrow. I thought you liked Soren.

“He could be worse. But he would definitely react badly to lookalikes suddenly showing up with your friends.”

Jackie tilts his head, "Freeze? Oh oh! Does Soren have ice powers??"

Dahlia laughs. “I meant that metaphorically. Like you know, when people freeze up with fear?”

"Oohhh sorry- I thought lots of people had powers here." Jackie replies with a timid smile.

“Oh no, you’re right, lots of people do,” Dahlia says. “I’ve fought three different ice villains over the years.”

I’ll go find him and let him know about all this, JJ says. Jackie, do you want to come? You know, meet him?

Jackie looks at JJ then grins, hopping up to his feet. "Yeah! I'd love to meet him!"

Dahlia leans back against the pillows. “Tell Soren I say hi.”

I will, JJ says, standing up. Follow me, Jackie.

They leave the room and enter a narrow upstairs hallway. All the doors up here are ajar so JJ only glances inside each—bedroom, bedroom, bathroom, closet—before heading down the stairs at the end of the hall. This whole house seems very generic, with single color walls and almost no decorations. Didn’t Bro and Alt mention some of the guys here were in hiding? This must be a place they’re staying, not anyone’s home.

Jackie observes the house with interest. He can definitely tell this is not a lived in house- he knows what a lived in house looks like. His kids have taught him that lesson over and over. This place seems wayyy too clean.

The first floor has an office, a bathroom, a living room, a dining room, and, finally, a kitchen. Which is the last place they look and the place where they finally find who they’re looking for. There a man crouches on the floor, looking through the cabinets.

JJ whistles and the man looks over at him.

“Hey Jem. Jackie.” He stands up. He’s wearing a dark red jacket over a white crop top with a purple heart in the middle. His hair is red, cut short on the right and longer on the left, and his eyes are—dark purple? Huh. He’s also taller than both Jackie and JJ. “I was just about to start—” And then the man stops. His eyes narrow at Jackie, and Jackie feels a little afraid all of a sudden. “Jameson, that’s not Jackie.”

No, I know, JJ says. He can be trusted.

Jackie stands stiff as they meet Soren- he's almost surprised he knew his name... before remembering he's technically a copy. He smiles timidly and raises a hand in greeting. "Yo...? You're.. not too far off. I am Jackie but... Jackie Mann. I'm... from another universe...?"

Soren blinks. Then he looks at JJ. "Wait, you were telling the truth about all that?"

Did you think I was messing with you? JJ asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually I thought you were delirious."

JJ looks like he wants to say something defensive, but then he sighs. That's fair. But yes, it's all true. We really met people from another world, and now they're back. More are coming here soon, along with everyone else.

"...huh." Soren leans back against the kitchen counter, contemplating that. Then he nods. "Alright. Nice to meet you, then, Jackie Mann." He looks at the shirt Jackie's wearing, the one that says 'Oh No Everyone's Hot' in the bi pride colors, and grins. "Heh. Mood." The fear Jackie felt briefly is gone now.

Jackie finds himself blushing- not only cuz this guy is attractive but... its not often he meets someone with the same eye color as his wife. A bit darker than hers but...mmmm. He looks down at his shirt and blushes more. "O-Oh uh.. y-yeah! Mood-" Oh god he's being cringe- where are the others??

It turns out, the others are right outside, as Alt glitches Jackie and Chase onto the path to the front door. Frosty shakes himself, fur floofing out like he's trying to shake off the glitches.

"Here we are!" Jackie says, making sure his mask is secure. He walks up to the front door and rings the doorbell.

Alt shakes off the glitches too, feeling momentarily dizzy but being able to push it off. He's fine- it's fine. He smiles and follows after Jackie towards the door.

JJ, Soren, and Jackieboy can hear that doorbell from the kitchen. Soren raises his eyebrow. "Is that them or should we ignore it?" he asks.

It might be some of them, JJ says. Alt can teleport people.

Jackie's phone chimes. A text from Alt: Yo nerd we're outside 😼

Jackie laughs and tilts his head towards the door. "It's them! Alt just texted me."

JJ giggles. Alright, let's go meet them, then.

"I'm coming with," Soren announces. "I want to meet the people coming into my house."

JJ laughs as the group leaves the kitchen. Let me and Jackie answer the door, at least.

"Yeah, sure." Soren leans against the entrance hall wall while JJ opens the door.

"Hey!" Jackie grins--and then grins wider when he sees his other self. "OH! HEY! HI!"

Jackie Mann’s eyes widen and then he grins super big, stimming slightly. "oh my god oh my god!! It's true! You really are a super hero!! Or youre like- totally yanking my chain and wearing a costume and this is all a joke and if it is imma kill Chase but AHHHH"

Alt bursts into laughter, "Jackie, breathe man! You're gonna pass out!"

“No no no, I really am! I—” Jackie glances around, then hurries through the doorway. “Check this out!” He jumps—and stays in the air, hovering a few inches over the floor.

Jackie's jaw drops and then he stims even more, practically vibrating, "THAT'S SO FUCKING COOL!!"

Alt glitches over and puts a hand on his Jackie's shoulder, "Inside voice, my guy-" He giggles.

Jackie lands, grinning and giggling. “It really is so cool! I forget about how cool it is sometimes.”

Chase walks in with Frosty. “I was so surprised the first time he showed me,” he says. “I didn’t even believe him until I saw the flying. Hey, other Jackie! I’m Chase.”

Jackie blinks and then beams at Chase, "Omg! Other Chase!! AND A PUPPY!!" He bends down to admire Frosty and almost pets him before seeing his vest. "OH! working pup- I see. Carry on good sir and/or ma'am!"

Chase grins. “This is Frosty! He’s my good boy. You can give him a couple pats, it’s okay.”

Jackie's eyes sparkle as he gets down and pats Frosty on the head, "oh! Hello Frosty!! Oh aren't you the best boy?? Damn- I should get a dog... maybe once Penny is older." He laughs.

JJ laughs silently. Hi Alt, it’s good to see you again.

Alt smiles, "Hey JJ! Good to see you too."

Bro isn’t here yet, apparently he and Marvin and Schneep had to take the train.

Alt tilts his head and frowns, "The train? huh... Guess the others didn't wanna get flown around... you know what? that's fair." He laughs.

In the background, Soren watches all this happen with visible curiosity.

Alt blinks at Soren and then waves a bit, "Uh hi! I'm Alt-"

Soren grins and raises a hand. "Hello. Call me Soren."

Alt smiles, "Hey, nice to meet you. I think I remember them mentioning you last time!"

"JJ's boyfriend," Chase says teasingly.

We're not officially dating, JJ says.

"Oh really?" Soren raises an eyebrow. "So what was it last night when we--"

I am going to make you shut up, I swear to god, JJ says hurriedly, a few strings appearing around his fingers.

Soren laughs.

Jackie looks back and forth between each other. "...wait a second, did you guys--"

Jackie springs up to his feet and rubs his hands together, "Oh!! I'm sensing drama and tea~??"

It's not what you think! JJ interrupts, his face turning very red.

"Aaaaanyway," Chase says. "Where's Dahlia?"

Jackie's face falls and his points dramatically at Chase, "Noooo! Don't change the subject!!"

Alt bonks him on the head, "Stop being weird, ya doof-"

Still upstairs, JJ says, relieved at the change of subject. Do you want to meet her, Alt?

Alt blinks at JJ and then smiles, "Oh yeah sure!"

Jackie grins, "I think you'll like her, Alt. She's real cool~"

She'd love to meet you, JJ says. I think she's love your powers.

Alt flushes but grins happily. "Neat, let's see her then."

Come on! He turns and hurries towards the stairs.

"I'm coming too, I wanna hang out with Dahlia," Jackie says excitedly.

"Fanboy," Chase whispers under his breath.

"Hey!"

"You guys have fun, I'll wait for your other friends down here," Soren says, waving the rest of them off as everyone heads upstairs.

Dahlia sits up straight when everyone returns to the bedroom. "Hey Jays. Jackie, Jackie, Chase, Frosty--and new guy, hello!" She waves.

Alt glitches a bit and tries not to get into his old habit of hiding his face in his mask. "Hi! I um-- I'm Alt. You're Dahlia, then?"

"Yep!" Dahlia says cheerfully. "Nice to meet you, love. You're the one who can turn into electricity, right?"

Alt blushes a bit more and grins, "Uh yeah- kinda? I'm... a magician so I do magic but... electricity is mostly it."

"He can do all sorts of shit," Jackie says. "Like glitching--that's how we got there."

"Nice, nice. Sorry there's not many spaces to sit in here. Chase, d'you need the chair?"

"No, I'd rather not, uh, change position too much," Chase says.

"Alright, in that case, it's a race to claim it," Dahlia chuckles.

Jackie and Alt glance at each other and seem to share a thought- and race towards the chair. Alt glitches into it though and grins. "Too slow~!"

"Hey! No fair ya cheating bastard! I could run circles around you!" Jackie pouts.

"But why would i try that if I can just glitch~?" Alt laughs.

"Whoa!" Dahlia's eyes light up. "That's so cool! It's like--teleportation with an effect."

Jackie laughs at Jackieboy and Alt's interaction. "Isn't it? It's so cool! Last time, Alt went into my phone--I mean, that didn't really work out too well but it's because Anti was there."

"Ah yes, the hellspawn," Dahlia comments in response to Anti.

"H-hey, uh, be careful." Chase glances at Alt. "We, um... might... You know how weird other dimensions get?" If Alt really was another version of Anti, he doesn't want to indirectly insult him.

"Do you mean universes? Dimensions are different," Jackie says.

"Jackie's right," Dahlia says. "And I know, I studied physics."

You dropped out, JJ says, grinning.

"Hey! That's a family secret!"

Alt grins at Dahlia, "Hey no sweat- I never finished secondary school. So you got me beat!" He laughs.

"Also, Don't worry Chase- I've been to lots of universes now. Most Antis I meet fit the description of hellspawn. I was just born different~" He grins mischievously. He then glitches out of the chair, "By the way- I don't need this, I just wanted to beat Jackie~"

"Yer such a jerk," Jackie laughs.

Dahlia blinks. "Wait... you're an Anti? How?"

"It doesn't really make sense, does it?" Jackie says. "But apparently it's true. I guess there are infinite possibilities with other universes."

"Huh. I suppose that's right."

Alt hums, "The only reason I'm an Anti in my universe is cuz... I picked that name when I was little. Was better than my old name. But, now I just stick with Alt. Only Bro really still calls me Anti." He shrugs, "But, apparently, Antis have lots of similar... traits." He seems to shiver, sticking his hands in his pockets and bunching up some, his confidence shrinking a bit. "... Glitching is one of them," He pulls at his mask, rubbing up against his neck.

JJ claims the chair now that no one is moving for it. How many universes did you guys go through before you reached home again? he asks. It must have been a lot if you've met lots of versions of yourself.

Alt blinks up at JJ and then thinks, "Oh... um... yeah it was a lot." He mentally counts, "We've been to two of them twice before this one- i think it's been... 7 ish?"

"That's a lot of other worlds," Jackie says in awe.

Alt seems to shrink in more and rocks on his feet, looking away. "... Antis aren't... usually the greatest... in other places. Typically they're... bad guys. Freaky villains and..." He presses his lips shut and closes his eyes, trying to push back some thoughts. "...i... I'm not like them though. I'm trying my best not to be. Cuz... I'm more than just an Anti. I'm Alt."

Jackie gives Alt a gentle smile and pats his shoulder, looking at him proudly.

"Well, I can guarantee that you're nothing like the Anti here, Alt," Chase says. "Everyone is themselves, y'know? Not just like... a role to fill. Besides, we just said that the universes are, like, infinite, so there's probably more good Antis than you know. I bet there's some bad versions of us out there, too."

"Ha! I'll always be a hero," Jackie says, folding his arms. "No matter what world I'm in."

I don't think so, JJ says. Look at other Jackie here. I mean--I'm sure you're a good guy, other Jackie, but it sounds like Chase is the main hero in your world.

"...uhhhh... good point." Jackie blinks, at a loss for words.

Chase laughs at the blank look on Jackie's face. "Bro. We were just talking about how different everything is, and you come in like 'nah I'll always be the same.'"

"It's just--just hard for me to picture being evil, is what I mean!" Jackie stammers defensively.

Alt opens his mouth and then shuts it, not sure he wants to tell Jackie about the bad Jackies he's met. Like Sangira... or- well... that Jackie is getting better now. But still- He has killed people.

Jackie laughs, "Man! I wish I was a hero! But nah- I'm just a geek who's a dad and does parkour~" He grins, "Chase is our main hero. I'd love to help but- as our Dr. J says im 'injury prone'." He adds air quotes.

"You are injury prone-" Alt deadpans, "You're hiding a wrist brace right now!"

Jackie pulls down on his jacket sleeve, "No I'm not, you're a liar!"

Chase laughs. "Bro, I didn't even notice that!"

JJ also chuckles. I don't think anyone would have said anything if Alt didn't point it out.

"Hey look, I get you, man--Mann, haha." Chase laughs some more. "My balance sucks. Frosty helps out with that, along with some other stuff, but accidents still happen sometimes."

Jackie's ears turn red but he grins, "I mean... it sucks but- being clumsy is how I became best friends with my Chase. ... wouldn't change that for the world."

While this nice conversation is happening inside, outside, Marvin, Schneep, and Bro are walking down the street. "Why do we have to walk everywhere in this city?" Marvin grumbles.

"Learn how to drive," Schneep says, still invisible.

"No, I don't want to."

"Your loss, then."

"You don't drive, either, don't talk shit to me."

Bro laughs and hovers a bit in front of them, "Maybe you two just need to learn to fly~" He jokes before touching back down. He walks backwards grinning at them. "I don't drive either- but Jackie does! I try to avoid it though-"

Schneep is quiet for a moment. "Anyway, we are almost there." He flickers back into view long enough to point out a house. "That is it."

Bro blinks and then notices the house as Schneep points to it and grins. He hurries over to the door and knocks on it.

"Whoa whoa hey!" Marvin and Schneep rush after Bro. "I think it's best if we don't lead with the stranger. Soren's as paranoid as me."

Schneep walks through Bro and ends up in front of him, returning to visible view.

“Oh right-“ Bro starts to say and then shivers as Schneep passes through him. He backs up and pats the spot where he went. “…that was so weird woah-“

And then the door opens. Soren leans against the doorway and looks down at the three of them. "Marvin, Specter, good to see you." He smiles, then looks at Bro. "New guy. You look very heroic. Other Chase, I'm told. I'm Soren, Soren Moizone."

Bro blinks up at Soren and then grins. “that’s cuz I am! I’m called Bro Fantastic back at home! Nice to meet you, Soren!”

"Heh. Fun name." Soren grins and Bro feels immediately at ease. "Your friends are inside, talking upstairs. I was going to start making dinner in the meantime."

"It's like four in the afternoon," Marvin says.

"And? There's a lot of you. We need a lot of food."

"I'm not sure we have the time for that..." Schneep mutters. "Something has happened."

Soren's easy demeanor immediately shatters, replaced by a hard, serious look. "Get in, then." He steps aside so everyone can come in.

Bro’s smile drops and he looks sad for a second. Damn… if Mag hadn’t gotten here… they could have actually had a good time. He squeezes his eyes shut and pushes down his anger and walks in to find his friends. “…thanks, Soren.”

"Not a problem," Soren says. "I'll head on up with you."

They walk up the staircase. The door to Dahlia's room is ajar a bit. Schneep hurries over and pushes it fully open. "Hey, Hen!" Dahlia waves. "I was just about to bring up when you'd get here."

"Hey, other me!" Chase says. "Hi!"

Jackie waves furiously at Bro. "Hey! Good to see you again!"

Bro smiles as he walks into the room and waves, "Hey guys-"

Alt immedately straightens up, "...what's wrong?' He asks in a quiet voice.

"What? Huh- how did you-??"

"Please Chase- I know you." Alt says with a raised eyebrow.

Bro looks conflicted. But eventually he sighs, his shoulders dropping. "...Magnificent is here..."

"WHAT?!" Jackie and Alt shout almost in unison.

"I thought you guys were just visiting?!" Jackie gapes. The curtains flutter as a nervous breeze flies through the room. "Did he tag along somehow?"

"Whatever happened, it was not intentional," Schneep says. "Bro said that it may be something wrong with your TRVLR device."

"Magnificent is... a villain, right?" Dahlia says.

"A bad one?" Soren asks.

A bad one, JJ confirms.

Chase shudders. "Last time he was here he got in my head. I-it was freaky."

Alt starts to pace and glitch anxiously, tugging at his hoodie. "NO no! I... I was so careful! All that planning! The warding! The protection spells! It all meant nothing?!" He shouts at the end, the electronics in the room all flickering and shuddering from Alt's anger and panic.

"Hey hey lil bro, Breathe!" Bro says, coming over and holding his shoulders. "It wasn't your fault! he... it must be something with the TRVLR! Did anything seem weird about it??"

Alt shakes his head, "I.. I dunno- It seemed fine... just- why?!" He shouts, angry tears in his eyes. "Why is he here, again??"

Jackie looks at Chase with a sympathetic gaze before turning back to Dahlia, "Yeah he's... our main villain back home. A power hungry maniac corrupted by black magic... he wants to make people into his puppets or steal their power or... lots of other fucked up shit. He's a dangerous dude..."

"Where's Marvin?? He was with you guys, right?" Alt suddenly shouts, worry on his face, "Mag really hurt him last time- he didn't-?!"

"Alt please, try to calm down..." Bro whispers.

"I'm right here." Marvin steps forward. He'd hung back to take off Bro's spare clothes, which he then shoves at him. "Yeah, I still have the scars from him turning into a fucking tiger. But he clearly still wants to kill me."

Alt deflates a bit, less worried now that he knows Marvin is okay. Bro fumbles with the clothes then stuffs them back in his bag.

"Turning into a tiger...?" Soren repeats slowly.

"The powers from the other world are more varied than ours," Schneep says. "A 'magician' there can do many incredible things at once."

"Uhhhh okay," Dahlia says.

"At least, uh, h-he can't find us here," Chase says.

JJ frowns. Can he? How did he find your flat last time?

"Um... I-I don't know. I never really thought about that."

I think he had help, JJ says. He signs something: the letter A, and then smacking his hands together. A-virus. The meaning is clear.

Alt's eyes narrow and he growls, "That Anti fuck... he's probably gonna try to help him again! Fuck... fuck fuck fuck!" Alt shouts, looking like he's ready to hit something or explode- pixels coming off him as his body breaks in and out of being whole by his glitches.

Jackie Mann looks between everyone and tries to smile, "M-Maybe it wont be so bad! Maybe... this is actually hidden this time? Mag usually can't find shit without magic!"

"Uhhhhh..." Jackie bites his lip and stares at his other version. "How do I put this...? Anti can look through cameras. All our phones have cameras. We all have phones on us right now."

"We should have never started using them again!" Schneep curses.

"God damn it all!" Marvin punches the wall.

Soren rubs his eyes. "Yang and I only have so many safe houses in the city, you know," he says tiredly. "Why did you all start using computers again?"

"Well, we figured that now we know Anti can't reach us, we'd just have to be very careful what we said," Chase says slowly.

Clearly this was a mistake, JJ says. We have to get out of here.

Alt sighs and crosses his arms, "...trying to run might get innocents hurt. Knowing Mag and how hard we kicked his ass last time... he's not gonna be happy. He's gonna hunt all of us down..."

"If Magnificent is coming here, why don't we wait for him?" Jackie argues. "We could spring a trap!"

I'm not putting Dahlia in danger.

"I can handle danger," Dahlia mutters. "Even like this."

"I mean- yeah! We know he's coming so we can prepare! We got him really good last time!" Bro smiles,

JJ still looks reluctant, but he nods. Alright, I suppose we have to prepare for a fight, then.

"Great, we can put these to use." Soren walks over to the armchair, bends over, and opens a hidden compartment in one of the legs, pulling out a knife. JJ looks at this, surprised, and bursts into silent laughter. How long has that been there?!

"Since before you guys moved in. There are weapons in all the chairs and lamps, some of them with special features."

Chase leans closer to Jackie. "I told you," he whispers.

Alt blinks and then grins, "Fuck yeah that's metal!"

Bro looks worried. "Are the houses around all safehouses? Because our powers aren't necessarily... discrete?"

"And what about us powerless people huh?" Jackie says, pointing to himself. "I mean- save a face punch from me for Mag- but I'm also fragile!"

"Super fights happen all the time, don't worry," Jackie says. "I don't think any of us are destructive enough to level the neighborhood or anything." He hesitates. "Even so, I-I--I can go around and ask people to clear out. The citizens know me, they'll listen."

"And don't worry, other Jackie, I have all sorts of stuff," Soren says. "My powers aren't exactly combative so I have to make up for it. What are you, blades, guns, or blunt instruments? I'm sure I have some protective vests somewhere, too."

Jackie brightens up, "oh! I just learned how to use a knife better! Gimme!"

Soren grins. "Alright, here you are." He flips the knife over and holds it out to Jackie hilt-first.

Jackie grins and flips the knife, testing out the feel. “Sick- I’ll cut some new whiskers on Mag’s face!”

"I'll try and find those protective vests." And Soren stands up and leaves.

"I can try to cast some wards and stuff-" Alt says, digging out his spellbook. "He's a strong magician but I... I can probably keep him back for a bit..."

Go ahead and do your magic, Alt, JJ says. Any time you can buy us will be great. And he gets up. Dahlia?

"I'll be careful, Jays," Dahlia says. "Promise."

JJ nods, then goes out to follow Soren in the search for the protective vests.

Alt nods and starts flipping through the pages. His eyes burn with green blue light as he recites some words, going to trace some runes in the air above the walls.

Bro shifts nervously, "I could come with you if you need, Windstorm-"

Jackie looks at Bro. He nods. "That's a good idea. If we spot something suspicious while out, one of us can fly back and tell the others here. I think we should avoid texting for now."

Bro nods with a small smile and puts back on his mask, his hair flaring to green-yellow. “Right!”

"Alright." Jackie nods. "Let's go!"

Time passes as everyone prepares. Soren passes out weapons to everyone who doesn't have more combative powers. He also finds three protective vests--which are smaller and thinner than traditional bulletproof vests, but which he assure everyone is just as protective as Kevlar. JJ insists that Dahlia gets one, and the other two go to Chase and Jackieboy.

Outside, Jackie and Bro fly around, telling the neighbors that theere's going to be a fight happening soon and they need to either hunker down or leave. Nobody protests, understanding the gravity that comes with a Hero--and another hero--telling them directly.

Until, about half an hour later, Jackie nudges Bro. "Look," he says. "Do you see that?"

Bro narrows his eyes at where Jackie points and then frowns. “Uhhh… no? What am I looking at?”

Jackie glances at him, then back to where he was pointing. At a line of bushes in someone's front yard. Indeed the movement he saw there before is gone now—until it isn't.

Suddenly Jackie yells and tackles Bro to the side, just barely knocking him out of the way as a soccer-ball-sized metal sphere rockets towards the spot where Bro's head had been seconds before.

Bro yelps as he's pushed to the ground.

The sphere spins around midair and rushes at them again. Jackie raises a hand and a gust of powerful wind knocks it off course, sending it crashing to the sidewalk next to them. It's some sort of robot, mostly spherical with a tail-like peripherary. "That's a SAM," Jackie breathes. "Semi-Autonomous Machine. SepTech made them to help people but then Anti took control of most of them. I think it was spying on us."

Bro pants and then looks at Jackie with wide eyes. "If... if Anti took control of them- could he send them to the house??"

Jackie's eyes widen in turn. "Definitely."

The SAM's peripheral writhes, and it slowly hovers back into the air, pointing a camera lens in its center at the two heroes.

"We gotta warn the others then-!" Bro starts to say but freezes as the SAM gets airborne again.

Compartments on the side of the SAM open up, and out pop small devices--devices that then shoot a hail of sharp darts at the two of them.

Jackie dodges out of the way, a gust of wind pushing the darts away from him.

Bro yells in surprise as the darts are shot and crosses his arms in front of his face to try to block them. But, a few stick in his arm- one even breaking through his suit. "Ah- fuck!! What the fuck??" He pulls it out and looks at it then waves it at the SAM, "The fuck did you stick in me ya round orb bitch?!"

Jackie looks at Bro and pales. "Wait a minute." He plucks one of the darts that didn't pierce through Bro's suit from his arm. Inside the tiny glass compartment is a pale lavender liquid. "Shit! That's neutrinalin! It'll muffle your powers!"

Bro's eyes widen. "What?! Shit-!"

The SAM prepares for another volley of darts, aiming at Jackie this time. He barely dodges another round. "Go back to the house!" he shouts at Bro. "Quick, before it takes effect! Tell the others the SAMs are coming!"

Bro looks hesitant to leave Jackie but he quickly nods and takes back off into the air, hurrying back towards the house. He barrels through the door, nearly tripping into Alt who was prepping a seal against the door.

"What? Chase what's- dude what happened??" Alt asks. He's a bit pale and seems shaky but he's also half chewing on a snack bar Jackie brought.

Bro pants, wiping at his face. "That bitch Anti is sending machines this way! R-Round bitches that shoot out power nullifying shit! They look like eyes-"

Alt's eyes widen and he grabs Bro and pulls him in, "Where's Windstorm?"

"H-Hopefully right behind me!"

Schneep suddenly appears next to Alt. "You mean the SAMs?" he says. "The Semi-Autonomous Machines. They were made by SepTech to be helpful for people and Heroes.

"Yes! Those guys! Jackie said Anti-!"

“They should not be able to--what was it? Shoot power nullifying... you mean neutrinalin?"

"Yeah yeah that!”

JJ has arrived about halfway through the conversation. He frowns. Anti must have modified some of them. Did you get hit with the-- he makes a sign that the other-world visitors don't know, like JJ is pushing something down. It must be the sign for 'neutrinalin.'

Bro blinks and then nods to JJ, “uh... yeah i think so- I felt a prick-"

Then there's a distant screaming. It slowly gets closer--

Alt glitches and throws Bro and the others out of the way of the door.

—and then Jackie flies right through the doorway, still shouting, and crashes into the living room wall. "Oof!"

"Jackie!" Bro shouts, hurrying over to him. "Are you okay??"

Alt wastes no time in shutting the door and hurriedly chants another spell over it. He holds two hands over the wood and pours his magic in, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "A-Any sign of Mag??"

Jackie recovers surprisingly quickly, popping back up. "I'm okay!" he gasps. "No sign of Magnificent. But there's at least one SAM out there, and probably more coming, with--"

"Neutrinalin? Yes, Bro just told us," Schneep says. "He also said he might've been injected. Can you still access your powers, Bro? Will it even work on you?"

"I-if it will, it should be working by now," Jackie adds.

Bro blinks and then looks down at himself- for a second, he feels kinda dizzy. He shakes this off though and tries to see if he can hover in the air. He's able to for a second before he crashes down. His normally bright blue eyes under his mask seem a bit duller and he pales. "... f-fuck...!"

JJ looks at Alt. Do those wards block out any threats or just magical ones?

Alt grits his teeth and concentrates, trying to spread out his magic over more than just the door. "I... I started with just magic wards but- I-I'm trying to expand them to anything now that Bro and Windstorm are back! Hopefully they can hold for a bit... but if... if these machines are coming the wards I put over Dahila's room might not be enough...!"

Bro pushes himself up on shaky arms. "Alt- you're not draining yourself, are you??"

"I'm giving us a fighting chance!" Alt bites back. "We need every advantage we can get!"

"You know what would be giving us a chance? Having you ready to fight if they show up, Alt," Schneep points out.

Bro nods along with Schneep. "You're just as powerful as the rest of us Alt! We need you!"

Alt laughs at this, giving them a semi-pained look. "... Mag used me against you all last time- I dont want to give him that chance again. I'll be fine- but... I... I'll try to refuel." He backs up from the door, letting his hands slip off. The door and the walls/windows on that side of the house glimmer slightly with green- like the effect of looking at something under sunlight in water.

JJ pales a bit at Alt mentioning Dahlia. Do you think someone should stay with her? he worries. Maybe Chase? Or other Jackie?

Marvin appears just as he asks that. "You know your sister can take care of herself, right?"

Yes, but she was in a COMA until a couple weeks ago, so there's some difficulty there! JJ snaps, practically throwing his hands in Marvin's face.

"Whoa!" Marvin leans back. "Um... s-sorry. I didn't mean to... sorry."

Jackie peeks up from where he's been sitting on the stairs, nervously fiddling with the vest and the knife. He blinks at JJ and then smiles, "Hey- Jays- I can try to protect Dahlia if you want! Dunno how much use I'd be in the big fight but, I'm sure I can keep some metal fuckers away from her!"

JJ smiles at him. Thank you. But you said you were best at knife fighting, right? Knives won't be much use against robots.

Soren and Chase peek into the living room. "I can stay with Ti--with Dahlia, Jem," Soren offers. "I'm sure I can handle some drones." His weapon of choice is a metal bat, which he taps threateningly against his hands.

Jackie pouts slightly, "They're like- eyes right? Just- jab em in the pupil!" He tries to demonstrate, jabbing at the air.

Schneep laughs. "Their 'pupils' are their cameras, so that may actually work out. If there is no camera, they cannot see."

"But I also know... some martial arts! ... but I guess that'd hurt against a robot. Mannn what the hell! I hate being normal..." Jackie mutters.

Chase looks down at Jackieboy. "Yeah, I know how you feel, bro. Not sure how much I can do. All anyone would need to do to take me out is knock me down."

"If you guys want to get somewhere safe, we're not gonna stop you," Jackie says. "It's up to you." He peers out through the curtained windows.

Bro smiles at his friend with sympathy. "Well... looks like I'm in your boat too, Jackie..." He looks down at his hands and flexes them, as if willing his power to come back.

Alt sits down on the floor and grabs more things to eat, tiredly trying to get his energy back. He leans against the wall and tries to catch his breath, looking a bit pale and clammy.

Marvin nods. "Alright. Sounds like it's time to wait."

#SATCV #SATCV septicheroes #alt anti #bro fantastic #jackie mann #more introductions then!! trouble starts!! :O #i love dahila and soren so much ajhbak beans

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huffle-dork · 1 year

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Last night I binged @crystalninjaphoenix ‘s Septicheroes au AND ITS SO SLEPT ON GO READ IT!!! Not only is the world building incredible I love alll the characters so much!! But especially spitfire/Marvin because of course- I’m a Marvin simp it was bound to happen UGGVB

GO READ IT THO PLEASE ALL OF CRY’S WORKS ARE SOOO GOOD!! And I’m not just saying that as their friend (even tho I love them sooo much!!) I was a fan of their work first cuz they’re AN INCREDIBLE WRITER WITH SO MANY FUN STORIES TO EXPLORE!! GO READ THEIR STUFF!!

#love me a good asshole villain with a soft heart #huffleart #friend writing #septicheroes au #jacksepticeye #septicart #marvin the magnificent #spitfire cat

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huffle-dork · 1 year

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Trying something new on stream tonight! Gonna be reading some fics and then my friends will be doodling the plot as I read! Tonight we’re reading Septicheroes by @crystalninjaphoenix ! Join us for fun at 8 pm cst!

#stream announcement #streambuds stream announcement #doodle fanfics #septicheroes au

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docheros · 7 months

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but i'm gonna take the "is it ok to be in love with my creator" for my SepticHero needs. go gayboy suffer

#i'm talking!!#septichero #jackie #c!jack

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crystalninjaphoenix · 1 month

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Vault Visit

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 33

First Part | Previous Part | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

I bet you guys are wondering what's happening with JJ. Or at least I hope you are, he's a main character after all fhdjksalh Anyway, after a while of not checking on him, here's a chapter that mostly takes place from his point of view! JJ, still stuck in the Vault, continues his routine as normal. Mostly spending time with his new friend, Soren. But this routine is interrupted by a visit. I wonder who it's from, and what he wants :3c Anyway yeah prepare for further emphasis on how much the League of Heroes actually sucks >:)c Enjoy!

===============

Another day, and JJ’s headache had gotten worse again. He didn’t want to get out of bed, but he knew it would be bad to miss role call, so he rolled himself out and walked down to the gathering. If everyone in this prison was suffering from similar symptoms, or even worse, it was no wonder they all seemed so zombie-like. He wasn’t even fully aware of his surroundings until breakfast time. At which point the thought of eating made him nauseous. If the food was spiked with neutrinalin, would the side effects go away if he didn’t eat?

Soren was eating with him, though he hadn’t said much when JJ had sat down. Maybe the side effects were hitting him hard today, too. He looked across the table and saw JJ’s hesitation to eat. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said.

Do you? JJ asked.

“You’re thinking you can avoid feeling like shit if you don’t eat the drugged food.”

JJ smiled slightly. So I’m guessing that’s something people have tried? And it hasn’t gone well, has it?

Soren shook his head. “The neut will leave your system in about a day, so it seems like a good idea in theory. But the side effects will linger for a bit afterwards. Dunno how long, exactly—a couple more days, at least. Maybe longer.”

Has anyone tried to avoid eating and then make an escape attempt? JJ asked.

“I’ve never seen it, and no one I know has, either.” Soren bit his lip, thinking. “But there are stories of people who have. It didn’t go well, I think. None of the attempts. I mean, why would they? At that point you’re hungry, thirsty, and still feeling sick. You’d be easily overpowered even if your abilities were working at full force.”

JJ sighed. Well good to know. Still... He poked at the food with his spoon. Unflavored oatmeal, oh joy. Maybe things will be better if I just skip a meal. At least, less worse.

“Hm. Well.” Soren screwed his face up in doubt.

What? Are the guards going to get angry if I don’t eat? JJ glances around the room at the guards standing at each entrance.

“Yeah, they are.”

...what? Jameson hadn’t expected that answer. Why? I’m not starting a riot by skipping breakfast.

“But you might be plotting an escape attempt,” Soren said. “Like I just mentioned. Trying to avoid the League’s best friend in the food so your powers will come back and you’ll break out. That’s not acceptable to them.”

Jameson blinked. Are you fucking kidding me. So—they’ll just force you to eat their spiked food?

Soren laughed and leaned forward. “Fucked, isn’t it? It depends who’s on duty. I figure they all have instructions to check plates, but some take it more seriously than others. And are more... forceful about it.” His expression became shadowed. Almost... haunted. “Don’t... tell any of them I... said this.”

Of course not, JJ promised. He looked down at the food on his plate. It didn’t look any more appealing than it did before. But he forced himself to scoop some up and eat. A lull in conversation followed as the two of them tried to eat breakfast.

“Honestly even if you managed to get away with it, you have those cuffs,” Soren muttered. “They really don’t want you to get out.”

JJ paused. He pulled down his sleeve a bit so he could look at the pow-sup bracelet there. Sometimes he was able to forget they were there at all. Sometimes he couldn’t stop thinking about them. They were always a constant presence, the inch-wide, centimeter-thick metal. I noticed you don’t have any, he said. Most people don’t.

“Yeah, they only put them on the ones they think are really dangerous,” Soren said. A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Or whoever they’re most afraid of.”

I know you said that if you’re on good behavior, they might move your cell to another floor, JJ recalled. To somewhere less secure. Is the same true for these? He shook his hands, indicating the bracelets. Jazz hands.

Soren laughed. “Jazz hands! Jazz hands indeed.” He sighed. “I don’t think they will. The security risk is partly about your personality, you know. The cuffs are just about your powers. Or at least, that’s how I see them.”

JJ nodded. He turned his hands around, looking at the bracelets... and that’s when he noticed something that he hadn’t before. Or rather, he noticed a lack of something. How... How were these supposed to come off? There wasn’t a keyhole. Or a number pad for a code. Or a space for a fingerprint or anything. He knew the League had advanced tech, but—there would still be some sort of indication, wouldn’t there?

“Jameson?” Soren blinked, seeing JJ’s eyes get wide and his face drain of color. “What’s wrong?”

JJ’s eyes flicked up to him. He tried to sign something, but his hands were shaking so much that it came out incomprehensible.

“I-I didn’t quite catch that.”

Jameson tried to steady himself. I... don’t think... these are supposed to... come off.

“Huh?” Soren took a moment to process what Jameson meant. “Wait—they can’t be removed?!”

JJ shook his head. Tears sprang to his eyes, brought by panic and spurred on by his headache. Maybe there was some way to get them off that he couldn’t figure out—maybe it would be fine! And besides he knew he’d probably never get out of here, right?! So why did it matter?! Why did it matter?!

“Jameson? C-calm down.” Soren reached across the table, putting a hand on Jameson’s trembling shoulder.

They could just turn the cuffs on at any moment. Even if he made it out of here, even if someone miraculously took care of that technopath, even if—oh my god, could he turn on the cuffs?! He couldn’t control all technology but—these were probably connected wirelessly to something to control them. Could he use that connection?! No no no—he’s been forced to do enough for that electronic voice, he didn’t want him to have another way to control him!

“Jameson, calm down!” Soren stood up, leaning across the table. “You’re hyperventilating.” He grabbed his shoulders firmly. “Breathe with me, alright?” he said gently, and took a deep breath in.

But Jameson couldn’t focus enough to follow his example. The cuffs wouldn’t just suppress his powers, would they?! That was bad enough! But they were also magnetic, they’d snap together, meaning he couldn’t use his hands. What if he was busy doing something important when they snapped together?! What if he was on a ladder or something and he ended up falling?! Well he’ll never have the chance to be on a ladder while in prison, but still! Oh what if the magnets stuck to nearby metal? The walls were metal! Would he be stuck in place by the arms if he got close enough?! And what about this pow-sup energy anyway? Did it have the same side effects if he was affected by it long enough?! What if it had worse side effects?! What if—

“Jameson! JJ!” Soren shouted.

JJ gasped and looked at him, eyes filled with tears. He couldn’t—he couldn’t get enough air—

“You’re starting to sink,” Soren said, firmly but not unkindly. “Sinking into anxiety. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you need to try to pull yourself out.”

His hands were still shaking, but he tried to speak. I can’t.

“Do you want contact or not?” Soren asked. “Should I back up or get closer?”

Close, JJ said, hiccuping from the way he was hyperventilating.

Soren nodded. He raised a leg like he was going to try and climb over the table, but glanced at the guards and changed his mind. Instead he rushed around the end of the table and sat down on the bench next to JJ. “Are you okay with me putting an arm around you?” He asked. When JJ nodded, Soren did just that, wrapping an arm around Jameson’s shoulders and pulling him closer. “Breathe,” he whispered. “Focus on what’s really here. What you can see and touch.”

JJ nodded. He knew exercises to do during moments like this. He knew them, but it just felt like everything was crashing down on his head and he couldn’t think—

“You can hear my voice, can’t you?” Soren asked. “Listen to that. Listen to the way these words rise and fall. Remember to breathe. Try to control that. Breathe in while I count to seven. One, two, three—“ Jameson tried, but his controlled breathing fell apart quickly. “That’s okay. We’ll try again. One, two, three, fo—We’ll try again. One, two, three, four...”

After a while, JJ managed to get a hold of his breath. Enough that he didn’t feel like he was constantly out of breath, at least. Thank you, he signed shakily, vision still blurred with tears.

“Glad I could help.” Soren smiled warmly despite how tired he looked. “Now... what was the problem there? I know, it was that the cuffs don’t come off, but what specifically about that upset you? Was it that you were trapped?”

Jameson shook his head. I don’t know. I just... just... kept thinking about what if someone used them. Maybe I did feel trapped. I don’t know. Every so often as he signed he caught a glimpse of the metal cuffs flashing in the light.

“Well... yeah, that makes sense,” Soren said. “But... this is going to sound a bit harsh, but... there’s nothing we can do about that right now.” He heard JJ’s breath hitch. “That’s upsetting, I know. But we can’t get them off. There’s no way we can.”

Are you telling me to give up? JJ asked.

Soren shook his head. “No. I’m telling you to think about what you can do instead of worrying about what you can’t. If someone decides to turn on the cuffs, you can’t make them stop. You don’t have your powers.” Soren smiled again. “You can figure out how to deal with it when it happens. Your brain is trying to come up with solutions ahead of time, but all that’s making you do is feel afraid and worried. Take a step back.”

I don’t want to... JJ took a shuddering breath. I don’t want to be unprepared.

“Of course, but if you push yourself into a panic like that you’re not really being prepared,” Soren said. “You’re just... well, panicking. This is a bad situation, I’m not denying this. But if you freak out—if we freak out—then we can’t do anything, you know? We’re frozen, letting the fear control us. We’re already dealing with a lot, constant panic will just make everything worse.”

JJ didn’t say anything. He just thought about what Soren was saying. Then he nodded. I suppose you’re right... anxiety isn’t helpful here. He leaned farther against Soren, limp from all the energy he expended in his little freakout. Thank you.

“G-glad to help,” Soren said. His face... was it a little red? Seeing it made JJ feel his face get a bit hotter too.

I’ve had a question for a while, JJ said. Are we... allowed to visit each other’s cells?

“Well... it depends on who’s on guard,” Soren said slowly. “But in general, it’s easier to visit someone on your own floor, or a higher one. You’re... probably not going to be able to visit someone on a lower floor.”

JJ nodded understandingly. If you ever need anything, maybe you could try coming up to visit me, then? Or... if you just want to... want to try.

Soren inhaled sharply. “Yeah... maybe I’ll... I’ll try that. If it’s some of the nicer guards on duty.”

The two of them finished breakfast without saying much else.

===============

“Prisoner 3117.” Thump!

JJ started awake. He’d been dozing absentmindedly on the cot in his cell, trying to get some rest but not fully succeeding. He just kept passing in and out of consciousness, until there was a sudden loud sound nearby. He rolled over and looked towards the cell door. It was open. A man in the blue-and-black uniform of a prison guard stood there, two more guards visible behind him. Did one of them hit the wall or something?

“Stand up,” the guard in the doorway said.

What was happening? Did he sleep past roll call in his daze? JJ sat up, and his head immediately started pounding. He winced, pressing a hand to the spot where it hurt the most.

“Stand up,” the guard repeated.

He was going to, jeez. You’d think that the guards would be used to their prisoners acting listless. JJ pushed himself to his feet, swaying for a moment, then looked over at the guards.

“Come on.” The guard gestured for him to come over. “You have a visitor.”

A visitor? Who was it? He could only think that it was one of his friends. Schneep, maybe? But would Schneep risk coming to a League prison when he was, himself, a criminal? It was probably Jackie, actually. A possibility it was Chase. He couldn’t see Marvin getting anywhere close to the Vault, since he was so paranoid about his identity being discovered—paranoid for good reason, of course. Yeah, it was probably Jackie. That was the simplest explanation. Interrogating a villain seemed like something he’d have to do as a Hero.

He walked over to the cell door as he wondered this. The guard in the doorway stepped back, gesturing for JJ to walk ahead of him. JJ did so, and the two other guards stepped up on either side of him. They were ready to grab him if he tried anything, he could tell. Not that he was able to ‘try anything.’ He was exhausted. His attempted nap had made him more tired, ironically enough. Even if he got desperate, the guards would be able to easily overpower him. They wouldn’t even need to turn on the pow-sup bracelets on his wrists.

The guards guided him through a door he hadn’t been through since he arrived here. The heavily-guarded doorway into the set of long, winding hallways that would eventually lead to the prison’s entrance. He couldn’t clearly remember the way to the front, but that didn’t matter, did it? He wasn’t going to escape anytime soon, even though all the neutrinalin side effects were making this place a hell to live in. He couldn’t escape. He didn’t want to think what the robotic voice would do to Dahlia if he left against its wishes.

After a while of walking, they entered a room divided in half by glass. Or... it probably wasn’t actually glass. It was probably some sort of bulletproof plastic. A table sat right in the middle of the room, divided in half by the glass as well. JJ had seen this sort of setup in enough crime TV shows. He could figure out how it worked. Jackie would sit in the chair on the other side of the glass, while he sat in the one on this side, and they would talk. The shows usually had a phone system, but clearly it was different here.

“Sit.” One of the guards pushed him forward. JJ stumbled, but regained his balance and walked over to the chair. He didn’t fail to notice how the legs were bolted into the floor. “Lean back,” the guard said, walking over.

JJ did so. The guard pressed a button, there was a beep, and then a pair of metal cuffs appeared, holding JJ’s ankles to the chair. Another, larger one shot out from the back of the chair, wrapping around his waist, right at the bottom of his ribcage.

“Since you can’t talk, your hands are free for your... sign language,” the guard said. JJ couldn’t see his face, but he could practically hear the doubt in his voice. “Consider yourself lucky. The first sign of anything suspicious and we’ll rush right in.” He chuckled. “If he doesn’t put you in your place first.”

Jameson blinked, confused. Wait, was his visitor not one of his friends? Obviously, he couldn’t ask any clarifying questions. The guards were leaving, their backs to him, so they wouldn’t see his sign even if they knew BSL in the first place—which he doubted they did. So... all he could do was wait.

Luckily, he only had to wait a minute. A door on the other side of the glass opened up, and in walked—oh, so it was Jackie after all. What did the guard’s comment about the visitor ‘putting him in his place’ mean, then? Did the guard just assume Jackie would beat JJ up if he tried to escape? Well... clearly he didn’t know anything about Jackie. But it was telling that the guard assumed a Hero would do that. JJ just wasn’t sure what it, specifically, was ‘telling’ about.

Jackie paused soon after he walked into the room. Even with the white lenses of his mask, JJ could tell his eyes were locked on him. An expression of total shock on his face. Did he look that different since the last time Jackie saw him? Jackie looked exactly the same to him... didn’t he? Maybe... maybe his face was a bit narrower. Had he been eating enough?

After a moment, Jackie hurried over and sat down at the chair. JJ heard the scrape of its legs against the floor—so that one wasn’t bolted down. Of course it wasn’t. Jackie cleared his throat. “Um... can you hear me?” he asked.

JJ nodded. Jackie’s voice sounded a bit tinny. It was probably coming from an intercom.

“Right. Good.” Jackie cleared his throat. “I... wanted to... check on you. H-how are you doing?”

...how was he supposed to answer that?

After a moment of having his hands in the air, hovering awkwardly as he thought about what to say, JJ signed, As best as I can be, in this situation.

“Hah. Yeah... probably a dumb question.” Jackie nodded. “You, uh... you’re... eating alright? Do, uh... Does a place like this have somewhere you can get sunlight? Exercise?”

JJ nodded. There’s a courtyard. And there’s three meals a day. Not that he made much use of the exercise equipment out there. Not that he always ate everything on his plate.

“A courtyard?” Jackie blinked. “Well that’s good to hear. But what about people who can fly?”

There’s a net that covers the top of it. And besides, you know about the neutrinalin, don’t you?

“I, uh... yeah...” Jackie nodded slowly. “I knew that... prisons fed their superhuman prisoners neutrinalin. Um, but...” He hesitated, looking like he had something to say, but not sure how to say it. “You, um... look... You’re really pale, and...” He trailed off.

Jackie, JJ said. Did you... want to ask me something?

Jackie started in surprise. “Um, y-yeah. I... We know about the one who was blackmailing you. The police and everyone. It’s on the news and stuff.”

JJ started. So they found his emergency video tape after all. That was a last resort. He hadn’t even known if he would use it, not until Jackie had finally confronted him in the police station. God—did he know that JJ had recorded that video? JJ glanced around looking for video cameras in the room. There had to be one!

“How we figured it out is secret,” Jackie said hurriedly. “A League secret. But we know about Anti-Virus.”

JJ laughed. Anti-Virus?

“What?” Jackie sounded suddenly defensive.

It just... seems so... I don’t know, giving him a cheesy name like that... makes it sound less... serious.

“He called himself that!” Jackie said. “In your—” He suddenly stopped, coughing. “Well, the message did have a little ‘haha’ on the end, so maybe he thought it was funny too.”

Ah... JJ remembered that part in the texts now that Jackie mentioned it. He caught it on the video. So... now what happens? he asks. You know about him, so now what?

Jackie hesitated again. “The plan is to get you out of here,” he said slowly. “After all, you’re not fully at fault for this. At the very least, you don’t need to be so highly guarded. But... it will take... a long time to get through the trial and all that.”

JJ blinked. Jackie didn’t exactly sound optimistic. Huh... if he got moved out of the Vault legally, would that anger him? What would he do to Dahlia? He tried to hide his sudden spike of fear. Well... that’s good, he said slowly.

“So, um...” Jackie cleared his throat. “Is there... anything you want to share about him? This Anti-Virus?”

Well, that would certainly anger Anti-Virus, sharing information about him. Though to be honest, JJ didn’t know all that much in the first place. What do you already know about him? JJ asked.

“He’s a technopath,” Jackie said. “One with the ability to manipulate software. You probably aren’t aware of this, but uh... there was a data leak from the League database. Anti-Virus was behind it. He doesn’t want us to investigate him.”

Yeah, that made sense. I don’t know who he is, JJ said slowly. He only ever contacted me through text, calls, and emails. And he deleted those afterwards.

Jackie sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I was worried about. Did he ever mention anything that might... give away who he really is?”

JJ shook his head. He couldn’t recall Anti-Virus telling him anything related to himself. Even when JJ tried to egg him on a couple times, the voice remained firm and the text remained businesslike. Only relating back to Jameson. What he wanted Jameson to do, what he would do if Jameson didn’t obey. A single-track mind.

“Any little thing could help,” Jackie insisted. “Do you know why he wanted to attack SepTech, for example? On the roof that day, he said something about wanting to control it, but is that the truth? Or... was he just creating a Puppeteer character for you to play?”

Jameson stiffened. He shook his head again. I’m sorry, I don’t know anything.

“...right.” Jackie nodded. “Of course. I don’t expect he’d want to tell you anything. Especially if he thought you’d get arrested.” He sighed and leaned forward. “...how are you doing, JJ? Really? I mean... y-you’re still my friend. Strangely enough, you were still my friend even when I thought you were the Puppeteer on your own free will. That’s why I couldn’t... couldn’t understand why you’d do that. So... I-I want you to be okay. Even... even in a situation like this.”

JJ blinked. Thank you, he said, signing slowly. I’m... fine. Could be better, but fine.

“Good. Good.” Jackie nodded. “Nobody’s giving you any trouble or anything?”

No, not at all. I’d even say I made some... friends.

“Friends?” Jackie blinked. “With villains?”

Well, yes... if that’s who’s in the prison, then that’s who’s available for me to talk to. Other villains.

“JJ, you’re not a—”

JJ shook his head, interrupting him. Yes I am. No matter what my motivations, I still did those things.

“But you—You’re a good person,” Jackie insisted. “You know that, right?”

Jameson tried to smile, but it wavered. Thank you for thinking so.

“You are,” Jackie continued. “You can’t think that you’re not. You had a good reason for doing what you did—I-I’m sure. We all know it. Schneep does, Chase and Marvin do. We all know.”

So... they all knew about Dahlia, then? Well, of course they did; if Jackie found his message, he found hers too.And of course he’d tell the others. Jameson hadn’t told Jackie, Chase, or Marvin about her for so long... were they angry that he hid his sister from them? Jackie didn’t seem mad, but he wouldn’t know for sure unless he was direct about it. And he didn’t want to be direct. But he couldn’t help himself from thinking about what he would say if Jackie asked about why he never told them he had a sister. Ever since she was kidnapped, even thinking about her hurt, there was no way he could’ve brought her up to them... not to mention them knowing about Dahlia could have been trouble if his secret as the Puppeteer got out.

Did the rest of the world know about Timekeeper, too? Or did his friends keep that part to themselves?

“JJ?” Jackie prompted.

Jameson shook himself out of the introspective daze he’d slipped into. Sorry, he signed.

“It’s fine,” Jackie said. “So... really, people have been... friendly in here?”

Not friendly exactly, JJ said slowly. I’m sure a lot of them don’t like me. But no one has the energy to do much. And a couple have been nice. I met someone, Soren—

“Who?” Jackie asked.

S-O-R-E-N, JJ said, spelling it out. He’d forgotten for a moment that Jackie wouldn’t know the name sign he gave Soren. You know him.

“I do?” Jackie leaned back. JJ could see the gears turning in his mind. “Wait—you mean—Pathos?”

JJ nodded. He wanted to know what had happened back home, and things... developed from there.

“I—I—” Jackie seemed to be at a loss for words. He let out a breath. “O...kay, then. That’s... a hell of a coincidence.” He shook his head. “Well, uh... is he... okay? Besides all the... the crimes.”

Jameson chuckled. Besides all the crimes, he’s very okay. The same can be said for a lot of people in here.

“Hah. I’ll take your word for it.” Jackie sat there for a moment. He looked... sad. “Are you... sure there’s nothing you can tell me?”

...I’m sorry, JJ said.

“No, don’t be. In fact, thank you for what you’ve told me so far.” Jackie gave him a soft smile. “I... hate for this visit to be short, but I guess... there’s nothing more for us to talk about, for now. M-maybe I’ll be back if there are any... changes. Or if there’s anything else I want to ask.”

It hurt to see Jackie for a minute, only for him to leave again. But it wasn’t like they could spend ages catching up. JJ wouldn’t be surprised to hear that there was a time limit on visits. Goodbye, then, he said.

“Goodbye... for now.” Jackie stood up. “W-we’ll see each other again.” And with that, he turned and left.

JJ watched the door slide closed behind him. He sighed, slumping in his seat. And he wondered... would it have been better to never see Jackie at all? Would that be better than having this short conversation, reminding him of what he couldn’t have ever again? Reminding him of what existed outside the walls of Byrthon Vault?

The guards appeared to take him away again. He did not resist. No use in starting now.

===============

“Windstorm visited you?” Soren asked later that day. He was clearly surprised. “I guess... that might make sense? He doesn’t seem the type to throw someone in prison and forget. But what did he want with you?”

JJ sighed. There were a handful of others nearby. Soren had tried to introduce him to other prisoners JJ might get along with. But Soren was the only one who knew sign, so he was interpreting for the others. Don’t say this out loud, JJ said. But... we were friends.

Soren raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Jameson nodded. We met in our secret identities first... then I found out about his, by accident. Then he found out about mine when he unmasked the Puppeteer. It has... been a lot.

“I see...” Soren nodded slowly. “That... must be... difficult. At least he spoke to you.”

He’s a kind man, really, JJ said.

“Hey, what’s this all about?” One of the others nearby was Angela, the one who got up in JJ’s face early on. She seemed a lot more... chill, now. And she was too tired to act on anything, even if she wasn’t. “It’s not every day a Hero comes to visit someone in the Vault. Is it... should we be worried?”

Soren looked at Jameson. After a moment, he shook his head. It was all stuff related to me, not any of you, he said. Nothing is going to change for the worse in here.

As Soren told the others about that, JJ leaned on his shoulder and closed his eyes. His head still hurt. He was having trouble even sitting upright. But absentmindedly, he did wonder why Jackie came to visit. To let him know that the outside world was aware of Anti-Virus? To give him hope that he’ll be able to get out of here? That was probably it. Even though Jackie asked him questions about Anti-Virus, he seemed less concerned with interrogating information out of him and more worried about JJ’s health and how he was doing.

That was nice. Jackie really was a kind man. But JJ knew that it was unlikely that the public or the justice system would so easily forgive the Puppeteer. He knew he wasn’t leaving prison. Maybe he’d leave the Vault eventually. But he doubted it.

There was nothing he could do to change that though, was there? So he shouldn’t get himself worked up. He should focus on what he could do. He could spend time with Soren, maybe get close to other prisoners. Try to keep in shape to stave off the side effects. That was about it.

Still, it was better than thinking about how he was trapped in here. So he decided to focus on those few things after all. It might make being stuck a bit more bearable.

===============

“This is the path to the visitor’s room, I’m pretty sure.” Jackie handed Schneep a torn-out notebook page with a crude pencil map on it. “I asked a lot of questions about where the other corridors went, not all of them were answered, but I labeled the ones that were. I didn’t want to be too persistent for an answer, just in case it was suspicious.”

Schneep looked over the page, studying it. The four of them were in Neun Park again, having left their phones at home. “I see, I see,” he muttered. “Did Jameson tell you anything?”

“He mentioned a courtyard,” Jackie recalled. “But that it was covered with a net. Honestly I could’ve maybe asked him more... like where his cell is or something. But I thought that’d be weird.”

“Well, what you said earlier about the layout should help, right?” Chase said. “The warden said the most dangerous ones were higher up, I think they’d count JJ as dangerous.”

“Strange that they do that,” Marvin muttered. “Kanchana told me there’d usually be separate wings for different securities, not different floors. There must be only one cell block. Or two, for men’s and women’s.”

“It’s not the biggest prison, I guess?” Jackie said. “I’ve been to one before, the Vault was definitely smaller than that, but it looked a lot more secure. Cameras everywhere.”

Chase frowned. “Do you think Anti-Virus is able to get into the Vault cameras, then?”

Jackie stiffened. “Well... h-he’d need a reason to. I guess he could be keeping an eye on Jameson... I hope he’s not, though.” Oh god, if Anti-Virus did know what was going on in the prison, did he spy on his visit with JJ? Did he hear everything Jackie said to him? ...He was pretty sure he didn’t say anything too obvious about the breakout. But still. It made him nervous, but it was all done now. There was nothing he could do, other than help with the breakout.

But not too much. He couldn’t know anything important. If the League got a hint of what he was planning, they’d probably detain him at least, and he wouldn’t be able to help anyone.

“Do you know anything else that could be of help?” Schneep asked.

Jackie nodded. “He had these cuffs on. The warden said they were magnetic pow-sup bracelets.”

“What? But they’re already using neutrinalin on him!” Marvin cried. “They put pow-sup cuffs on him, too?!”

“The warden explained all that actually,” Jackie said. “It’s in case the neutrinalin fails somehow. If he shows any sign of using his powers they turn on the pow-sup and the cuffs snap together. I think it’s because his powers are so hand-based. The strings come from there and stuff.”

“Oh, so the pow-sup isn’t active all the time.” Marvin relaxed slightly. “That’s... slightly better. But only slightly. I-I still don’t like that.”

Schneep frowned. “There must be a way to get those off. Do you think we could find the key? Oh, but no, something so secure would probably use something more advanced, wouldn’t it? Perhaps fingerprint recognition. So we must prepare for his wrists to snap together at any moment, and once he is out we need some way to take them off. I wonder what metal they are made out of...”

Marvin shrugged. “No way to know without looking at them, I guess. But it can’t be too difficult to break.” He held up a hand and wiggled his fingers. Small spheres of glowing red energy, each the size of ball bearings, appear around his fingers and weave around them in a repeating pattern.

Jackie nodded. “I do think you’d be able to break through them... you’ll just have to be careful. They are on his wrists, after all.”

“Of course,” Marvin said quietly. The spheres disappeared. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“...yeah. I-I know you don’t.” Jackie looked to the side, watching a couple cars go down the street next to the park. “Are... are you guys going to do more planning? If so, I should probably go.”

“Right, yes.” Schneep cleared his throat. “Thank you very much, Jackie. This is a great help.”

“Is it?” Jackie asked. “I don’t think I managed to get much.”

“Anything is better than nothing.”

“Oh! Do you know exactly where the cameras are?” Chase asked. “Before you go, could you like... make a note of them?”

“Great idea, Chase!” Schneep nodded.

“I can try to remember where they are but, uh, don’t fully rely on my memory.” Jackie patted his pockets and took out the pencil he’d used to draw the rough map earlier. He took the paper back from Schneep and put a couple dots on it. “I think that’s where they are... the one right outside the front entrance had a red light and I watched for other ones like that. But there could be ones that don’t have those lights somewhere that I couldn’t see.”

“Hmm...” Marvin frowned. “I have an idea, but... I don’t know if I like it.”

“Don’t!” Jackie covered his ears.

“I wasn’t about to say it, fucking hell.”

Jackie stood up from the bench. “I’ll just go now. Is there anything else?”

“Not that I can think of,” Schneep said. “Chase, are you going as well?”

Chase glanced at Jackie. “Um... do you want me to go back with you?” he asked tentatively. “I-I’d be good with that.”

“Do you want to go home with me?” Jackie asked. “Or would you rather stay here and try to help.”

“I’m good with either, if you want me to come with you I will.”

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Is this how you two talk about most things? You’re flatmates, aren’t you? Do you go back and forth on doing the dishes, too?”

Jackie glared at him, then looked back at Chase. “Look, if you want to stay and help plan, you can. I can take the train back on my own, you know.”

Chase smiled weakly. “Y-yeah. I’ll stay for a bit longer. Let Frosty stretch his legs.” Frosty put his head on Chase’s leg, resting it there.

“Cool, man. I’ll see you when you get back.” Jackie smiled, then turned and walked down the street, heading towards the train station.

Once he was out of earshot, Schneep said, “The more I hear about the Vault, the less I know about how to infiltrate it.”

“You can’t just walk inside with your powers?” Chase asked.

“It is likely they will be prepared for supers with my skill set. I am not the only super who has ever had invisibility and intangibility.” Schneep chuckled. “Though I am by far the one with the strongest powers in a long time. They will have infrared cameras, I’m sure. And they may be prepared with energy weapons. Super intangibility usually cannot pass through energy beams and such. It is the same for me.”

“That’s how Jackie and I tried to corner him once,” Marvin said. “But you just went back into the U-Storit unit and walked through the wall there.” He sighed. “I should’ve completely surrounded you but I—”

“Didn’t think of it,” Schneep finished. “Most people do not. You are all accustomed to thinking of everything around as solid. Once you get rid of that mentality, so many new paths open up to you, ones that others do not consider.”

Marvin grinned. “I see.”

“Hey Marvin, what was that idea you mentioned earlier?” Chase asked. “That you didn’t like?”

Marvin’s smile dropped. He sighed. “I was wondering if the Dismantler could take out the cameras somehow. She’s a technopath—not like Anti-Virus, she doesn’t interact with the software, only the physical hardware of stuff. She... well, she can dismantle it. Physically. She also once told me that she has, like, a sense for high-tech stuff. She knows where nearby stuff is.”

“What, like an arrow in a video game that points to your objective?” Chase asked.

“Probably a bit like that, actually.” Marvin laughed.

“Well, why can’t she help, then?”

“Because... she’s... young,” Marvin said slowly.

Chase felt something in his stomach drop. “Is she a kid?!”

“Like an actual child?! No!” Marvin shook his head.

“O-oh. Good.” Chase let out a breath. Why did he suddenly feel a rush of panic, thinking about a child in danger? Well... everyone probably felt that way, actually. It’s not weird. Maybe it was a bit intense, but he worked with kids a lot... Why did he have this... strange feeling? Like he was... forgetting something...

“If we want her help for this, we’d have to get her into the Vault, a-and I don’t know how I’d feel about that,” Marvin stammered.

“Of course, of course.” Schneep nodded. “But... she was there at our first meeting. Does she want to help?”

Marvin shifted uncomfortably on the bench. “Let’s just look at Jackie’s diagram. See if there’s anything we can start to plan from it.”

Though they doubted Jackie’s little sketch was worth a long discussion, Chase and Schneep both nodded and turned their attention to it. Chase had a hard time concentrating, though. He kept thinking about that feeling... about that sudden panic. It seemed almost... protective in a way. But... it was probably just because he liked kids. Yeah. That was it.

And yet, the instinct nagged at the back of his brain. The feeling of forgetting something lingered all day.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #septic egos au #jacksepticeye au #jameson jackson #jackieboy man #marvin the magnificent #chase brody #dr schneeplestein #brigid writes fanfiction #septicheroesau

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crystalninjaphoenix · 2 months

Text

Breakthroughs and Breakouts

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 32

First Part | Previous Part | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

I almost called this chapter "Jackie's Bad Day" but then I realized that, as funny as it is, it doesn't encompass everything in this chapter. I'll just get right to the summary. Jackie goes to check on Dr. McLoughlin, to see if the other's suspicions have any weight. While there, McLoughlin tells him about his accident. Afterwards, Schneep gathers everyone up to ask for their help. And yeah. Enjoy the chapter! ^-^

===============

Something had been bothering Jackie lately.

Alright, several things had been bothering Jackie lately. The situation with JJ and the Vault, the visit from Kinetics yesterday, the daily stress of being a Hero—even though no major villains had popped up since he defeated the Puppeteer, petty crime would never fully stop—there was a lot to be bothered by. But something that was nagging at him beyond the heavy anxiety of the more serious problems... was Dr. McLoughlin.

Why did McLoughlin have those modified SAMs? If he didn’t make them, why were they in a hidden room in his lab? Marvin’s insistence that McLoughlin was shady kept running through Jackie’s mind... was it true? He couldn’t deny that McLoughlin had several suspicious things surrounding him. The scans of the Puppeteer mask being different than they should be, the way Anti-Virus targeted SepTech, his company, and now this. Maybe... maybe he really was working with Anti-Virus?

But Jackie refused to jump to conclusions. If his recent experiences had taught him anything, it’s that people were more than how they appeared. He should at least give McLoughlin the benefit of the doubt. He should at least check it out on his own.

He walked into the North SepTech location with some slight nerves, but McLoughlin had said Windstorm could visit whenever he wanted. Surely he wouldn’t have a problem with Jackie stopping by now. He let the front desk know he was there, just to be polite, and then headed down the hall to the elevator to the lab.

This was the third time he’d been in here, and it looked the same as it did the last couple times. The conveyor belts, the robotic arms, the monitors everywhere. Everything seemed so close together despite the high ceilings of the large room. “Dr. McLoughlin?” Jackie called. “I know you can hear me! You have cameras and stuff!” He paused. “Are you here?”

After a moment, a nearby monitor turned on and showed the words INTERCOM SYSTEM ACTIVATED—just like last time Jackie was here. “Hey Windstorm!” McLoughlin’s voice came from the speakers. “Come on in! I’m in the middle of the lab.”

“Thanks.” Jackie jumped into the air to get a good look at everything. Once he spotted McLoughlin he flew down, landing next to him.

“Good to see you again!” McLoughlin looked up at Jackie and smiled. He was sitting at a table, with various mechanical parts spread out in front of him. Jackie recognized the spherical exterior of a SAM, cracked open like a coconut with one half to the left and the other to the right.

“Yeah, good to be here again,” Jackie said, putting a smile on his face as well. “What are you doing? Fixing a SAM? Isn’t that uh... a bit beneath you?”

“What? Beneath me?” McLoughlin laughed. “What d’you mean?”

“Well you own the company and designed the SAMs yourself, it seems like you’d have people to fix the individual Machines,” Jackie explained.

McLoughlin pulled his hands out of the parts, brushing them against each other. “Well I’m not fixing it in the first place. I’m looking to see if there’s anything I can do to improve things. There’s always room for improvement, they say.” He pointed to a nearby cluster of monitors, all of which were showing various blueprints. “I can’t just work on stuff in writing, I need to be able to dig into things and mess around with them physically.”

Jackie nodded slowly. “Do you... work on a lot of SAMs in here?” he asked.

“Sometimes,” McLoughlin said casually. “I also tend to mess around with stuff while I’m doing something else. Heh, sometimes I have SAM here project the blueprints so I can watch something on the monitors.” He stood up from the swivel chair he was sitting in. “Anyway. Anything I can do for you?”

“Oh, uh... I just wanted to get more familiar with your lab,” Jackie said. “Could you give me a tour?”

“A tour?” McLoughlin brightened—but then dimmed again, looking a bit hesitant. “Um... there’s not much to explore, really, I-I’m sure it would bore you.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t. I mean, I might not understand a lot of what you say, but I’ll be happy to hear about it,” Jackie said.

“You sure?” McLoughlin asked. “I mean, I don’t even know what’s going on here half the time. I have a million things that I started and then didn’t stop, and so much shit in the storage rooms that I just put away and let the computer keep in the database forever.”

Jackie chuckled. “I’m sure. Just walk me through what you have, I’d appreciate any of it.”

McLoughlin nodded slowly. “Alright. Well, um... to start with, uh, a lot of these conveyor belts move things around—uh, obviously they do, that’s what conveyor belts are designed for.” He laughed nervously. “But I mean, there are a lot of parts involved in stuff and sometimes it’s easier for me to let the robot arms do stuff in one location then send it over to me in another...”

They started walking around the lab, going in a zigzag pattern towards the back. McLoughlin explained what each of the robot arms do—some of them are general purpose while others are designed for more specific things, like the ones that have devices on the end to screw things in, or even a couple that have blowtorches on the end! He started explaining the various projects he’d made in the lab. Finding unusual ways to construct computer towers, designing hologram projectors, creating hoverboards—the longer he talked, the stranger his accomplishments became. And the more excited he became about them, until he was absolutely gushing about how he came up with the idea for the SAMs.

“It was so hard to propose that to the board, let me tell you that,” McLoughlin said. “They usually can’t justify the cost of a lot of my designs. But I figured that if I combine all of my favorite ideas together, then market these as assistants, then the board would go for it. And I was right, haha!”

“So... when did you decide to sell them to the League?” Jackie asked.

“Well I figured that if anyone needed an assistant, it would be Heroes, right?” McLoughlin said. “I was willing to give them for free, but the board insisted. They’re all about profit, you know.” He shrugged. “But I don’t mind. I can’t work on everything all the time, even if I want to. I couldn’t build all the SAMs myself, or even supervise everything. I automate a lot of stuff.” He frowned. “Which... might’ve been a bad idea. After all, maybe if I’d been more, uh, hands-on, our systems wouldn’t have been hacked.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jackie assured him. “I’m sure you have a great firewall. One you didn’t expect would ever be breached.”

McLoughlin sighed. “I guess... but still.” He paused. “I did think that nothing would be able to defeat the—”

“New camera installation completed,” a robotic voice said.

“Gah!” McLoughlin jumped in surprise, then sighed and leaned against the nearest conveyor belt. “Whaddafuk?”

“New camera installation completed,” the voice repeated.

Jackie frowned. “You... didn’t know you were... installing new cameras?”

“I, uh... forgot, I... I guess.” McLoughlin let out a breath. He rubbed his eyes, then reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out that remote with the single button. “When did I request the infrared cameras?” he asked into it.

“Yesterday at 11:29 am, after the motion detection at 2:01 am two nights ago,” the robotic voice said.

“Ohhh.” McLoughlin nodded. “Yeah, I would do that. Honestly I probably should’ve put in new cameras a long time ago.”

Jackie stiffened. Didn’t Schneep say he snuck into SepTech recently. “So, uh... what motion detection?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“Oh, the system woke me up at 2 am recently because of a supposed intruder,” McLoughlin explained. “I have a little bed area set up in Storage Room 18, you know cause I practically live here.” He chuckled. “And there’s a camera in there, you know, for security. The system is set up so that it alerts me of suspicious movement.”

“Was there someone in your room?!” Jackie said, alarmed. Did Schneep really sneak into McLoughlin’s bedroom?! Well, not bedroom, but still, it’s similar, isn’t it? It felt like a breach of privacy.

“Nah,” McLoughlin dismissed. “I toss and turn a lot when sleeping, so I have a blind spot set up over my bed for the motion detection. I must’ve just passed out of the blind spot and triggered the alarm.” He shuddered. “God. What a fucking way to wake up, though. I hate the alarm sound.”

“Well, uh... th-that must be—that must mean it’s working, then.” Jackie forced out a laugh, trying not to think about Schneep possibly breaking into a room while someone was sleeping.

McLoughlin frowned. “I... I guess. It just... brings up... bad memories.”

Jackie blinked. “Bad... memories?”

McLoughlin glanced at him. “Um... you know what? Come over here.” He turned and walked to the side, going around tables and robot arms. Confused, and slightly concerned, Jackie followed him.

They reached the corner of the room, where a bunch of control panels on counters were pushed against the walls, along with four large monitors. At first glance, it didn’t look too different from anywhere else in the lab... but then Jackie saw something. The walls around these counters were stained black. He’d seen patterns like this before. Sooty impact lines. There had been a fire here. Maybe even an explosion. “What’s this?” he asked.

McLoughlin pulled a swivel chair over and sat in it. “Why did you decide to become a Hero?”

Jackie started. What did this have to do with anything? “Uh well... I-I wanted to help people.”

“Why?”

Jackie gave a little laugh. But McLoughin’s usually relaxed expression was different now. Serious and intense in a way the scientist had never been before. “Well... Why does anyone want to help people?” He sighed. “Sorry, that’s not an answer.” Leaning back against the counter, he thought about what to say. “Well if I have to boil it down to one thing, it’s that... It’s just that I don’t want people to be hurt. And when you can do something to help people, you should.”

“What if helping others gets yourself hurt?” McLoughin asked.

Jackie blinked. “Well, it depends on the stakes and how much you’d get hurt. I’ve like, broken bones and twisted ankles and stuff. It sucks but it heals. But if it’s something like... getting shot and dying to some random criminals stealing jewelry or something... then I’d really prefer if that didn’t happen. At least let me die doing something cool like saving the world.” He laughed. The sound slowly fades as he looked back towards McLoughlin. “Why d’you ask?”

“I wanted to figure out how much you’d get what I’m about to say,” McLoughlin explained. “Cause like... I think if you can really change the world, it’s worth it, y’know?”

Jackie nodded slowly. He was beginning to suspect something. “Is this about the accident you were in?”

“Yeah. Yeah it is.” McLoughlin rolled his head back, resting it on the back of the chair as he looked up to the ceiling. “I really like working with robots, but something that’s always annoyed me is the programming side of things. The software and stuff. Doesn’t matter how fucking sweet your robot is, if the computer in its brain has some variables crossed, it can’t do anything with its design.”

“Makes sense,” Jackie said.

McLoughlin grinned. “About three and a half years ago, maybe closer to four now, I was working on this really intense programming project. Something I was sure would help people. It’s kind of hard to explain—and it failed anyway so it doesn’t really matter what it was, I think. But I really think it would’ve helped people. It would’ve made programming things in the future so much easier, we could’ve used it in software to help detect cancer a-and launch space probes and—and so much!”

Jackie raises an eyebrow. “There’s really some program that could’ve done that?”

“Well it was more like a bunch of programs all working together in a big super program, but yeah. I think so.”

“...how does something like that lead to an accident that cost you an eye and an arm?” Jackie asked.

McLoughlin raised his head and turned his chair towards Jackie. “Cause a project that intense takes a lot of computing power. Like a lot. Like... this whole corner here was just walls and walls of hard drives.” He laughed. “I think the power I was using single-handedly caused a couple rolling blackouts. Don’t tell the board I said that. They’d be so mad about the bad PR. Anyway, I kept trying to shrink the program and increase my computing power. The project wouldn’t be any good if it took a whole city power grid to run. For months, it was just that. Shrink the program, boost the power. Shrink the program, boost the power. Shrink the program, boost the—you get the point. Going back and forth making adjustments for like half a year.”

Jackie whistled. “That... sounds like a lot of work.”

“Oh it was. But it was worth it... or at least, that’s what I thought.” McLoughlin sighed. “Then, right when I was on the brink of getting something sustainable... The constrictor burst. And everything just—” He made an explosion sound with his mouth, moving his hands outward to indicate something blowing up. “I was right in the middle of it. I was lucky that I just lost my arm, eye, and all that surface stuff.”

“Holy shit,” Jackie whispered.

“Tell me about it,” McLoughlin said. “But see here’s the thing. I could have left sooner. But I was busy trying to salvage what I had programmed, so it wouldn’t disappear when the hard drives blew up. Transferred it to an external drive. Standing in the middle of everything, hearing that alarm go off around me while I waited for the transfer.. .” He shuddered. “Bad memories. I hate that alarm sound.”

“Yeah I don’t blame you, fucking hell.” Jackie shook his head. “That was really worth risking your life for? Worth losing your arm and eye for?”

“Well... I thought so at the time,” McLoughlin said slowly. “But, uh... what I got away with wasn’t really what I wanted.” He shrugged. “Still, it worked out in the end, I think. I used some of the code from that project for a lot of other stuff, like the SAMs. And I do like what I came away with in the end.”

“What you... came away with?” Jackie asked slowly.

McLoughlin didn’t answer right away, facing away from Jackie. Then he snapped out of whatever trance he was in and turned back to him. “My cool cybernetics,” he said, grinning.

Jackie laughed. “You’re happy about that?”

“Fuck yeah I am. I mean, it really sucked to get them. I...” His smile slipped. “I don’t think I’ll ever be in so much pain... ever again...” Then it returned. “But these are basically the same thing. The synthetic skin even feels stuff. It was real fucking hard to get the artificial neurons to work right. Don’t get me started on the eye—it’s basically a camera but it was so hard to hook up, I had to turn everything upside down. But at least the vocal synthesizer was easy. All the pieces were already in place.”

“Vocal synthesizer?” Jackie repeated, standing up straight.

“Oh yeah, my vocal cords got shredded,” McLoughlin said casually. “I know, I don’t sound like a robot, do I? I already had voice samples to work with. I basically sound the same as before.”

“So, like... you work with voice synthesizers a lot, then?” Jackie asked. “You’re really familiar with them?”

McLoughlin tilted his head. “Uh, I guess, yeah. Why do you ask?”

“I was just thinking... about the Puppeteer mask,” Jackie said slowly.

“Huh? You mean the synthesizer the Puppeteer used to speak?”

Jackie nodded.

McLoughlin stared at him. He stood up. “Do you think I should’ve recognized that there was a synthesizer in there?” He sighed. “They’re really small, Windstorm. It’s hard to identify anything inside that mask with just your eye. It’s why I let the computer scan it. Besides, it was inserted behind the plastiglass surface and hidden from view. Yeah, maybe if someone hadn’t messed with the scans, I could’ve recognized it. But they did.”

Jackie nodded. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything.”

“Offend me?” McLoughlin looked confused.

“I don’t know, you might’ve thought I was implying something.”

McLoughlin paused for a moment more, then his eyes widened. “Oh! You mean—oh.” He laughed. “No, I mean—I would suspect me of something too, if I was in your shoes. No worries.” He shrugged. “Besides, if I was really working with the Puppeteer and this Anti-Virus guy, I would’ve given them a better synthesizer. One that didn’t make him sound so robotic.”

Jackie laughed. “I guess. If you could sound like a real person, why wouldn’t you?” That all made sense to him. But... remembering the modified SAMs Schneep had seen, he stayed a bit cautious. He wanted to ask more about McLoughlin’s project that led to his accident. But he had to remember what he was here for. “Hey, can we keep looking around? Or is the mood ruined?”

“We can keep going,” McLoughlin said. “But we’ve been here for a while now. Is there anything, like, specific you want to see?”

“Uh, I think you mentioned storage rooms?” Jackie said. “What’s in there?”

“A bunch of stuff, really. I don’t even know what I’ve shoved into those rooms.” McLoughlin laughed. “We can check it out together. C’mon.”

The two of them walked to the edge of the room, where the doors lined the walls. McLoughlin explained that there were twenty rooms on each side, adding up to a total of forty rooms. Hearing that made the task of checking all of them seem daunting, but he had to do it, didn’t he? So he went with McLoughlin as they checked the rooms one by one

“Oh. Huh.” After a while, McLoughlin pulled at the handle of one door—Storage Room 10. “This one’s locked.” He pulled out his remote and spoke into it. “What’s in Storage Room 10?”

“Spare parts for the production of computer towers,” the computer replied. “Including graphic cards, fans, water cooling—”

“Okay thank you,” McLoughlin said quickly.

Jackie frowned. “Is it... normal to have locked storage rooms?”

“Oh yeah, all the time. I think Rooms 30-40 are always locked.” McLoughlin shrugged. “You don’t need stuff from there all the time, you know?”

“Hmm...” Jackie thought about it. “Can we go in anyway?”

“Huh? You sure?” McLoughlin looked doubtful. “I mean... there’s not much exciting stuff in the Storage Rooms in general. You want to look at a bunch of spare computer parts?”

“Just... humor me on this?”

“Uh, sure.” McLoughlin gave him an odd look, but then spoke into the remote. “Unlock the door to Storage Room 10.”

“Unlocked,” said the robotic voice.

Jackie reached for the door and tried to pull it open—but it didn’t move. He tried to push it, but it still didn’t move. He tried to slide it. Same result. “It’s not unlocked.”

“...weird,” McLoughlin muttered, confused. He spoke into the remote again. “Unlock the door to Storage Room 10.”

“Unlocked.”

Jackie tried again. Still nothing. “No dice.”

“Really weird,” McLoughlin said. He spoke into the remote once more. “Uh, hello? Storage Room 10 is not unlocked. Why are you saying it is?”

“Unlocking Storage Room 10 now. Unlocked.”

“Is something wrong with this?” McLoughlin shook the remote, then turned it over and over to examine it.

Jackie’s superhero instincts were going crazy. This could be a weird glitch with McLoughlin’s remote—or it could be a cover-up of some kind. “Which way does this door open?” he asked. “Inward or outward?”

“Inward, why?”

“Stand back.” Jackie walked backwards, making sure he had a clear path to the door.

McLoughlin’s eyes widened. “Wait, what are you—”

With a yell, Jackie ran forward, the wind pushing him to speed up. He concentrated all his force in the point of his shoulder, and sprinted into the door.

WHAM!

He bounced backwards, shoulder smarting with pain that ran into his neck too. “Owowowow! Son of a bitch!” Jackie cursed. The door hadn’t even jiggled a bit.

“Holy shit, Windstorm!” McLoughlin gaped at him, shocked. “You don’t need to get in there that badly!”

“Dr. McLoughlin, trust me when I say that I do,” Jackie insisted.

“Alright, fine, let’s find some other way to open it then, fucking hell,” McLoughlin grumbled. “SAM?” The custom SAM of his, which had been following them this whole time, darted off. McLoughlin’s fake eye shifted color, going from a normal greenish to a glowing, acidic green instead. “I’m looking around for some tool or something... do you think a screwdriver would help?”

“Hmm.” Jackie examined the door. “What, are you saying we should take off the doorknob? I guess that might work. These screws are cross-shaped.”

McLoughlin looked at the screws on the doorknob. “Yeah... I think this will fit.”

“So you can see through the camera on your SAM?” Jackie asked, impressed.

“Yep. It really comes in handy. But I don’t recommend it all the time. You get a bit motion sick.”

The SAM flew back over, its peripheral wrapped around a small screwdriver with a gray handle. Jackie took it and started trying to unscrew the doorknob. McLoughlin stood by the side and watched silently. It took an infuriating few minutes, but eventually, Jackie had the doorknob in pieces, dangling on either side of the metal door. He tried to push the door open again. It felt stuck, but this time, he could tell there was some give. So he gritted his teeth and shoved it hard. With a few seconds of effort, the door flew open, and Jackie stumbled inside.

He looked up... and his jaw dropped. The room was full of deconstructed SAMs, many with their attachments out. He’d been in this hero business long enough to recognize guns and other weapons when he saw them. They were piled on tables and shelves, in the middle of being constructed. Slowly, Jackie turned back around, looking at McLoughlin. “...care to explain this?” he said quietly.

“Huh?” McLoughlin stepped up, looking into the room. “Oh... That’s not computer parts.”

“Yeah no shit!” Jackie said. “What is this all doing here?!”

“I guess I mislabeled the SAM parts,” McLoughlin said.

“Not the SAMs! Well, not just the SAMs! All the—the fucking weapons?!”

“The what?!” McLoughlin pushed past Jackie into the room, head spinning around. His face drained of color. “Wh-what the fuck? When did—why—wh-what are—Weapons?!”

“Are you saying you don’t know what these are doing in here?!” Jackie demanded.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying!” McLoughlin said. “I don’t—I don’t even remember the last time I checked this room! Ohhhh fuck. Oh god.” He rubbed his face. “Why the fuck is it always me?”

“You have to know how this looks,” Jackie said, glaring and crossing his arms.

“Yeah of fucking course I know how it looks! Shit!” McLoughlin shook his head. “Windstorm, I swear I didn’t know anything about this. I-I swear on my life. On—on every SAM we’ve created! I don’t know why there’s a room full of weapons in my lab, but I have nothing to do with it!”

“Okay, so how did they get in here, then?” Jackie asked. “Did someone sneak them in?”

“I—I guess? I-I don’t know how, since... this is my lab...” McLoughlin trailed off. “I, uh... I usually keep the doors locked while I’m not in here. But some people in the building have the clearance to unlock it. Maybe they came in while I was out? Oh!” His eyes widened. “Or maybe—maybe that motion detection thing wasn’t a false alarm! Maybe someone—someone with superpowers or something, maybe they’ve been working on the SAMs in here secretly!”

Jackie shifted on his feet. That “false alarm” was Schneep, it wasn’t someone sneaking SAMs into McLoughlin’s lab. But still, didn’t it open up the possibility? If Schneep was able to break in, what if some other superperson could? But... “The problem is, why would someone break into your lab to secretly put weapons on SAMs?” Jackie asked.

“Maybe they need the equipment? I don’t know.” McLoughlin shook his head. “But I promise you, Windstorm, I swear on everything I have, I didn’t know anything about anything in this room.”

Jackie scanned McLoughlin’s face. He didn’t see any malice or general shiftyness in his expression. But that didn’t mean anything. McLoughlin could simply be very good at deception, at hiding his true feelings. He seemed like an open person, but was that a facade? Even so... Jackie couldn’t jump to conclusions. He couldn’t. He had to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. But this was so, so, so, SO suspicious. “You know I’ll have to tell the League about this, right?” he asked.

McLoughlin nodded. “Of course, of course.”

“You’ll probably be put under some sort of watch. You know that?”

“Makes sense.” He laughed. “Though I don’t really go anywhere interesting for people to watch.”

“All these SAMs will be taken away.”

“Oh fuck, yeah, take them. I’ll start moving them out right now, if you want.” McLoughlin took out his remote and pressed the button again. “Can we begin clearing out Storage Room 10?”

“Yes, Dr. McLoughlin,” said the robotic voice. Some of the arms started whirling to life, moving along tracks above and reaching down. Inside the room, more robotic arms pop out of the walls and start grabbing SAMs, passing them to each other, taking them out of the room and into the main lab.

“Oh!” Jackie started in surprise. “That’s... pretty elaborate. Why not just get some workers down here? Surely SepTech has employees for that.”

“Yeah, but why make people do it when you could build robots?” McLoughlin grinned. Then his smile fell. “I’ll fully cooperate with any investigation into this, you know. I... I-I want to know who would do this. This isn’t what the SAMs were meant for. It’s... not at all what they were meant for.” His voice became quiet at the end, his expression softening into a vague sadness.

Jackie nodded slowly. “I’ll call the League right now to get advice on that.” He started backing away, reaching into the pocket of his suit.

“You do that.” McLoughlin turned away, watching the robotic arms work.

After a moment of hesitation, Jackie turned and walked some distance away, out of earshot but somewhere he could still see McLoughlin. He jumped into the air, hovering about six feet off the ground, and took out the Red Line... and then something buzzed in his pocket. Jackie took that out, as well, checking the screen. A text from Schneep. Can we meet at Neun Park today?

A chill went down Jackie’s spine. He wasn’t sure if it was caused by fear, or anticipation, or something else entirely. He glanced around; there were definitely cameras in here, even if he couldn’t see them. Cameras that Anti-Virus could hack... if hacking was even necessary. Perhaps Anti-Virus always had access to cameras in SepTech. Anyway, the point was he’d have to wait until he was outside to answer that. For now, he put his phone back into his pocket.

===============

It was a while before the group could meet up. Jackie wanted to stick around to make sure that all the SAMs got moved out of McLoughlin’s lab. They did, and then they went into a different storage room up on another floor. Which wasn’t a perfect solution, since they were still within easy access for anyone who could get into SepTech, but at least it was out of McLoughlin’s lab. And even if Jackie wasn’t busy supervising all that, Chase had work for most of the day. So they had to wait for him to be done. By the time everyone arrived in Neun Park, it was starting to get dark.

“Stupid early sunsets,” Marvin grumbled. “I always hated them.”

“Yeah, it sucks,” Chase agreed.

“Can we get to business quickly?” Schneep asked, unusually nervous.

“Yeah, of course.” Jackie bounced on his feet. He’d just pulled his street clothes on over his supersuit, as he was planning on going back out on patrol once this was done. His patrols had been really lacking lately, as he’d been concerned with the whole... JJ in jail and Anti-Virus running amok thing. “Why’d you call us out here, Schneep?”

“Well, ah, Marvin has something to say first,” Schneep said.

Marvin nodded. “You know that van that took Dahlia away? My contacts found out what happened to it.”

Jackie stood up straight. “What? What happened to it?”

“Well I don’t know for sure, but I talked to someone who talked to someone,” Marvin said. “The van was purchased on the black market and modified at a client’s request. It was then picked up by a man in a mask and hood. About three days later, it was returned, along with a promise of more money if the modifier sold it somewhere out of the city. The modifier did so, and a packet of money ended up at their place of work the next day.”

“Hmm.” Jackie frowned. “I’m guessing the modifier doesn’t remember who the client was, or what the man in the mask looked like.”

“No, it was all done anonymously, over emails and phone,” Marvin said.

“Digital stuff, then,” Chase summed up. “And if it was sold out of the city... does that mean... that Anti-Virus is in the city?”

“I was thinking the same thing!” Jackie nodded vigorously. “Or at least—he was in the city at the time. If he wanted it out of here, then it probably means he wanted it as far from him as possible.” He paused. “I mean... it’s not... much of a lead. I was kinda assuming Anti-Virus was in the city anyway. And that... Dahlia was here, too. But it’s a lead!”

Marvin nodded. “I can ask for more, but I wanted to bring that up before Schneep said whatever he was going to—”

“We are going to break JJ out of jail,” Schneep blurted.

Silence.

“I’m sorry, what the fuck?!” Chase blurted. “Isn’t that—isn’t that fucking—illegal?”

Schneep laughed. “Why yes, yes it is.”

“Henrik!” Marvin hissed. “I didn’t agree to telling them!”

“Well I knew you would never agree,” Schneep said. “So I decided to go ahead.”

“You didn’t know that! You can’t just do this!”

“We need your help, Jackie,” Schneep continued.

“Don’t ignore me!” Marvin stepped in front of Schneep. “You can’t just tell him that! I didn’t agree to that! You can’t just steamroll me without talking about it!”

Schneep bristled—and then took a deep breath. “I suppose I... should not have... been so blunt. I am sorry. I just—I could not—w-we really need Jackie’s help, and I didn’t... I-I could not stand dancing around the subject any more, debating if we should or should not ask him.”

Marvin sighed. He looked at Jackie. “...well? How do you feel about that? About... breaking someone out of the Vault?”

The conversation had seemed distant until that question. Like it was happening at the end of the tunnel. But as Marvin directly addressed Jackie, he snapped back to the world, fully immersed in it again. “I... I just... why?” he whispered.

“Why do we want to break him out?” Schneep asked. He barked out a laugh. “You agree that he does not deserve to be there! It is injustice. He is being blackmailed, and they will keep him in there just because his powers are supposedly dangerous. They will not help him. They will not protect him. Because it is easier to have him stay there than do their jobs.” He shook his head. “It is not fair. If they will not do their jobs, then they do not get to keep him there. In that place. You know they keep the prisoners there injected with neutrinalin? Despite the side effects?” He swallowed a lump in his throat. “I... I know JJ will be reluctant to leave. H-he will be worried about Dahlia. But if we can keep this under wraps enough, if we can execute an operation so smoothly that the League decides not to cause a fuss, then things will be easier. And Jackie... the best way to do that is to have you help. You are a Hero. You could have information that the rest of us cannot.” He looked Jackie straight in the eyes. “Please... I know you would not stand for this, either.”

Jackie nodded slowly. “I... I’m a Hero...” he said quietly.

“Knew you would say that,” Marvin muttered.

Normally Jackie would’ve snapped at that, but he didn’t have the energy to. His mind was scrambling, his thoughts and emotions moving too fast for him to even identify. He took a deep breath, turning and walking away. He stared at the strange abstract statue for a moment, putting his hands behind his head as he thought. Everyone had been very blunt about JJ’s chances. He was a Hero. He couldn’t break the law. But he also couldn’t let someone innocent stay in jail, could he?

Then, after a moment, he turned right around and came back. “I can’t be directly involved in this,” he said in a low voice, pulling the three guys together. “I can get you information somehow, but I can’t do anything in the actual breakout part. If something goes wrong and I get caught, you lose your guy on the inside. In fact, try to keep me in the dark as best you can. Do you guys understand this?”

Marvin’s eyes widened in shock. Schneep nodded seriously, and after a moment, Marvin did too.

“So we’re really gonna do this?” Chase asked.

“You do not have to, Chase,” Schneep said.

“Well I... I know that I probably won’t be able to do much, but... if there’s anything I can do, I-I want to,” Chase said. “JJ’s still my friend.”

“I’m... sure he’d... appreciate that, Chase,” Marvin said awkwardly.

“We will see how things go,” Schneep said. “In the planning. Let us know what you can do, Chase.”

Chase nodded.

“Also, we can’t like... house JJ at any of our homes,” Jackie said. “We all have a bunch of electronic stuff that Anti-Virus can hack. He absolutely cannot know JJ is out. If he does find out somehow, he can’t know where he was. JJ needs to be somewhere without anything that connects to the Internet.”

“Kanchana can help with that,” Marvin said. “She has safe houses all over.”

“She huh?” Jackie blinked. “Why?”

“It’s for henches,” Marvin said.

“...henchpeople hiding from the police?” Chase asked.

“Sometimes, but usually it’s henches hiding from villains,” Marvin explained. “Sometimes a hench works for a particularly heinous villain, and they need to be protected while Kanchana gets HUAC ready to go after them. I’m sure she has something that can meet our needs.”

Jackie nodded. “That’s perfect.” He paused. “Uh... Schneep? What did you mean about... neutrinalin side effects?”

“I didn’t know, either,” Marvin muttered darkly. “Apparently if you have neutrinalin in your system for a couple days you start getting headaches and nausea. The League told SDER departments about this, but not Heroes, apparently.”

“...ah.” Jackie blinked. “I... Putting aside the... injecting harmful chemicals into people thing—”

“A big thing to put aside,” Chase said, looking alarmed.

“—why wouldn’t the League tell Heroes that? What if a villain kept injecting them with neutrinalin?”

“It does not make sense,” Schneep agreed. “There have been situations like that. Why not warn Heroes about that?”

“And they know about the side effects and keep putting it in the villains at the Vault!” Marvin said. “Surely there are better ways to restrain a super! Ones that don’t involve side effects! Fuck, the League makes me so angry.”

“Honestly, I... I see where you’re coming from,” Jackie whispered.

Marvin looked at him. He nodded. “Thanks,” he said simply.

“Now... we need to talk about what to do about the breakout,” Schneep said. “While we are here. Oh, but do either of you have anything to say?” He looked at Jackie and Chase.

“Nah, bro, of course not.” Chase laughed.

Jackie hesitated. He remembered everything that happened earlier that day. Everything with McLoughlin. But... he couldn’t bring it up. He wasn’t sure why. He just... he knew how the others would react. They would insist that McLoughlin was suspicious, but he knew that! He knew what he was doing. He wouldn’t be taken in, he would remain cautious, but he would not say that McLoughlin was, for sure, Anti-Virus. Even if he was doing something wrong, there was no proof of the Anti-Virus link. He would not accuse someone unrelated, even if they had committed a crime. He would not do what they had done to JJ.

“No, I don’t have anything else,” Jackie said. “Let’s talk about what to do now.”

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