"Let's start with...hm…that house!" Marvel bounced up and down like a child as she sprinted towards the first house she and Nina saw once they were in the city.
Nina dashed after her, stifling a laugh. They both headed up the steps of the house, and Marvel turned to face her.
"Would you like to do the honors?" Marvel pointed at the door.
"Sure. Why not?" Nina rang the doorbell.
It wasn't too long before a woman opened the door with a bowl full of candy bars.
"Trick or treat!" Both girls exclaimed, holding their bags out.
The woman glanced at Marvel, raising a brow. "Miss, aren't you a little too old to—"
"Lady..." Marvel subtly slipped out her trident from behind her, "Not one word."
The woman paled. "...Never mind." She forced a smile. "Take as much candy as you'd like!"
Marvel grinned and took a handful, as did Nina. As they both walked away, Marvel already ripped the wrapper off one candy bar and took a bite. "You gotta love free candy!" she declared with her mouth full.
Nina peered inside her bag. "Huh. I guess this ain't so bad after all!"
"I told ya! When I was a kid, I absolutely loved candy, so finding out the basics of Halloween was the best time of my childhood," Marvel told her.
"I never would've guessed..." Nina chuckled, knowing how hyperactive the woman was most of the time.
"Hey, I say we go once around the block, then sneak another round and hope no one notices," Marvel snickered. "I always used to do that as a kid to double my candy! Heh heh..."
Nina smirked, deciding to go along with her antics. She followed Marvel down the block as they visited house after house, gathering more and more candy. By the time they reached the end of the block, however, Marvel was far from satisfied.
"Alright, let's split up and go back down the block, but to different houses; that way we won't look suspicious!" Marvel grinned, eager to get more candy.
"Yes, ma'am." Nina chuckled as she took off, and Marvel was about to head to another house when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"'Scuse me, miss, but that's an awesome costume! Where'd you get it?" asked a female bandicoot. Her blonde hair was up in two buns on the sides, and she was wearing a white, long-sleeved dress.
"Oh, this old thing? Let's see if I can remember…" Marvel tapped her chin. "Well I got the dress from some retail shop about an hour south from here. This crown I happened to...um…"borrow" from my dear aunt, and then I pretty much just put all this jewelry together that I found in my jewelry box." She shrugged, then took a look at the bandicoot's costume. "Your costume is pretty cute, too!"
"Thanks!" The bandicoot beamed. "I'm Coco. Are you new around here?"
"Eh, somewhat. Just arrived here about a month or 2 ago. I'm Marvel—short for Marvelous." Marvel shook Coco's hand.
"Oh, neat! It's always nice to meet a new face around here." Coco smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised if you've already heard of my brother, Crash. He's very popular around here."
Marvel began to nod, but stopped and blinked for a moment. "Wait, Crash...?" She repeated that name several times in her head, wondering where she had heard it before.
"Wait...so...so let me get this straight..." Marvel wheezed, trying to catch her breath from laughing so hard, "You're telling me that your mortal enemy is one, measly rodent!?" She doubled over and cracked up, tears falling from her eyes.
"STOP LAUGHING!" Cortex barked. "Now that you're my assistant, we can finally come up with some sort of scheme that will rid us of Crash Bandicoot once and for all!"
"Oh, him," Marvel sighed, shoulders slumped.
"What's wrong?" Coco blinked.
"Yeah, sorry kid," Marvel set down her bag of candy and pulled out her trident, "but this means I'm gonna have to kill ya. Orders from above."
"Orders from—what?" Coco was stunned.
"It's a shame, too…I was just startin' to like ya." Without warning, Marvel immediately swung her trident at her.
Coco dove forward, narrowly avoiding it. She kicked Marvel's legs, causing her to lose her balance and fall on her butt.
"Why you little—" Marvel somersaulted forward and leapt back up, swirling her trident in one hand to block Coco's punches. But before she could attack again, Coco quickly backed off, and Marvel felt something bash her in the side, causing her to fall over in pain.
Behind her was none other than Crash Bandicoot, who was holding a giant stick. He was wearing a long gray robe as well as a tall, pointed hat.
"Quick—let's get out of here before that crazy woman wakes up!" Coco grabbed her brother's wrist as they both dashed away.
"Marvel? Marvel!"
Marvel was soon jiggled awake, and she bolted upright. "BEWARE MY CUNNING ONSLAUGHT OF CARNAGE!" She screeched as she hurled her trident forward. It soared aimlessly into a bush. Marvel snapped out of it and rubbed her head, which felt sore. "Ow..."
"What the heck happened!?" Nina asked her with wide eyes.
"Well, I—" Marvel paused in an attempt to remember what exactly happened before she fell unconscious. Her fists clenched and she gritted her teeth. "Those bandicoots! I was AMBUSHED!"
"Bandicoots? Where did they go!?" Nina whipped her head around, searching for any sign of Crash or Coco.
"They escaped..." Marvel grumbled, dusting off her dress. "But let's not worry about them right now; I haven't gotten a chance at more candy!" Her scowl was quickly replaced with a grin.
"Yeah, about that..." Nina started with a frown.
"What?"
"Well, I think you've been unconscious for quite some time, because I just now found you, and houses around the block are starting to shut off their lights. I think we'd better head back to the lair," Nina informed her.
"What...?" Marvel repeated, her body stiffening. "No...no more candy?" Her eyes narrowed, and she swung her fists in the air. "THOSE DANG BANDICOOTS! They wasted my time!"
"Hey, it's alright!" Nina raised her hands in surrender. "At least you got some candy, right?"
Marvel, on the other hand, only stared at her candy bag in remorse, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Those wretched little vermin are going to pay."
Never get between Marvel and her candy. That's the lesson here, folks! XD