Invisibility.
Intangibility.
Ghost sense.
Increased strength.
And flight.
These were the powers that Karkat had at his disposal, and he had some mixed feelings about it.
Looking out the window of the bus, the teen couldn't help but sigh as he thought over the weekend he and his friends had had.
They figured that (after getting their homework done) that they should spend the weekend determining just what he could or couldn't do. Even if it didn't explain exactly what happened, it would help make them understand what exactly they should expect. They even did it in the park the town was named after to make sure they had plenty of space to work with.
Several facts were noted down during their experiments.
1. He could fly on command and most, if not all, detrimental effects involved were clocked down to zero. While the same couldn't be said for any passengers, he could easily reach speeds of 60-75 miles per hour. He didn't try to go any faster due to lack of time, but the fact he could reach those speeds was staggering.
2. The "ghost sense" that he had tested with his friends was not something they could physically trigger. As long as a ghost or ghostly entity was in the area, it would activate and help him track it by coming out as smoke. They only figured out it was a regular power after it went off when another ectopus tried to step out of the portal (which was promptly closed before it could get out).
3. He wasn't too much stronger than before, definitely not able to lift double his weight. It was about 50 pounds more than he could normally, which they all suspected could increase if he worked out enough.
4. All of the powers mentioned above can be used in either form, but his human form limited their effectiveness.
It was a good list for now, if he could say so himself. Of course, he had other questions as to what he could do, but some of them were not exactly things he was willing to try just yet. Phasing other objects through walls, making other objects go invisible, possession...
Karkat shivered involuntarily. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know if he could do that last one. He was fine piloting his own fucking meatsuit, thank you very much.
God, this was complicated. At least they had some answers right now.
Speaking of 'they,' Karkat felt the seat shift as Sollux plopped down beside him, mumbling a tired greeting as Aradia moved into the seat in front of them energetically. At least today was starting out pretty normal.
"Alright, my sweet boys!" Aradia had already turned around to look at them, a manic gleam in her eye. "I know these past few days have been stressful and all, but I think it's about time to get back to some of our regular shenanigans."
"I don't remember the goth kids pulling any shit since Thursday." Sollux shifted in his seat to look at her in the eye. "Or are we focusing on a new target?"
"Neither. I just really feel like we need to do something mischievous this week, otherwise we'll all have mental breakdowns before Wednesday." The teen grabbed something out of her backpack, palming several pink spheres in her hand. "I heard some football players were getting high and mighty and hurt some kids in the chess club. Real 'teen movie' type stuff. I was thinking adding some color to their wardrobe would set them straight."
"These things won't make too loud a noise, right?" Karkat grabbed one carefully, looking it over. "Just to know whether or not we should run as fast as possible when we put them in- where do you want us to put them?"
"In their backpacks." Aradia smiled widely. "And look at you getting into it! Been itching to do something fun?"
"He's probably itching to do something normal, AA. Hell, I'd normally say this is a bad idea, but even I don't care." He crossed his legs, pulling out his phone. "Least my dads aren't on my case about what we were doing out in the park. They're usually surprised I even go outside when I'm not with you guys."
"Well, you need more exercise then." The bi-colored teen tried to avoid the cheek pinching his friend was giving him, but she caught him anyway. He rubbed at it as she continued. "Besides, it isn't a bad idea at all. We just can't get caught while doing it."
"Caught doing what? Sucking each other off?"
The mood instantly soured as the three turned to Trizza Tethis, who had rudely decided to insert herself into the conversation.
"What do you want, Tethis? We're busy living our own lives, unlike you." Karkat started to sit up straighter, realizing something. "And you're on the bus too? Isn't that 'above you' or something?"
"It is, but Mum decided she needed my convertible for her latest crisis on her age or something." Trizza sneered at the three. "I've actually been meaning to talk with you about some shit. Namely, your bug-fuck crazy dad."
She took a step forward, pushing Sollux out of her way with an indignant hand. "I don't know what exactly he's planning or anything, but if he's doing something with that 'portal' of his, I'm gonna' have to ask you to kick that shit to the curb. We don't need another explosion going off and knocking off half the power to the city again, y'hear?"
Karkat rolled his eyes and glared right into her eyes. "I can't promise he won't blow anything up, but I'd prepare to have it be your mind instead, Tethis."
Scoffing, the girl in pink stood up and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. If some freak shit happens, I'll know exactly who to blame."
Karkat couldn't help but feel his eye twitch at the comment, anger boiling under his skin as he kept his eyes on her. When she turned around, he automatically moved the hand holding one of the pink paint spheres in it and moved it into her bag with his intangibility. He didn't realize what he did until the ball was already gone, and she was walking away from them and heading for the front of the bus.
Blinking, he looked at his friends incredulously, but they were too busy fuming.
"God, I really don't get what her problem is." Sollux groaned and hit his head on the back of his seat. "You'd think she'd just get on with her life, but she's just as stubborn as AA."
"Hey, don't compare me to her!" Aradia said indignantly. "I'm only a tough bitch when the situation calls for it." She laughed to herself before shaking her head. "It really is annoying how she just won't stop. Maybe she has a crush on one of us."
"Oh god, don't give me nightmares." Karkat ran his hand down his face. "You're making me wish I stuck more of those paintballs in her bag."
They paused and looked at him weirdly. "When and how did you do that?" Aradia asked quizzically.
He simply waved his hand in a 'magical' gesture, causing them to stop instantly and blank looks moving onto their faces. Before he could begin to regret the decision, he started to regret it for different reasons as Megido started to smile very widely.
"Oh my god, the possibilities! I never thought of the possibilities!" She laughed evilly to herself, clapping her hands. "You can move through shit and turn invisible; how did I not think of this before?! So many plans to create!" She gasped and moved down in her seat, muttering a quick 'be right back' followed by the sound of a notebook being opened and pencil scratching.
Karkat couldn't help but feel dread dip into his core. He just doomed everyone in his school by giving Aradia some new tools for her mischief.
Great job, Vantas. Fantastic job all around.
He was pulled out of the pity party when he felt a tapping at this shoulder. Sollux gave him a pensive look.
"I'm glad that you found a positive side to all of this," He started, sending a look to the seat in front of him warily. "But do you think it might be time to mention to your dad about all of this?"
Karkat stiffened at that but nodded slowly. "Probably. I think we can say that I'm not dying with some confidence now. Not entirely sure how he'll like the whole..." He trailed off, waving his hand in the same 'magical' gesture he did earlier.
"I'm sure he won't mind." The teen shrugged, trying to remain relaxed about all this. "You might even be another breakthrough for paranormal research. 'The Ghost Kid' or something." Phone still out, he messed around with a few apps, trying to find a suitable gaming one. "He didn't care when you came out as pan, remember? I'm sure he'll be fine about this."
Karkat did nod at that, feeling a little more confident. Spades was more than okay with him after he came out last year. Just as long as he didn't date a "fucking jackass," he wasn't forbidden to date anyone at all.
"I'll think about it. Maybe I'll even talk to him about it after school ends today."
His friend was satisfied by the answer, at least for the moment, deciding to let it rest. Karkat watched as he attempted to reach the high score of whatever game he was playing today, adding in the occasional, not-so-helpful commentary.
He'd tell him today.
Then everything'll be normal again.
[LINE BREAK HERE]
"This is beyond fucked."
Spades rolled his eyes and moved around the lab, finishing up the latest invention. "Could at least act a little impressed, Captor. You are seeing this before anyone else, feel honored or something!"
He spoke to a man dressed in casual clothing, ones that showed some wear and tear. Looking much like the son Spades had met a hundred times, he ruffled at shaggy blonde hair and adjusted his glasses hiding heterochromatic eyes. He was standing in front of the open Ghost Portal.
"I'm not saying that this isn't a huge achievement and all," Solluxander* Captor the First* (Xander to his friends) stood at the mouth of it, eye twitching. "But you are literally going to have every religious group after you when you show this off. All of them."
"They'll thank me for providing a possible answer! Why is that so hard to understand?" Spades turned one final screw and pushed the project aside. "Besides, the government is looking to make ectoplasm an eco-friendly source of energy, so this is a win-win."
"Somehow, I don't think any ghosts would appreciate being colonized for free energy." Mr. Captor took a step back, turning to face the man working at the table. "Speaking of which has anything...?" He pointed at the portal nervously, eyebrow raised.
Spades sighed and moved towards the man. "No, nothing's come out of it. Your kid actually brought a drone here to take a look inside and got some amazing footage out of it. Have to thank him for that later. Just tell me what he has on wish list or something and I'll buy it for him."
"I'll consider it." Xander tapped his foot impatiently. "Not sure if I want my kid near the thing, to be honest. Bad enough he was here when you turned it on. He looked pretty pale when he came home last week." A thought entered his mind. "If something comes out from the other side, do you actually something to catch it with?"
"Glad you asked!" Spades held up the invention he was working on, putting it up into the eerie light of the portal. "This here is the top of the line of ghost hunting equipment! Can catch anything with an ectoplasmic signature."
"...It looks like a soup thermos."
"I had to improvise." Spades twirled the thing around. "Showed it to Karkat this morning and he said the same thing. I'd brand it the Slick Thermos if didn't so cheesy. I'll come up with something eventually."
"Alright." Xander could only shrug, taking one final look at the portal before putting his full attention on the man in front of him. "I'm assuming you brought me here for more than show and tell."
"Yeah!" Switching topics instantly, Spades motioned for him to come upstairs. "I wanted to send out some invites to the showing for the portal. Mostly to some buddies of mine, some scientific minds. Maybe everyone who told me I was nuts during high school..."
"Is this really a scientific unveiling or just a middle finger to those who were mean to you in high school?" The gangly man moved behind Slick raising an eyebrow.
"It can be both!"
As the two continued to talk on, leaving the portal to close behind them, something slipped between the cracks of the portal as it closed. While remaining invisible to the world, the being slipped through the lab, moving to the surface above quietly.
The being floated weightlessly above the house, as if looking for something, invisible eyes wandering through every nook and cranny of the street, before settling its eyes on its chosen destination.
A female voice breathed in a fake breath, before letting out a joyful sigh at seeing Casper High in the distance.
"Can't be late for work." It said, humming a happy tune as started heading to the high school.
[LINE BREAK HERE]
Sitting in the lunchroom, the trio were stifling cackles of amusement, Aradia especially. Judging from the pink jackets and school supplies on some disgruntled football players, their plan had gone off without a hitch.
"I can't believe it worked so well!" The girl laughed to herself, doing her best not to get into hysterics. "I can't believe you got it into their lockers! And nothing got on the lockers themselves?"
"We figured the janitor had enough shit to deal with. Really difficult, but I we pulled it off pretty well." Sollux took a swig of his soda proudly, smirking. "Then again, couldn't have done it without KK getting into their lockers."
"You better fucking believe it." Said teen couldn't help but feel proud of the accomplishment as well. "Gotta' say, I'm still almost falling through floors and shit, but these powers might not be too bad. I think this is the first time we've ever gotten away with this shit before."
"Yeah, you're right!" Aradia slammed her hand down onto the table. "Maybe we've been thinking about this all wrong! I mean, this still sucks, but maybe we can have some fun with it. God, I haven't laughed in days." She sat back in her chair, smiling softly. "I think we finally found a bright side to the situation. Bout time."
"So, no lecture about great powers and great responsibilities, right?" Karkat joked, sending the table into a fit of laughter again. He couldn't help but feel happy that it was him that did it.
It was nice to laugh. It really was. He knew his friends were probably torturing themselves over this ghost crap since he 'died,' so seeing them happier than they've been in days was a relief. Maybe these freaky powers could be useful for something more than keeping him up at night.
Who knows? Maybe telling his dad after school would go over fine after all. If these two idiots can accept it after knowing about it after a week, then his dad could get used to it too.
"So," Sollux started, swishing his soda and glancing at Aradia casually. "Any other ideas? Considering we got that out of our system, I'd say this is the start of a beautiful pranking spree."
Karkat smirked. "I think I have a few ideas myself. I mean, they aren't great but-"
Then he started coughing.
The sudden hitch in his breath caught him off guard, rattling him once again. Pounding his hand against the table, he wrestled with his throat and got himself under control.
"Jesus, sorry about that. Don't know where that shit came from." The boy laughed and opened his eyes, trying to send a reassuring look to his friends. "Might need some water. Sollux, mind giving me..."
He trailed off when he noticed several, very concerning things. One, his friends were done laughing now and they were just staring at him with muted horror on their faces. Two, they were practically clutching at the table, knuckles white and fingers digging into wood. Lastly, they were staring at the smoke.
The smoke coming from his mouth.
"...fuck." The red-eyed teen said quietly, looking around himself quickly. God, did one of those ectopus things follow him to school?! That would be bad, really, really bad. He couldn't wrestle that thing back to the Ghost Zone from here, somebody could get hurt! Did it sneak into the school while he wasn't looking!?
He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder shaking him, belonging to Sollux. He motioned him to be quiet, pointing around at the cafeteria. 'Too many people here,' was what he was trying to convey, Aradia only proving his point as she looked around them to see if anyone else saw the smoke.
Karkat nodded shortly, focusing on the room around him. No alarms were going off, so obviously it wasn't in any other part of the school yet. No one was screaming either, so if it was here, it wasn't causing trouble yet. Then where the fuck was it? He's only seen these things twice now, but they didn't seem smart enough to initiate a sneak attack.
While nothing was wrong with the students, the trio couldn't help but noticed a door to the cafeteria open, a dazed lunch lady stepping out. She took a few steps away from the door before leaning on the wall, eyes glazed and blinking rapidly. The three looked at each other before making a moved towards the woman, leaving their lunches behind.
"Uh, Doris?" Karkat ventured out carefully, hesitating as the woman's gaze snapped to him. He was glad he bothered to learn some of the faculties names after working at retail over the summer. Nothing makes you more sympathetic to people who do those jobs more than having one of them yourself. "Everything alright? You don't look too well."
Doris blinked a few more times, not fully registering the trio's presence. Before one of them could ask again, her head snapped up and she nodded quickly.
"Yes." She said curtly, already moving towards the doors leading further into the school. "Lisa decided to take my shift today. Everything's fine."
He was reflexively nodding, watching her stumble her way to the door, before a though occurred to him. Looking at his friends, he gave them a questioning look. "Who the hell is Lisa?"
Karkat's anxiety spiked as they shrugged.
They all looked to the closed door of the kitchen. The woman's behavior could be explained as job stress or a midlife crisis, but it seemed like it was too big of a coincidence. Besides, pardoning the pun, it did seem like she saw a ghost or something.
Karkat took a look around before giving his friends the side eye. "See anyone looking in our direction?"
Sollux and Aradia gave the room a sweep, noting nobody else had noticed anything just yet. "We're in the clear." Aradia reported, warily taking a look back at the door behind them.
"Yeah. So, any idea how we're going insid-" Sollux started. He was interrupted when he felt a cold hand touch his neck and pulled him back. A yelp of surprise was silenced immediately as the air took on a strange quality, the resistance just passing through him.
While every other student in the cafeteria ate with their friends and talked amongst themselves, the trio slid through the door.
[LINE BREAK HERE]
"Okay." An exasperated Japanese woman sat in a chair in Spades kitchen, fingers at her temples. Holding back the migraine of the century, she squeezed her eyes shut and simply took a sip at the coffee the man had given her. Her accent was wavering heavily with her emotions. "You want me to do what exactly?"
"Call up Doc Scratch and tell him the portal is finished. Bring some of the boys back together, you know?" Spades was almost as annoyed as she was, though for entirely different reasons. "Why the hell is everyone so surprised by this? I found the source of ectoplasm, I'm pretty sure the bastard would be excited!"
Hando Meido* Megido had only known this man for a few years now since marrying one of his friends and having her stepdaughter be friends with his kid. He was always good for a laugh considering the bullshit she'd seen him go through, especially if it started a few fires. She always figured that he was a decent, crazy man that was fun to watch when he did something painfully stupid. What could she say, she was a sadist by nature.
After seeing what he had in his basement, she may need to reevaluate some of her past opinions.
"Look, I would love to see you shit talk my boss- trust me, I would- but how the hell are you going to prove to him that what you have is real? For fucks sake, I believe it, but that doesn't mean he will." Mrs. Megido sat back in her chair, crossing her legs. She still shivered at the feeling of the portal, knowing it was down there. "Have you done anything to actually get inside it?"
"Not yet. The kid got his friend to move a drone in there and get some footage, though." Spades said proudly, ignoring the groan from Hando. "That should be enough."
"Yes, a video from three teenagers that grew up in the age of the internet. One of them with extensive knowledge in tech and special effects." The sarcasm was thick enough for Spades to catch, though she rarely cared. "Videos can be faked, Slick. Nobody trusts anything unless it's right in front of their eyes. Scratch is no exception. The kids are pretty honest, but he doesn't know that." Another sip of her coffee failed to soothe her nerves.
Spades, despite being thick in the head sometimes, grumbled in agreement. He'd have to find a safe way to get inside the Ghost Zone with some form of protection. Gravity (as far as he knew) didn't exactly apply there and even he couldn't bring an aircraft down into the lab without some serious help. Not to mention what the Zone would do to real world objects that stay in there.
"I'm planning on showing the portal off at my high school reunion in a month. I think I can come up with something before then to get at least one person inside." He clicked his tongue. "Got all the ectoplasm I want now, so shouldn't be too hard."
"Yeah." Hando blinked. "Try to not kill anybody with whatever you come up with. I've grown somewhat fond of Aradia by now."
Spades barked a laugh. "Hey, my inventions haven't killed anybody yet."
Before she could land a retort, a loud beep caused them to jump. Looking at the counter, the sound came from a small device on Spades kitchen counter. It beeped again after a three second beat, at the same irritating volume as before.
Spades got up quickly, grabbing the device. Fiddling with it, he looked over the screen in broad confusion. It was lighting up, the beep continuing.
Hando raised an eyebrow. "Slick? You're usually happy when one of your things work, what's happening? Is that going to explode on us?"
"No. It's working perfectly. Hell, I tuned the thing this morning." He fiddled with the nobs a little more, looking a little more frantic. "It shouldn't be doing anything right now. It's only supposed to detect high traces of ectoplasm, and I made sure the portal wouldn't even register."
"Then where the fuck it trying to lead you?" She stood up taking a look over his shoulder. He narrowed her eyes, looking over the map on the screen.
"It's," Spades looked closer, attempting to zoom in a little bit more. "It says there something going on at the high school."
[LINE BREAK HERE]
Karkat would've had the presence of mind to feel guilty if it wasn't so funny to see his friends gasping on the floor, freaking out a little.
Aradia, shaking her head and standing up quickly, grabbed her undead friend and shook him at every syllable. "Warn. Us. Next. Time."
"Jesus, dude, is that how that feels? God that's weird." Sollux got up too, slower and shakier. "Kinda cool, but what AA said."
"Hey, we needed to get in here unnoticed, and that's what I did." The red-eyed teen shrugged and turned around. "Let's just find this 'Lisa,' and get the fuck out of here. I don't want any teachers finding us."
Aradia sighed, following closely behind. "True. We might as well find out if an ectopus followed us here or not."
"Maybe Doris had a mental breakdown or something." Sollux shrugged, frowning. "I mean, I hope not, but maybe she had to deal with Trizza too long and just couldn't take it anymore. Probably handing in her two weeks' notice by now."
Karkat shook his head. "She looked a little too pale. Almost like she saw something that she shouldn't have. Or wasn't expecting to." He frowned and forced himself to look ahead. "It looked too much like how you guys did after the whole thing with the portal."
The other two didn't say anything about it, wincing at the detail. Though, in a fucked-up way, they understood what he meant.
Doris looked a little tired, sure, but that was pretty normal. You work in a school of any kind, with students that have more energy and hormones than sense, you get tired real fast. She may have worked in the kitchen mostly, but teenagers could take a lot out of you, especially if you were another teenager.
But Doris didn't just look tired. She looked like she saw something that truly horrified her.
It took them under a minute to reach the kitchen. It took them less time to hear what sounded like a happy hum come from inside it.
In a way, the scene was entirely benign. They could see a stocky woman standing before them, her back to them as she prepared another meal for the masses outside. Whether her stockiness originated from fat or from muscle was hard to tell. Gray hair was tied up in a bun and stuck under a hairnet, not a single one out of place, kept tightly inside the netting. Her garb reflected what her profession was, with a plain, light pink dress and large apron that engulfed it.
It was a relatively normal scene.
If only her skin wasn't glowing a sickly green.
The three kids reflexively took a step back, anxiety rising within them. One of them hit a pan that was lying on the ground, probably left by Doris after she ran outside.
The woman (the ghost) stopped for a moment, looking behind her curiously. A kindly face smiled at them, her eyes looking mostly normal except they were lined with a lighter shade of green than her skin.
"Hello, dearies." She said nicely, turning to them while floating. "Feeling a bit peckish?"