Hey everybody!
I know, I know, it's been a while. I've had a lot going on, from depression, to very public anxiety-induced meltdowns, to bureaucratic immovability, and then to starting therapy, losing 18 kg/41 lbs, being a best man in a wedding and being the cool one of the group for once, to traveling in Spain, to 2 last-minute cruises, to getting another contract and simultaneous interview for a job, to yet ANOTHER contract. Which is why it's been months since I've been able to write; I've either been too stressed, too busy, or traveling with my dad and having no alone time during which to write.
But, here we are. I finally got some writing done. AND, for those of you following Fire with Fire, you can expect an update MAYBE even this month… we'll see. But I just went to New York at the end of my travels and managed to do some clandestine site research disguised as sightseeing with my dad lol.
Anyway, this chapter takes place during the same day as part 2 when Wes was chasing Danny around during the events of Recognized chapter 4.
Enjoy!
I do not own Young Justice nor Danny Phantom.
THE THEORISTS
03
Marvin and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Thursday, March 15 — 14:30
"Mr. White?"
The boy laid flat on his back, hands pressed against his face. The soft whisper of the school's climate control system blanketed the room with white noise while gracefully jostling a potted fern's slender leaves. Two plastic cups of water sat forgotten on the coffee table, one adjacent to the therapist's chair, the other beside Marvin White on the office's uncomfortably modern sofa.
"Marvin, my man?" the counselor tried again, shifting to sit more attentively.
Marvin managed a pathetic whimper and a small shake of the head.
"Marv, I can't help you if you don't talk."
"Another me," he murmured from behind his hands.
The counselor leaned forward in his chair, notepad still resting on his crossed legs. "What was that?"
Marvin turned his head and removed his hands to look the man in the eyes, unintentionally revealing his unnaturally intense focus. "There was another me, Mr. Armitage! Right in front of me! Just…there."
The counselor's eyebrow quirked. "Marvin, how can there be two of one person?"
"Shapeshifting! How many times do I have to tell you people that she can shape-shift?!"
"Who?" Armitage asked with his pencil perched.
Seven hours prior...
Marvin took a deep breath of the fresh coastal air. It was a day right on the cusp of spring, the cloudless sky a welcome contrast to the preceding months of wintery grey.
The teen easily wove around pedestrians on the sidewalk as he skateboarded his way to a gap in the line of parallel-parked cars. A ringing started at the boy's hip just as he hopped off the curb and swerved to the bike lane. Answering the call, he chirped, "Yo, what's up, Wes?"
"Hey, Marvin," the redhead greeted back. "Weird morning. I just saw two Dannys outside Fenton Works."
Marvin frowned, reconsidering Wes' assumptions about the tiresome ghost kid. "Bro, doesn't that *disprove* your theory?"
"No, two *human* Dannys. And it was weird; well, more weird than usual. Like… I saw one of them transform into Phantom right in front of me."
Marvin breathed in a sharp gasp. "Outside?"
"Yeah."
"Like…in the open?"
"Yeah."
"And nobody else in your town knows his secret yet?!"
"That's what I keep SAYING!" Wes finished with a desperate shout, unable to contain his frustration. He finished in a moan, "I'm surrounded by idiots."
Checking for bike traffic, Marvin turned onto the main street transecting downtown Happy Harbor. "Well, that's why we're here."
"Exactly. Actually, now that I think about it, he came out the door…like a normal person and not a ghost… What's up with tha-OW!"
Marvin heard Wes' phone clattering along the pavement. "Wes? Wes, you okay, man?" he asked.
After a moment, his reply came: "Hey, watch it, Fen-" Wes gasped, though he was far from the receiver "-Fenton! Wait…Fenton!?"
"Uuhh, that's me, Billy Fenton!" a distant voice replied.
There was only the sound of receding footsteps for a moment before Marvin heard the muffled rubbing of someone picking up the phone. "Hey, I'm back," Wes said.
"Okay, what just happened?" Marvin asked.
"I…really don't know," his friend admitted. "Something's up. Gotta go."
Before Marvin could reply, Wes ended the call.
"Huh," the skateboarder huffed to himself, looking down at the phone's dark screen. Without thinking, he rolled into the intersection in front of the town's favorite diner, oblivious to a red traffic signal.
"KID! LOOK OUT!" a shopkeeper screeched from his front steps.
Marvin glanced up just in time to see a city bus barreling towards him, its panicked driver reflecting in the whites of Marvin's widening eyes. He gulped in air to scream, knowing his skateboard wasn't moving fast enough.
"AAAAAA-OOF!" Marvin grunted as someone full-body tackled him from the side. His rescuer rotated them as they flew out of the way, taking the brunt of the impact when they hit the asphalt and slid far further than any normal human could withstand.
Shaking with nerves, Marvin remained in the fetal position as the arms around him retracted.
"Hey, Ma- uh, kid," a gruff voice said from beneath the brunet, chest vibrating from its tenor. "You can get up now."
Marvin shakily uncurled and rolled off his rescuer onto all-fours, the motionless concrete grounding him. "Oh my god, dude," he sputtered.
The rescuer stood and held out a hand.
"Thanks, man." Marvin took the hand, allowing himself to be hefted to his feet as he looked up. "I- Wait, Connor?"
"Who's Connor? I'm Superboy," Superman's protégé corrected, gesturing unenthusiastically at the S on his shirt as the bus trundled by in the background.
Marvin frowned. "What? Connor, I think I'd recognize my own classmate. You're—hold up, what am I saying?! Of course you're Connor! I've known you're Superboy since Halloween, like, two years ago!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" the hero asked, face set in eternal deadpan.
"You an-and Megan Morse! You're both sidekicks for the Justice League!"
"See you around, citizen." Superboy leaped away.
"YOU KNOW MY NAME! WE HAVE HOMEROOM TOGETHER IN TEN MINUTES!" Marvin shouted angrily at the heavens. With a flail of his arms, he finished with a final "GAH!"
The skater trudged back down the block to the intersection. Searching for his board, he noticed a scattered pile of splintered wood, bent metal and crushed plastic with the bus' wide tire print running straight across it all. With a scoff he scooped up the remains and continued to school on foot.
Sure enough, Connor was already sharing a desk with Megan Morse when Marvin walked into homeroom.
Mr. Carr stood at his podium taking role. "Marvin White, you're late," the teacher drawled.
"Sorry, Mr. Carr," Marvin croaked. "My board got busted up by a bus."
Now concerned, the teacher looked up to check over the boy. "Oh. Are you okay? Do you need to see the nurse?"
"No, I didn't even get a scrape, sir. Connor saved me."
All students immediately spun in their seats to look at the ever-brooding teen who wore his usual ensemble of blue jeans and a plain black tee.
"What?" Connor sputtered, faking innocence. "I guess I would've tried if I'd been there, but I was early to class. Must've been someone else."
"Dude, I know it was you! We had a whole conversation!"
"Marvin, what would he have to lose by taking credit for a good deed?" Mr. Carr interrupted.
"I don't know, his secret identity?" Marvin sassed.
Connor glared minutely.
"So, hypothetically, your thanks to him for saving your life would be to out him as a hero when he clearly doesn't want to be?" Mr. Carr challenged.
"But he is one!"
"Hey look, Ever-Stoned thinks he goes to school with a superhero," Mim drawled from the back of the room.
"You know I have a thyroid condition that messes with my energy levels," Marvin snapped, then turned back to their teacher. "But, it was Connor that saved me! I swear it!"
"Does it matter? Sit down, Mr. White; you're delaying class."
"But he's Superboy!"
"Sit down, Mr. White," Carr repeated with growing annoyance. "I'm sure Connor is a *super boy,* but he isn't Superboy."
"Grumpy Kent a hero?" someone muttered in the back of the class. "I don't see it."
Wilting, Marvin trudged down the row to his seat, glaring at a bemused Connor all the way.
As the teacher began the lesson, Marvin couldn't focus. "Fuck you, Connor," he whispered under his breath so silently not even his desk mate heard.
Connor whipped around in his seat and scowled.
Marvin gasped. "You have super-hearing don't you?"
The dirty look oozed into a worried frown as Connor faced forward again.
Marvin's face lit with glee, and he casually covered his mouth. "I can talk all kinds of shit about you, but you can't get angry! Because you're not supposed to be able to hear it!"
The protégé shriveled and reluctantly looked down at his open textbook.
"Hey, tough guy, you want me to shut up? Come over here and make me."
Connor's class notes crumpled in a white-knuckled fist.
"Hey, Marv, you gonna throw up or something?" Marvin's desk mate piped up, gesturing to his own mouth.
"Oh, no, I'm fine," he replied. "Just hiding my yawns."
"Okay then…"
Marvin returned his attention to the boy who was quickly becoming his nemesis. "Just admit that you can hear me, doodoo head."
Connor whipped around to look back with genuine disbelief at the childish insult.
Marvin smirked. "Knew it."
"Mr. Kent, something bothering you?" Mr. Carr asked, putting away the roll sheet.
The muscular teen turned to face the front. "No, sir."
"Stop being such a bully!" a loud feminine voice echoed painfully in Marvin's mind.
Marvin winced under its volume, the boy's fingers instantly pressing against his temples in response.
"Seriously, you alright, man?" the desk mate asked again.
Megan Morse's hand gently rested on Connor's nearest shoulder, rubbing it affectionately.
The theorist squinted in suspicion. "I'm fine," he grunted.
A stench of sweat and body spray assaulted the boys' noses when Marvin shadowed Connor into the boys' locker room before P.E. The larger boy stripped his shirt as he approached his locker, tossing it uncaringly onto an adjacent bench. While Connor was distracted entering his combination, Marvin swooped in.
Connor saw the black fabric of his discarded shirt whip out of his peripheral vision. "What the-?"
"Ah-HA!" Marvin shouted triumphantly, drawing the entire room's attention. Checking inside the neck of the tee, the persistent teen saw the incriminating red symbol he was hoping for and inverted the shirt. He grasped the neckline in his fist and held it up for everyone to see.
Connor simply crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"You see, everyone? The same shirt that Superboy is always wearing!" Marvin announced. "Connor Kent is Superboy: Confirmed!"
"Ten of us have the exact same shirt, genius," Mal Duncan grumbled.
Sure enough, a smattering of boys held up similar black shirts with the Man of Steel's symbol.
Marvin only faltered briefly. "Ah, but why is Connor's inside out at school? He had it on normally this morning! It's because it's what he wears when doing heroics!"
"No, it's because he's making a statement," a classmate answered. "I also wear Superman's symbol inside out to remind people that everyone has a hero hidden within."
One could hear a pin drop in that packed locker room.
Marvin was afraid of pulling a muscle from rolling his eyes too hard.
"Whoa, that's so deep…" one sophomore finally commented.
A number of students murmured their agreement before continuing to change their clothes.
Marvin gaped, utterly baffled. "Do any of you have eyes?! Or brains?!" he shouted.
A hand smacked against Marvin's raised wrist and gripped it firmly. The skater's eyes trailed up the limb until he met its owner's infuriated gaze.
"Please return my shirt," Connor ordered.
Marvin tried to pull free, but the boy of steel didn't even jerk. As he looked between Connor and his shackling hand, Marvin's jolts became increasingly powerful and panicked, yet they didn't manage even a millimeter of movement in Connor's grip. It was as if Marvin's arm had been set in concrete.
The skater paled. "Please give me my hand back," he whimpered.
"Give me my shirt back," Connor growled lowly.
Marvin instantly opened his fist. The other boy snatched the falling tee out of the air with his free hand and removed the iron grip, letting Marvin pull his arm back to his chest. The redhead massaged the abused wrist, trying to get the blood circulating again.
It wasn't until lunch that Marvin finally caught an elusive lucky break. He stalked Megan and Connor to a quiet corner of the schoolyard and hid behind an oak tree. The two protégés lounged amongst the school's smattering of apple trees, smiling and chattering distantly.
When some fruit on the upper branches caught the pair's attention, a gut feeling told Marvin to take out his phone and start recording. The video had barely started when Megan's eyes glowed a solid neon green. With the camera, he followed her gaze to a pair of apples removing themselves from the highest branch and gently floating down to the pair.
Marvin gasped.
Connor's eyes snapped to the boy's hiding spot.
Marvin gasped deeper.
The snoop spun and broke into a full sprint back towards the school, Converses clapping against the pavement with every step. Marvin's long auburn locks bounced and flowed in the wind while a gleeful grin split his face in two.
Until his stomach…lurched.
Marvin pinwheeled and tipped forward, but his face never met pavement. Instead, he hovered harmlessly above the ground in zero gravity. Marvin thrashed and blubbered pathetically until he lost control of his limbs as well.
Step…step…step…
A dark, looming figure rounded on Marvin and filled his vision. The poor boy's heart nearly stopped when his eyes met Connor's. Connor's arms were held at his chest, corded muscles fighting for real estate in the tight space where they crossed. In contrast, Marvin's thin frame barely filled his spacious hoodie as it floated weightlessly.
"H-hey, Con-"
"I'm going to need that video."
"What? N-no," Marvin weakly protested. "I—I'm tired of being gaslighted. I'm tired of everyone saying I'm loony. I'm sharing that video with the whole school! An—and you're a hero, so you can't hurt me to stop me, because then you'll be a villain!"
Connor leaned in close and growled, "I have more villain in me than you realize."
Marvin shuddered.
"Connor, stop being such a bully!" Megan chided as she entered Marvin's line of sight. "Both of you are being bullies today."
"Your eyes!" Marvin squeaked. "They're—they're-"
A Martian green glow emanated from the pupils and sclera of the girl's eyes. "Yes, that happens when I use telekinesis."
"I knew it!" Marvin muttered wistfully. "I knew it!"
"Marvin," Megan continued earnestly, "I know you've been going through a rough time, and I'll admit it's partially our fault for pulling that prank on you during the Halloween dance. But you have to realize the importance of maintaining our anonymity as heroes. We would become targets 24/7, and so would everyone around us if anyone malevolent found out who we are."
"But- but I'm suffering because of it! I'm not just some loser skater outcast, okay? I'm—I'm a smart guy, and I used to be cool. I don't want to be labeled a conspiracy theorist for the rest of my life. Or…at least for the rest of high school."
Megan sighed. "Marvin, I'm sorry, but we're going to need your phone."
The floating boy focused on the cool metal shell clasped within his frozen hand and willed his grip to grow stronger. "No. Not when I finally have proof."
Connor wrenched the device away with little effort and passed it to Megan.
"Even if you smash it, it'll already be uploaded to the cloud by now! And you can't get to it without having my face or passcode!"
Connor and Megan exchanged a glance.
Some movement in the distance caught Marvin's eye. Seeing who had made it, he took a deep breath and screamed, "MISTER CARR! OVER HERE!"
The heroes in training whipped around to see their teacher approaching a distant table. Mr. Carr started to turn their way to respond, then hesitated, setting his lunch down first. "Connor, grab him," Megan hissed.
The invisible grip on Marvin evaporated and he dropped instantly. Connor quickly bear-hugged the boy and dragged him behind a wall, leaving Megan standing on her own.
"Mr. Carr! Help me! Hel-"
Connor's hand slapped over Marvin's mouth.
The skater huffed. "It doesn't matter if you silence me now," he muttered through Connor's fingers. "You still can't get to that video. And Mr. Carr's gonna wonder where I went after shouting for help."
"Will he?" Connor threatened.
The larger teen repositioned so that Marvin could peek around the corner and watch Mr. Carr talk to—
"What's wrong, Mr. White?" the teacher asked.
Marvin's eyes widened at the sight of himself standing with the teacher.
"Oh, nothing, Mr. Carr!" other-Marvin replied while unlocking his phone with facial recognition. "There was a…cool bird, but it's gone now."
With a confused expression, the teacher merely nodded before returning to his lunch.
Other-Marvin tapping the on-screen 'delete' button was the last thing the thwarted theorist registered before slumping over Connor's arm.
"Marvin, there couldn't possibly have been another you talking to Mr. Carr," Mr. Armitage interrupted and took a sip of his water. "He would've noticed. He's been your teacher for years at this point."
"We live in a world where aliens and magic and superpowers are real," Marvin spat. "Is it really so much of a stretch to think there could be a couple of them at our school? In Happy Harbor, former headquarters of the Justice League?"
"Mount Justice has been abandoned for decades, Mr. White," Armitage retorted, settling back into his chair. "No one would be so stupid as to hide in the most well-known hiding spot in the continental United States."
With an animalistic cry, Marvin contorted on the couch in frustrated agony.
This installment's Easter Eggs and references:
- the chapter title: a play on the 1972 children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.
- Mr. Armitage: named for the family in Get Out, another story involving someone taking over someone else's face
- "I'm sure Connor is a *super boy,* but he isn't Superboy": a paraphrasing of something Matt LeBlanc said in Top Gear season 24 episode 2 featuring a comparison of two convertible supercars. When speaking about the Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, Matt [accurately] said it was a *super car* but not a supercar.
Part 04 of The Theorists has also been simultaneously fully drafted, so stay tuned for another update here and more in my other fics and fandoms! I'm happy to finally be over my writer's block and also have some time to write. :)
