This came out a little disjointed for me, but I think it's good. Trust me, (I think) I know what I'm doing. It's just all a little weird right now since I'm going to be experimenting with some more original stuff as the fic goes on.
Without further ado, let's get on with this chapter!
Karkat figured there would be some level of change when they got back from the trip. He just wasn't sure what it would actually be.
Oberon and Crocker did choose to invest in Spades inventions, one to keep an eye on what the man was building, the other being an honest intentional choice. He'd made sure to tell everyone what happened immediately after, making sure people had their eyes on "Dualscar." Not to mention that, even though Eridan obviously didn't know what had happened that night, there was a noticeable change in how the two acted around each other.
However, his two main concerns were this: Sollux and Aradia sprouting powers and the noticeable uptick in ghosts.
"I'm starting to think Dualscar was keeping those fuckers back. This can't be a coincidence." Karkat had gotten two hours of sleep last night. None of which was consecutive. "The bastard is being petty. Or he's trying to tire me out so he can kill my dad when I'm passed out or something."
"That really shouldn't be a sentence that comes out your mouth. Why the fuck does any of this have to be happening at all?" Sollux, along with Aradia, had lost sleep too. Even after Karkat had made them go home at an earlier time, the two had pretty much been worrying themselves as much as they can. "This just utterly sucks. Are you sure we can't just get the police on his ass?"
"Karkat would have to admit his secret then, and I don't think the government would leave either of them alone if that happened." Aradia patted the boys on the back, sighing deeply. "Are those messages I've tried sending working? I still don't know if I'm doing this right."
Even if the appearance of powers was worrying, they had been a boon for them because of the rise in ghost activity. Aradia had gained the ability to send the occasional message to the past on Ghostian, though it was for a brief amount of time. They'd tried capitalizing on this as best they could by sending messages to themselves about what they'd need for an attack. The window to do it was short, so it was the best they could do.
"Some of them. It certainly helps to know when to pack some coffee during patrols." Some of the messages came to Karkat a little too late, but it was otherwise good. "Anymore dreams, Sollux? Or has it been okay so far?"
"Nothing, which I'm not sure is a good thing or not." Sollux rubbed at his head, the onset of a migraine coming on. "I'm wondering if that only happens when something bad is coming up. I think I'm getting some of kind of spider sense, though."
Karkat was a little glad to hear that. Sure, premonitions would be pretty useful, but if Sollux had to see him die for it to work, then he was fine being a little less prepared. That, and the messaging thing didn't seem to have a negative effect on Aradia.
"Well, hopefully we don't have to use that either. Not like we need any more of that, am I right?" Aradia laughed, but it rang hollow. They'd been experimenting with this for a week now, so she kinda wished for a change in subject. "Has anyone else seen you during the ghost fights? I think we've done well preventing another Claire Incident."
"So far, and don't jinx it. I still don't know if some people got some unfortunate photos of me." Karkat clucked his tongue. Before the fight with Oberon, Karkat had been able to hide the fights easily under the cover of darkness, along with being able to rush it. After it, he was lucky no one noticed the light show on certain nights. "I think a few people have seen me, but no pictures yet. Rumors are spreading, though."
"Just what we need. Should we try spreading some of our own? We haven't messed with Tethis in a while." Aradia wouldn't normally go to these lengths, but it was a desperate situation. "Or we could expose a local celebrity or something."
"I'm pretty sure the only local celebrity is Spades... which means we have plenty of dirt." Sollux raised his eyebrows, looking at Karkat with a deadpan expression. "Did your dad get excommunicated by the pope yet? I know you've been checking the mail for that."
"Jesus fucking Christ Captor, don't joke about that."
The arguing would've continued, but it was stopped as they heard a loud crash come from a street away. They stopped, expecting to hear the yelling that usually followed from what was probably a collision.
Then Karkat felt a stream of smoke fly out of his mouth that made them freeze up. Aradia covered her face in her hands.
"Dear god, please tell me Nepeta or Terezi decided to make a surprise visit."
Another crash could be heard from the next street over. A yell, followed by several screams could heard, sending them into overdrive. Karkat dove behind a tree, a bright light signifying his transformation as he flew towards the source with nary a thought in his mind.
"God damnit, of course it isn't." Sollux looked at his phone as he ran towards the site too. "I don't see any messages from your future self! Do you?!"
"Nothing!" Aradia hoped that meant it was a quick fight then. God, why did this ghost have to attack during the day? "Just hurry over there and hope Karkat takes it out! You have your med kit?"
"Always?"
The trio raced off to what they hoped would be a clean and easy fight.
"Mother, I really don't understand why we have to go with you on this one." Porrim rolled her eyes as they kept driving down the roads of this weird small town. She normally wasn't this dismissive, but she couldn't help but feel really annoyed. "Kanaya I understand, but I really just want to head back to campus right now."
"We haven't spent that much time together, dear. Even if it is on business." Rosa Maryam did her best to keep her eyes on the road, though they did wander briefly to her daughters. "Plus, I'd rather not have to deal with Pamela by myself. That woman saps any joy from the room wherever she goes."
"I really wish you wouldn't have to talk about your colleagues like that. Even if it is true." Kanaya put a bookmark into the Psychology textbook she'd been looking into. "You'd think anyone in your field would actually want to work together..."
"Academia can be horribly competitive. Something I really hope that you avoid if you can." Rosa mumbled some gripes about some of her early years, something her daughters dutifully ignored. "Makes me glad you went into business, Porrim. How are your classes going, by the by?"
"Fine, though the professors really need to stop commenting on my tattoo's. I get that they might scare off employers, but it isn't like they can tell me what to do with my body." Porrim really didn't want to get more into it than she wanted to. "Any idea why we're heading down here? You don't usually do this type of thing with your other centers."
"There's been some strange requests coming from the woman in charge of this chapter and I'm wondering what exactly is going on." Rosa had read some expense reports and found that the place had asked for more security measures. Considering Amity Park had been considered safe for so many years, this was a strange order. "I'm hoping it isn't something serious."
"It's most likely a domestic dispute situation going a little haywire. It's sad that it happens, though I can't say I'd be too surprised." Kanaya debated opening up her textbook again just to avoid the atmosphere she created but decided to bear with it. "Hopefully, it's not that serious."
"Really going morbid there. Might want to dial it down a bit." Porrim good naturedly messed with her sister's hair, which she knew Kanaya didn't like. She watched with a grin as her younger sister hurriedly fixed it in the mirror. "And I thought you were already out of your emo phase."
"I only tried the style out once!"
Rose rolled her eyes as her daughters went with their own version of bickering, happy there wasn't any heat behind it. She double checked the GPS, making sure they were on the right path.
Other than Pamela doing her next psychology project here and the towns own version of her daycare, she didn't know much about Amity Park. She'd been a in a bit of a news blackout recently and focused on her work. She knew it was receiving some headlines, but she didn't have the time to figure out what...
Her musings would have to continue at another time as she couldn't help but hear a loud crash occurring not far down the street, prompting her to nearly stomp on the brakes. Blinking out of her musings, she was able to see a white blur suddenly fly across her windshield, hitting the car parked to their right.
The Maryam's were expecting to see a car having gone off road to be the culprit, but the fact that it seemed to be growing quickly dismissed that. To their ultimate surprise, the damn thing appeared to be alive.
A giant, white cat rose, a low purr coming from what appeared to be two mouths. It glared at its surroundings; the portal that had brought it here having closed already. The light of the sun burned its eyes, a long tail thrashing. There wasn't a lot of foot or vehicle traffic today, but the people that were there just stared at it with open mouths.
Then the thing roared, sending everyone into a panic.
Rosa wasn't a veterinarian, but she figured that whatever kind of cat that was, it wasn't friendly. She immediately pressed the gas, shooting away from it as fast as she could. Porrim was swearing while Kanaya turned to look back. The giant cat focused on them immediately, jumping after them with another roar.
Guess movement caught its attention more.
"Mother, please speed up! It's catching up!" Kanaya wasn't lying about that. The cat (panther? Lion? What the fuck was it?) was indeed catching up to them, leaping in great bounds to catch up to them. "I don't think it's going to stop if it catches us!"
"We're well aware of that!" Porrim forced herself to keep an eye on the road, making sure her mom didn't hit anything. "Mom turn left up there! I think that might be an exit!"
Rosa listened, swerving the car as the cat pounced at the car. It missed by a mile, but the relief was only momentary as they noticed the street was going to end in a dead end, the stretch of road leading into an unsatisfying dirt road. It was leading into a tree line that didn't have a big enough gap for them.
"...Well, shit."
Before the cat could catch up to the possibly doomed family, a black and white blur tackled it, sending it straight into the tree. Rosa was able to stop the car before it ended up off the road, nearly giving everyone whiplash again.
The three weren't exactly able to look behind them fast enough as flashes of green light made them turn away, along with the roars and yelps of the giant white cat making them wince. Almost as quickly as it began, the fight ended as one final light caused the cat to disappear.
The spectacle had changed from the white cat to a floating teenager looking at a thermos angrily.
"Seriously, you came here during the day?! I thought there was etiquette to this shit." The boy put the thermos back onto his belt, cursing all the while. "I really hope people didn't see you. Otherwise... oh, shit, you were chasing a car."
The teen flew to the cars driver's seat, tapping the glass hesitantly. Rosa blinked at him, not bothering to pull down the window.
"Hey, are you three okay? That thing didn't get too close, right?" Rosa simply nodded at the boy, who seemed satisfied with that response. "Good. Maybe take a few minutes to shake off the adrenaline. Trust me it wears off quick."
He looked over his shoulder to see that several people were turning the corner, some with their phones out. He groaned softly, looking at the three once again and waving.
"Well, enjoy your stay in Amity Park, because no one will ever believe this ever happened! Tootles!"
And then he vanished into nothingness.
The car was mercifully silent for a few seconds as the people in it tried to process the last few moments. Disturbingly, they realized the entire encounter hadn't even taken the last ten minutes or so of the day.
"...Mother?"
"Yes, Kanaya?"
"What the hell was that?"
"I have no idea."
Karkat was lowkey pissed about everything right now and he sure as hell didn't know what to do about it. However, things could've been worse.
While today's attack had been in broad daylight, with witnesses, no one had caught any video of it. The whole thing had happened on a less populated street that hadn't had proper surveillance in a while, and the people miraculously decided to prioritize their own safety instead of vlogging it.
Though, that did nothing to stop the rumor mill.
"I've just seen ten posts across my dash about the giant cat thing." Sollux informed with a deadpan. They decided just to head to his home afterward and it frankly didn't help things. "Surprisingly few memes, but at least that means things are still under wraps. When the memes start coming, that's when you know we're fucked."
"Thank you for your stellar commentary, Captor." Karkat was lying face down on the couch, trying to get some sleep in. The day had already proven to take whatever energy he had and turn it into nothing. "I'll make sure to avoid becoming a meme, thank you. Not like I'm already busy enough as is."
"Your dad is already enough of a meme for the both of you, so I think you'll be safe." Aradia bumped her shoulder into both of the boys, waving her phone at them. "Might want to check in on the others too. I think Terezi wants to talk about that ring you found."
Karkat groaned but opened up the app on his phone anyway. Might as well get this over with.
CG: ARADIA TOLD ME TO START MESSAGING YOU GUYS AGAIN. SOMETHING GOING ON?
GC: F1N4LLY! 1 W4S ST4RT1NG TO WOND3R 1F YOU GOT YOU'R3 4SS K1CK3D OR SOM3TH1NG.
CG: I HAD TO TAKE DOWN A MUTANT GHOST CAT WITH TWO MOUTHS. GIVE ME A BREAK HERE.
AC: :33 so that's why pounce de leon was so agitated today!
GC: 4H. 4NOTH3R DU4LSC4R TH1NG? MY MOM'S B33N M4K1NG SUR3 H3R 4G3NTS K33P 4N 3Y3 OUT FOR H1M.
AG: I still can't 8elieve you got a fucking nemesis.
AS: Vriska, don't interrupt. That's still a sor8 spot too.
Oh great, the Serkets were joining in on the conversation. Always so glad to hear from the twisted sisters any time this week.
CG: HELLO TO YOU TOO, SERKETS. TEREZI HAVE THESE TWO BEEN BEHAVING?
GC: SO F4R. VR1SK4'S B33N 4 L1TTL3 SH1T, BUT 4R4N34'S B33N 4N 1D34L L1TTL3 P4ROL33.
AG: Hey!
AS: Thank you, Ms. Pyrope. Vantas, how m8ch progr8ss has 8een mad8 so I can work at the local prison?
CG: CAPTOR'S WORKING ON IT. YOU SHOULD HAVE THE CREDENTIAL SOON ENOUGH. VRISKA, YOU'LL GET SOME TIME AT LOCAL MUSIC FESTIVAL IF YOU KEEP THIS UP.
AC: :33 is it really a good idea to let aranea work at a prison? not to say she didn't earn it, but i think that's a little cruel.
AS: I'll make sure to keep things in moderation, Ms. Leijon. I'm actually pr8tty go8d at that.
AG: Okay, I know that was a dig on me.
Karkat rolled his eyes, already sensing a fight brewing between the sisters. He really didn't want to deal with that right now.
CG: BREAK IT UP, VRISKA. I MESSAGED SO I COULD FIGURE OUT THE STATUS ON FINDING THE RINGS ORIGINAL OWNER.
AC: :33 noir's ring? we've b33n looking, but we haven't found anything yet.
GC: SURPR1S3D YOU 3V3N W4NT TO G1V3 1T B4CK. S33MS L1K3 1T WOULD B3 PR3TTY US3FUL 1N K1CK1NG DU4LSC4R'S 4SS WH3N YOU N33D 1T.
CG: I DON'T WANT WHOEVER HE'S PISSED OFF COMING AFTER ME. BESIDES, I MIGHT BE ABLE TO WORK SOMETHING OUT WITH THEM IF THEY'RE THANKFUL FOR ME RETURNING IT.
AC: :33 political maneuvering. nice.
GC: 1'LL G3T B4CK TO YOU ON TH4T WH3N MOM F1NDS 4 L34D.
AG: Anything else you plan on doing? Or was this just a 8usiness call.
CG: NAH. DAD'S GETTING A GUEST LATER, BUT IT'S FROM SOME PSYCHOLOGIST NAMED PENELOPE SPECTRA. NOTHING MUCH ELSE.
AS: I'm sorry, who d8d you say that was?
Karkat heard a knock on the door, taking his attention away from the phone. He grumbled as he got up, ignoring the messages for now. He'd talk to them later if something interesting happened.
As he made it to the door, he could hear some voices being raised, causing him to immediately curse in his head. If this was another group of protestors wanting to talk to Spades, he was just going to slam the door in their faces. If it wasn't, they better have a good reason for deciding to unload their shit here.
Karkat opened the door, blinking as he noted four people standing on his doorstep. One of them was an older woman, wearing a sharp business suit in a loud shade of red. Her hair was greying significantly, but there was still a prominent amount of red in her own hair, shaped into a bun that would've been considered classy. He couldn't help but think of her as some Karen with a doctorate degree.
The other three were obviously a family, and one he actually recognized. They were the ones he saved earlier.
Now that he got a good look at them, he could actually tell they were all related. The eldest and the youngest shared a similar poised and perfect haircut and fashion style, while the other one he could only tell by the face. The tattoos and longer hair threw him off a bit, but it was still obvious.
He was getting a weird look from her. Had to make that stop. The halfa cleared his throat the make the snarking stop.
"If you two will excuse me," Karkat knew how sarcastic it sounded, but it wasn't like it was polite to argue on his doorstep anyway. "Can you please take this somewhere else? If not keep it out of the house."
The woman from earlier took one look at him and choked on her spit. He wasn't sure how to deal with that, so he gave a sarcastic look towards the redhead. She was pulling out her ID, which was not something he expected.
"I'm Penelope Spectra. Is this Spades Slick's house?" Oh great, it was the psychologist. Of course she decided to make her entrance. "I wanted to talk to him about this whole delusion involving ghosts? More specifically how he's spreading it into the whole town."
...Oh, he didn't like her already. He did his best to hide a scowl, turning to yell inside the house.
"Dad, the psychologist is here for you!" Karkat could sense the woman's eyes shoot up. He was really starting to hate that reaction if he was being honest with himself. "So are a couple other people."
"What do they want?"
"I'll ask!" Karkat looked over the other woman carefully. He couldn't help but notice how pale she looked. Guess she was still a little freaked out from earlier. He almost felt bad for playing dumb. "Is there anything you want, Mrs..."
"Uh, Maryam! Rosa Maryam." Rosa adjusted the tie to her own business suit, looking him over nervously. "It's nice to meet you! I may have run into some trouble while doing some business out here..."
"We were attacked by something strange.." The youngest of the group shook his hand, giving her mother a strange look. "I'm Kanaya, and the woman next to me is Porrim. Sorry to intrude, but we asked around and your father apparently deals with strange things around here."
"That's the gist of it." Karkat was glad someone wasn't speaking lowly of his dad or acting weird. He'd had enough of that for today. "Anything specifically weird about it? Amity Park can be a pretty strange place."
"A giant cat. And, to a lesser extent, some kind of floating boy." Kanaya didn't seem to believe what was coming out of her own mouth, but she pressed on. "Is that strange enough to get your father's attention?"
"I'd certainly say it is, kid."
Karkat was glad to see his dad actually up from the lab, wiping his hands clean of grease. He was pretty focused on it, not looking up just yet.
"What exactly did either of them look like? I haven't heard about the cat before, but I've been hearing some things about a floating kid." Spades finally got the last of the grease off, looking up at the visitors with his one eye. "Was he- wait a minute. Rosa?"
Karkat had been moving towards the living room again when he heard that. A chill went up his spine at the apparent familiarity between his dad and this stranger.
Great, more old friends. Hopefully, this one was a lot less homicidal.
"You two know each other?" Porrim finally decided to speak then, giving her mom a surprised look. The halfa didn't blame her, he didn't think they hung out in the same circles either. "Geeze mom, did you have a lot more fun in college then we thought?"
"Porrim, that's inappropriate." Rosa massaged her temples. This day had gotten from bad to worse and she was obviously not equipped to deal with it right now. "We knew each other a long time ago. It's extremely complicated."
"It certainly sounds like it." Everyone had forgotten Spectra was there, and she didn't seem happy about that. "I'm surprised you're falling for all of this delusional prattle too. I guess I overestimated you."
Virtually everyone gave her the stink eye, something the woman ignored in favor of stepping into the house. She looked around at the pictures and everything else as she made it to the lab door.
"I'm guessing this is where your lab is? If you don't mind, I'd rather much talk there. I think it'll be a good learning experience for both of us." Penelope didn't bother waiting for a response, opening the door. "I certainly want to take a look at this portal that you created."
"Please tell me your standards haven't gotten low enough that she's one of your friends." Spades gave Rosa a deadpan look. "Because if she is, I think you might need to get out more."
"I only know her because of professional reasons, and I've been doing my best to keep it that way." She was telling the truth, considering her head looked ready to explode. "If you want I'll explain what happened down in the lab too. Porrim, Kanaya, do you want to..."
"If this is that Spades guy you talked about so much, I think I'd rather pass and stay up here." Porrim may have joked earlier, but she had heard some stories. Spades had made plenty of them to talk about. "Even if it does sound like fun."
"How did you say you two each other again? You didn't exactly explain that." Kanaya had a point and Karkat was just as curious. Especially since they both winced and the tension in the room really got awkward. "You don't have to if it's a touchy subject. I'm just a bit curious."
Rosa considered her options for a few moments, face twisting along with Spades. She did look down at Karkat eventually, narrowing her eyes. "You're Karkat Vantas, correct?"
"Yeah? I'm sorry, I don't we've met before." Karkat shrugged, giving an awkward look towards the other Maryam's. Apparently his name must've meant something to them too because they both went stiff at the mention of his name. "I'm guessing that means something."
"Yes. I actually knew your father. Your birth father." Rosa gulped as she extended a hand out to him, nervous and little hopeful. "In a funny way, I'm actually your grandmother."
"...What?"
Today was going to be a really weird day.
Okay, I know this all seems a bit weird, but it will be explained in the following chapters. I wanted to include the Maryam's somehow, especially since I figured out a little late that Kanaya would be a perfect Jazz analogue.
As for Penelope Spectra being here, that will be explained too. The only thing I'll say now is that it relates to Aranea's (and Vriska's somewhat) backstory.
Thank you for your readership and I'll see you all next chapter!