Anti ran through endless hallways.
At each door, someone was screaming inside.
Calling for help.
Blood curdling screams. Drowning and echoing in his mind. Surrounding him.
Voices telling him terrible things. Things he's probably done.
Suddenly he tripped over his own feet, landing harshly on his stomach. When he looked up, there was a figure standing over him. Cloaked in black with glowing eyes, teeth practically glinting in the dark with a smirk.
"Did you forget, little puppet?" he started to lean down but Anti pushed himself back, shaking, "Have you really forgotten what you are?"
He couldn't speak and when he tried to, the figure growled low, "I'll be coming for you soon, puppet. We're not finished."
He went to reach for his hair but Anti flinched back, eyes clenched shut, "Get away from me!"
His breathe shot from his lungs and he opened his eyes. His heart raced wildly as he stared around, seeing that he was back in his room.
He was calming a bit until he saw a figure in the corner of his eye by the window and he snapped his gaze over. . . . . . only to see nothing there.
'Calm down, moron' he shook his head and wiped his wet face, 'It was just a dream. Deep breathes.'
He unconsciously started rocking himself in his seated position, trying to calm his shakes. Anti swallowed and reached for the glass of water on the bedside table, chugging it.
'But that's not the first time I've seen that figure. . . . who could it be? Someone I knew? Or could it be my conscious? No, don't be stupid, Anti' he shook his head again only to irritate his head. It started to ache from the stress. Instead of going to bother Henrik, however, for some pain killers, he laid his head back down carefully.
He sighed heavily as he tried falling back to sleep, 'Puppet. . . . . I don't like that word'
By this time it's been almost a week since the fire. And yet still no one could explain how it happened or how Anti hit his head, losing his memory. Jackie was done waiting. He was sure something was going on behind his back and he was going to find out. He'd have to go to the station himself.
Jackie was sitting at the kitchen table eating a quick breakfast bar when Marvin swooped in. He looked happy. Better than he'd been in a few days. Jackie smiled at him, "Hey bro! Morning!"
"Morning!" Marvin grinned back but his happiness seemed to suddenly dull upon seeing him.
Was it because of their scuffle before? He hated that. Jackie knew he could be a jackass but he never caught onto it until it was too late.
"Hey man. . . . I'm sorry about what I said the other night. I didn't mean . . . I mean you KNOW what I meant, right?"
"Sure"
"It doesn't sound like it"
"No, really, I do, Jackie. I get it. Don't worry. We all have our circumstances and abilities. But just because I've been struggling doesn't mean you know the full extent of what I can do, Jackie"
He was a little put off by that but nodded anyways, "A-alright. Okay. What does that mean?"
Marvin smiled, excited to share his accomplishment with anyone, "It was awesome, Jackie! I did a card trick for Anti the other day!"
Jackie didn't quite understand where this was going but nodded, "Okay. Continue"
"It worked! And not just once! Every time I did it! It was amazing!"
"Wow, that's great! Finally getting the hang of those tricks, huh?" Jackie smiled, "I'm proud of you!"
Marvin wanted to feel happy about Jackie's words but . . . . he knew he didn't really understand. The significance.
None of them knew.
"I see you're in costume" Marvin pointed out, "Going somewhere special?"
Jackie nodded, "The station. I asked for them to call me when anything came up about the fire but I haven't heard anything. I'm gonna go ask in person"
"You know it's not really their job to let you know, right?"
"Well when it comes to a fellow ego and Henrik's patient. . . . it's pretty imperative they tell at least one of us something. I might investigate the apartment again, while I'm at it"
Marvin shrugged, "Well good luck. Wanna take Anti with you? Maybe being in his apartment again will jar a few of his memories?"
"Uh. . . I'd rather not. You know. . . just in case he remembers TOO much"
Marvin just shrugged again, "See ya when you get back then!"
Jackie started out of the house and to the station, Marvin's words in his head from before.
We all have our circumstances and abilities. But just because I've been struggling doesn't mean you know the full extent of what I can do, Jackie
'The hell does that mean? Marvin's only ever been able to do street magic. . . .and even then it's always been pretty average. Am I missing something?' His head ached just thinking about it.
Marvin went back up to his room after grabbing something for himself. He couldn't wait to try those tricks again! Then maybe he could build his way up to. . . . . well one thing at a time for now.
He shut his door behind him and locked it. He hadn't done anymore tricks since yesterday when he was practicing with Anti. He wanted some rest to start fresh on a new day.
With his new burst in confidence and hope, he rushed to his bookcase and pulled out a thin black box. Opening it up carefully, he shakily took the wand out of the box.
He gripped it with purpose and swallowed nervously.
Marvin took a deep breath and walked over to his desk, opening up a beginner's spell book.
He started with the first spell. It was a simple one to light up the end of the wand.
He closed his eyes and uttered the spell, putting everything he had in the spell.
When he opened his eyes. . . . . .
Nothing.
He bit his lip and tried again, this time staring at it as he did so.
Still nothing.
"Dammit. Maybe it's not enough yet?" he placed the wand down and picked up his cards laying haphazardly on his bed. Shuffling slightly, he performed the same trick he had done for Anti.
"Queen of Spades."
He pulled his chosen card out and flipped it over, " . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two of Diamonds"
Gritting his teeth, he tried again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Still nothing.
"FUCK!" Marvin threw the deck of cards onto the floor in a mess, holding his face in his hands and through his hair.
Struggling with himself, he tried to understand. Why was he suddenly graced the other day with power. . . . only for it to be just as quickly taken away!?
It's not like he could talk to anyone about it. They wouldn't understand. They couldn't. They'd all have the same reaction as Jackie. And really, he couldn't blame him.
But just in that one moment. . . . . . the other day had been so wonderful.
Marvin sighed and got up, picking up the cards on the floor.
It wasn't long until the others finally got up. Jameson was at the table trying to teach Anti sign language while Henrik did a crossword puzzle and drank some coffee. Chase cooked a hot meal for them but was concerned.
"Hey Anti, you feeling alright this morning?"
"Yeah. .. . why?"
"No reason, man. Just wondering. . . . " Chase caved immediately, "It's just. . . . My room is across from yours and well . . . I heard you last night. Sounded like you had a nightmare or something?"
"Oh . . .yeah. I did"
"Vhy did you not come see me!?" Henrik was clearly upset, "Having a nightmare is not good with your condition, Anti. Retrograde Amnesia is not something to mess vith. You could-"
"I'm fine, doc" Anti tried reassuring him, "It wasn't too bad. I handled it just fine"
"Tch" the doctor huffed at him, "Next time, don't play vith something like that. With your brain recovering, you could suffer from hallucinations or trauma being reintroduced to memories too quickly or harshly."
Anti went quiet but nodded, "Got it"
Chase sighed and laid down a plate of eggs and bacon for each of them, "Eat up, brats. When you're done, wash your own plates. I gotta run to Stacey's to sign more paperwork"
'I thought the divorce was already finalized?' Jameson signed.
"Apparently not" Chase looked tired of it all, "At least it'll be a good excuse to see the kids" he chuckled.
"They sound nice." Anti tried to join in the conversation, "What were their names, again?"
Chase rolled his eyes, "Kallie and Sammy, Anti, remember? I told you that yesterday, man"
"Short term memory! I can't control that!" Anti glitched in embarrassment. He wanted to remember but sometimes it was hard to, especially names.
"Yeah, yeah" Chase ruffled his hair gently, being mindful of his stitches still. Soon they'd be ready to come out. Maybe another few days.
"I'll see you guys later. Don't egg him on too much, JJ. Give his brain a rest, yeah? I'll be back by dinner. Try not to starve without me"
With Chase gone, it was now the doctor, the mute and the magician upstairs. Henrik said something earlier about Jackie leaving for work, probably.
Jameson signed something to Anti and the glitch tilted his head, confused, "I think I know that one . . . . ."
Henrik rolled his eyes at Jameson, knowing he just mischievously signed a curse word for him to 'learn'.
Jackie made his way into the police station. No one stopped him and a few even greeted him politely, asking if they could help him find someone. He knew where he was going, though.
Going up a few flights of stairs, he finally made it to the correct division and made his way to the head of investigations, "Hey Dina!" He smiled wide, putting his charm to max, "How are you this morning?"
The less charming woman grunted, "Oh fine. Just great. What do you want, Red?"
Jackie chuckled, "I was just wondering if anything's come up on that fire yet?"
Dina stared at him for a few moments, "Fire. . . . What was the date?"
"I guess you do deal with a lot of fires in the city. It was just a few days ago. In an apartment building. One room."
"Any more information?"
"The resident 'fell' strangely and hit his head on the corner of a table. Had to be taken to the hospital. Now suffering from Amnesia"
"Hm. . . ." she sifted through some files, "Sorry, Red, but there's nothing here about a fire like that. You sure it was just a few days ago?"
"Uh yeah . . . I was there"
"Weird. . . . oh yeah, wait! Here it is! Yeah no we were just about to put this case to bed, actually"
"What? Why?!"
"Sounds pretty obvious to me, doesn't it? Kid probably accidentally started the fire himself, slipped and fell, hitting his head. End of story"
"Now wait just a second!" Jackie shouted, earning some looks from a few other officers, "You've never been one to take 'probably' as an answer, Dina. What the hell is actually going on here?"
"Really, Red. That's it. Our detectives were pretty spot on, they believe with their analysis. There was a pack of cigarettes found at the scene suggesting the victim smoked. Obvious"
Jackie couldn't believe it but it wasn't like he could argue with the police, "Alright . . . . . if you say so, Dina. But just so you know . . . . the 'victim' is my brother. And he doesn't smoke"
With that, he walked away briskly. If the police weren't going to look further into this, then he would. He didn't know why he said Anti was his brother. Perhaps it was just in the heat of the moment with him trying to make a point. But it didn't matter.
He'd figure this out. Something was wrong and he'd find out what.
Someone was hiding something.
Anti was in the living room by himself messing with some crossword puzzles Henrik gave him to work on. He claimed exercising the brain was important in his condition so he tried his best to not argue not matter how much he didn't like it.
Of course, he still had the TV on to listen to. He was getting the hang of his powers now, much to the other's dislike. He had learned how to work the TV without using a remote, glitching the volume up or down and flipping in between channels. Turning it on or off. It was quite fun, actually. He had scared Chase a couple times with his little tricks.
Right now, Anti was in his own little world with the TV on as background noise when Jackie finally came back home.
Anti looked up to accidentally lock eyes with the hero. Only . . . . . something wasn't right.
Jackie looked almost. . . . sort of dazed.
"Jackie?" Anti tried snapping him out of it, "You alright?"
Like a switch had been turned off, Jackie blinked and shook himself, looking around at his surroundings, "The fuck?"
"Wh-what?"
Jackie looked back at Anti, coming a little closer towards a chair to sit down. His brow was furrowed in confusion as he took off his mask, "I don't . . . . I don't know. I think something weird just happened? I'm not sure"
Anti was reluctant to pry but was too curious, "Like what?"
"I was on my way to your apartment . . . . but the last thing I remember was leaving the station . . . . now I'm here. I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking about it too hard. I probably just walked back here on instinct."
"Sounds weird to me. You looked pretty messed up when you walked in"
Jackie rolled his eyes, "I'm fine. . . . . I'm fine. Stop worrying. You're turning into Henrik. I'll check out your apartment again tomorrow. Don't worry about it, glitch. How's your crossword crap coming?"
He hadn't actually talked to Anti alone but he needed a distraction right now. He had to think about something. . . .anything else at the moment to get rid of this weird, foggy feeling in his brain.
"Hm . . . . ten letters for Pinocchio? I don't know what a Pinocchio is"
Jackie bit his lip, 'Of course it has to be that fucking word'
"Marionette. Next one"
"What's a marionette?"
"NEXT one" he could hear Anti grumble and pout under his breathe childishly, "I'll just ask Henrik then" but he did as he asked.
Jackie couldn't help but smile just a little.