Firstly I'd like to say thank you to everyone who answered my question on my chapter length, every guy likes to be complimented on his size after all. Hehe~ Ba boom-tish! I'll be here all week folks. But in all seriousness thanks, those answers and feedback gives me a good understanding of my writing from an outside perspective and where I need to improve, mainly I think my fight scenes are going to be what I focus on improving from now on as that's what I'm still the least confident in.
Which is one of the reasons this took so long actually, two big fights are coming up this chapter and I'm iffy on the first but nevertheless I'm proud of both of them, so definitely give your thoughts!
Weirdly my phone wouldn't let me access the Google doc for this story, I could access it from a different Google account I use but not my main one and I was able to make a copy of it, so in the end I just deleted my original doc and I'm now using the copy. Luckily I didn't lose anything but still it was weird and random as fuck, no reason just "Error, you can't access this, check your Internet and access permissions" or something when I'm the fucking owner of the doc, the secondary editor account I had can get in fine though because that makes sense.
Bullshit technology I swear.
Onto more pleasant topics, my nephew got out of prison and showed up at my house early last month which was a great surprise and he even brought his daughter by, my Mom was super happy since she hasn't seen him in years. Sadly my brother(the one that's his dad) was in another state at the time so they didn't get to see each other.
Mom's nearly finished with chemo, which is not a method of radiation but instead a type of medicine they give you, that was fucking news to me because I didn't know that, did one of you know that and just not tell me? How dare you.
She's gotten a wig, god it's unsettling seeing her without her hair and even more so seeing her as a blonde, she does not look good blonde lol. She's been saying her hands are numb and she's been really tired which is anxiety inducing but they gave her medicine in her last treatment that seems to have taken care of it mostly.
We're almost finished, once chemotherapy is finished there will be a few tests then surgery to remove anything left and hopefully she'll be healthy, based on the current timeline I'll definitely be taking the rest of the year off because Mom will basically be bedridden while she heals from the surgery so that will be the busiest time yet for me.
I've never exactly been able to cry easily, just not that type, but if I could I'd be doing happy tears right now.
As some friendly writing advice for everyone, don't be afraid to walk away. Don't burn yourself out on a chapter that's just not coming, forcing a jam through your printer is only going to destroy the paper and maybe cause a fire, the same is true for your brain.
Anyway ignore my dorky words of maybe wisdom and please enjoy.
This chapter's kink'sSpoiler: Kink's
This chapter's warning'sSpoiler: Kink's
Circus Area/9:07pm/Later
Music 'Entry of the Gladiators' played over loudspeakers.
Games with prizes were set up along either side of a shut down road.
Tents were hung up and squeezed between buildings.
I didn't like it one bit, it looked like a city that had been cursed or transformed.
"Ahhh~ I haven't been to the circus since I was a boy with my dad" Grandpa sighed with a happy look, a big bright smile on his face as he looked around. "Looks like the whole town showed up"
I nodded, there were at least a good hundred people just in our section. "Yeah, that's what worries me"
Kayden hummed curiously. "So where is great grandpappy Tennyson? When will we be seeing him this summer"
Gwen and I immediately frowned and spoke in sync. "Never"
Grandpa meanwhile paled, reaching out he patted Kayden on the head. "T-that wouldn't be wise kiddo"
That old decrepit bastard was in an old folks home in the middle of bum-fuck Georgia and the one thing I think the whole family could agree on was that we'd all be more than happy to keep his ass there, I genuinely think Grandpa, Aunt Vera and Uncle Gordan all have an agreement to 'lose' his ashes in the mail whenever he decides to stop clinging to life like a parasite on the poor nurses that take care of him.
I look around and after a moment I say in a slight tone. "I'm going to look around and see if I can't find anything, I'll find my way to the entrance of the big top in half an hour alright?"
Kayden looked bummed out since she'd stepped on a sore family subject but she brightened up slightly as Gwen grabbed her hand. "Sure doofus, Kay and I can go get some more prizes while you're gone"
Gwen and I traded looks of understanding, Gwen would fill her in and cheer her up while I was gone, Gwen was better at talking with people and actually understanding them than I was while I mainly just opened my mouth, let stuff out and hoped for the best.
Grandpa looked hesitant before nodding. "Okay Ben, go ahead but remember, no transformations or mad science experimenting unless someone-"
"-'Unless someone is in danger' Yeah, yeah I know. Like I'd let that stop me if someone was in danger" I waved him off and turned to walk away as Grandpa sighed behind me.
I walked at a slow pace and kept looking around as I slipped between two stalls, heading for the section of tents that were listed as 'off limits'.
If I remember the episode correctly then Zombozo's tent should be around here somewhere and if it is then I can hit the clown while his back is turned, knock some answers out of him and just claim later that he attacked me while I was searching.
"-look Davey, I'm just saying-"
I stopped as I heard a feminine voice, turning I see a slit in one of the tents with light pouring from it, I sneak over to listen in while keeping my steps quiet. The voices grow louder and more defined as I pay attention.
"-and your balance is amazing, you could totally join me and Alex on the tightrope"
A gruff man's voice chuckles, an accent apparent in his voice but I couldn't place it. "Heh~ Rach, you're sweet buh I'm not twenty five like you are anymore, I'm nearly thirty six in three months and mah backs been through enough. Even with mah durability I'd rathah not bus' a hip"
"Yeah I guess you're right…though that..does…make me THINK-
There's a shift in the feminine voice and they move, I only have a moment to think 'well fuck' before I feel something wrap around my waist and I'm pulled into the tent with a shout.
"GOD DAMN IT!"
—
"How do you get your hair so soft?"
"I don't know? It just is? My hairs naturally pretty thin and oily already so I just wash it once every day or two days with hot water and then use shampoo about once a week. So it just ends up feeling soft I guess"
"Huh, doesn't that leave your hair dirty though?"
"Not really, the hot water cleans it fine enough and your hair's meant to have some oil in it, if you over use shampoo it'll hurt your hair just as much as if you don't wash it. You gotta test and see what works for you though since everyone's different"
I'm trying hard not to blush right now as I'm currently stuck sitting in Frightwig-sorry, Rachel's lap as her hair tentacles bound me around the waist and she's busy running her hands through my hair, she's sitting in a beanbag chair while David(Thumbskull) and Alex(Acid Breath) are sat on crates to form a triangle in what is apparently their private tent.
Spoiler: Circus Freak Trio
I turned towards David with a skeptical look on my face. "And you honestly think I should apologize?"
The New York emigrant nodded, apparently he'd been born in Europe, moved around a lot before immigrating to the Big Apple when he was a teenager, thus his accent had a bit of everything depending on the moment. "Yeah kid, no point in bein' angry at your old man. Sounds like he just wanted tuh make sure you didn't act too hasty, I've had tuh steal before buh I always ah least tried the local church before I did"
Alex made some sign language motions that I couldn't understand and after a moment Rachel nodded and translated. "Also from what you said you were extremely disrespectful. You're living with your grandfather, he's buying your food, helped you take in this random girl who needed help and is generally spending the summer taking care of now three kids because he wants to spend time with you and you told him in his own home that you could do whatever you liked basically. Even if you aren't wrong about stealing whatever it is you did that's still way out of line junior"
My cheeks pinkened for a whole different reason as I glanced away. "Y-yeah…that's not my finest moment..I just.. people could have gotten hurt and it helped my cousin Gwen, why waste time I don't have when I can just get to what's best"
David held up a hand and then pointed, tilting his head in a questioning manner. "Ah! You say it was to help your cousin, was that a coincidence or why you did it? Just cause you didn' personally benefit doesn't mean it wasn' selfish"
I sighed deeply, Rachel's fingernails scratching the top of my head felt embarrassingly good and relaxing. "I..I benefited a lot from it..so did Gwen, I'm not sure if I did it for selfish reasons"
Alex tilted his head and I waited a moment for Rachel to translate. "Did you know that it would be beneficial and before taking it were you primarily thinking about how it'd benefit you?"
I leaned back my head into Rachel's chest and sighed, thinking back.
It was difficult to remember properly due to the adrenaline dump I'd gotten from the fighting but.. I'd known Hex and magic existed, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been up at night for years thinking about what could be in that book after I'd realized where I was, and…I hadn't exactly tried very hard to think up different options.
"If you couldn' use the thing you'self, how would yah have handled it?" David asked.
My reply was immediate, I answered mainly on instinct before I could stop myself and once I realized I wanted to stop myself from answering I knew I couldn't. "I'd have burned it or..I'd have told the person in charge of it to move it to another city"
Well shit.
"Haaah~ Well that's annoying, thanks though. You guys are surprisingly good listeners" I said.
The trio chuckled, David shook his head. "No problem listenin', you'r ah good kid"
"If you don't mind me asking, how'd you guys get your powers?" I asked.
"Puberty" David shrugged.
Rachel though waved her hand towards Alex. "Me and Alex are mutants like David, only we were born this way, apparently Alex's Mom also had powers but-
Alex sat back and crossed his arms, which for someone who hadn't spoken at all in the short time I'd been here said a lot.
"Y-yeah, we don't know you well enough for that story. I don't really have much to say myself, got thrown out of my house by my parents when my Stepdad told my Mom she had to choose between a freak and a roof over her head" Rachel said it easily, there wasn't a hitch in her breath or a missed syllable, it was clear she'd either already spent all the emotion tied up in that story or she had a very good pokerface. "From there I did what I could till eventually meeting Alex, we stole from some different stores, ran around the country till eventually we found David or he found us..then-
"Like moss, they grow on you and then you can' get 'em off" David finished with a chuckle.
"Love you too, you big softie" Rachel rolled her eyes. "From there we did what we could, got arrested a couple times, did some street performances and such, then Mr Zomboni found us working on a Texas ranch for spare change and offered us a job 'putting a smile on people's faces'"
I snorted. "Big load of bullshit, when the smiles and laughs are about you"
David shrugged and Rachel spoke in a soft tone. "It's better than you'd think. Mr Zomboni is a genuinely kind man unlike a lot of people, you always have to deal with rude people but at least here we can have security throw them out on their face, and most importantly we get to be a proper family under one roof, with solid meals each night"
"And you've never met anyone else like you guys?" I asked.
"Some but rarely. A handful over a lifetime for each of us, many look as good as a normal person if not better much like how you describe this Kayden girl, a few though..don't and they often hide away wherever they can manage" Rachel answered. "We call ourselves mutants because that was a term David was told about by one guy, an Erik something, but we've heard dozens of other terms from different people, either good or insulting. You said you're not sure about if she's a mutant or an alien hybrid right?"
I nod. "Grandma Verdona was an alien, though Grandpa doesn't know that I know that, Gwen's shown subtle abilities and I'm smarter than a normal person should be and I am occasionally stronger too, but that at least could also be explained away by this weirdo watch. Then over this summer I've seen tons of weird stuff including a couple aliens, so I'm sure Kayden's not like...proper apple pie human but the origin? Hell if I know"
They shrugged, Rachel shook her head sadly. "Sorry we can't help, we don't know any specifics signs or even what would make us a mutant beyond having powers, it's sorta just a name for 'weird folks' to us. If there's anything different from normals or if there is or isn't a difference between being part alien and being mutant we couldn't say"
David grinned. "I nev'ah even finished high school hehe~"
Rachel frowned and one of her hair tentacles swatted him upside the head. "Hey, you're plenty smart you idiot, you're the one who taught me multiplication after all"
David held his hands up in mock surrender. For a minute I was just left swimming in the casual family feeling between the three, they'd listened without calling anything I said bullshit and they'd been pretty nice and understanding about me sneaking around, well at least once I'd convinced them I didn't intend to steal anything.
Turns out the cartoon trope of carnies being actually pretty awesome and nice people is true, I almost felt like I was intruding on a bit of relaxing family time.
"Thank you guy's, really. I'm grateful for you all listening to my problems" I said shyly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
They all smiled and Rachel used her hair to lift me up and put me on my feet. "No problem kiddo, you're not that bad. But we gotta get ready since the shows going to start soon."
I grinned. "Well if I ever become famous and you guys need a job let me know, I'd be happy to help! Hehe~"
David chuckled while Rachel rolled her eyes and half heartedly swatted at me with one of her hair strands. "Get out of here already brat"
Damn, maybe I was overthinking things and Zombozo got his act together in this timeline due to some butterfly effect or something.
I really hope so, the less headaches for me the better.
"Hehehe~ Now this is so very interesting~"
—
Gwen was smiling smugly, she'd been able to win every single stall game, even the rigged ones!
Though she'd only kept a few mementos that sat in her pockets like bracelets and rings, along with snacks like chips and candy that she had in a plastic bag on her arm…
…
Glancing at her side, Gwen could see Kayden grinning and hugging a stuffed lion plush.
..Well, maybe more than a few mementos…
Anyway after twenty five minutes they bought some hotdogs and decided to wait by the entrance, since the show would begin soon and Ben should be coming back.
Two minutes past when he said he'd be back and then she spots him walking over casually, looking relaxed but distracted, like he's thinking or day dreaming. Nothing new there.
She quickly runs over and grabs him. "Hey! Where have you been? And what's got you so smiley? Found something?"
"Huh?" Ben blinked as he came back to reality. "Oh, no I didn't find anything. Had a talk with some performers but that was it…think I might have been wrong"
She narrowed her eyes. If that was true, why was he smiling? It was small, yeah, but usually being wrong would annoy the piss out of Ben.
And damn it, she's realized he's got her doing it now. Her Mother is already planning to wash her mouth out with soap when she gets home after New York, she doesn't need it worse.
"Hmm~" Grandpa crossed his arms. He didn't look angry or like things were going to explode again, but there was a tension between Ben and him that was still there. "Well I guess that's a good thing if nothing is going on here, worst that happens is that we spent a night a bit paranoid at the circus"
Kayden frowned. "What about the crane operator"
"I don't want it to be incompetence and it would be unlikely but that doesn't mean impossible" Ben said with a shrug and Grandpa gave a hesitant nod in agreement. "We've looked around but haven't found anything…"
Ben tilted his head and glanced at the big tent before looking at Grandpa. "I mean the show is about to start and since we're already here to check it out, might as well go watch? Like you said 'worst that happens is we spent a night paranoid at the circus'"
Grandpa sighed and looked at his watch and then towards the tent before nodding. "Might as well, be a waste of money to leave right when the main attraction is going to start"
""Yes!""
Kayden and Ben continued to share a single brain cell in what was beginning to be actually fairly cute, they pumped their fists and changed together like the pair of untrained monkeys they were. ""Circus! Circus! Circus! Circus!""
She found herself rolling her eyes with a fond smile, following alongside at a slower pace to the pair of idiots.
Grandpa walked behind them, amusement clear. "Come on, we need to find a space before they get taken"
They searched around for a bit before luckily finding a whole section of the front row that hadn't been taken yet, leaving plenty of room for the four of them, going in order: Ben, Kayden, herself, Grandpa.
She handed out some chips to Kayden and Ben while Grandpa bought himself some popcorn, the four of them waiting as people came in and sat down, the stands filled up and eventually the lights dimmed with colored spotlight's dancing around.
A bright spot light lit up the circus stage showing a guy with a mustache, presumably the ringmaster, who projected his voice really well. "Ladies and gentlemen! Children of all ages! The circus of laughter is happy to present! The Sultan of Smiles! The Crown Prince of Chuckles! The Grim Tickler Himself! THE STAR OF OUR CIRCUS, ZOMBOZO THE CLOWN!"
A small pink car drove out onto the stage, it was small enough that it looked like it could barely fit one person, yet when it stopped the door opened and out stepped a clown who appeared to be at least six feet tall.
Spoiler: Zombozo The Clown
She giggled at the funny sight of the tall portly man pulling himself out of the car, before standing tall and holding his arms out like he was awaiting applause for a grand acrobatic feat. Then the car door closed and the little vehicle gave a honk before driving off, Zombozo turned in surprise to watch it drive away.
When the car stopped at the other side of the tent it turned around with a spray of dust and revved its engine, Zombozo pulled out a red cape with a poof of confetti and glitter, taunting the car like it was a bull.
The car sped off directly towards the clown, it was going at least thirty miles an hour as it cleared the space between them.
With a flourish Zombozo covered the car with the cape, as he turned a burst of confetti was launched out of the cape and Zombozo again stood straight with his arms out, this time though people were cheering and clapping as the car vanished.
She grinned uncontrollably as she laughed, she tuned out her cousin and Grandpa and everything else, for now she was just another girl laughing.
—
"If you like clowns, this is the place to be!"
She watched as acrobats danced around, a large bulky muscled man lifting up a whole elephant by himself, the whole time Zombozo directed it and poked fun at himself.
Trying to copy the acrobats and out-do them by juggling pies while performing their moves, only to end up with the pies splattering over his head as he rolled along like a ball. Trying to take over for the strongman only to start puffing and huffing, quivering before finally getting squashed under the elephant in a puff of confetti.
She couldn't stop grinning at the performance, her cheeks hurt from smiling.
This was amazing!
—
"I've Never Been Very Good At Math, But I Believe I Have Your Undivided Attention!"
Confetti had started falling like snow, acrobats twirled through the air.
Zombozo performed tricks like breathing fire and boxing his own shadow.
She giggled, she wanted to laugh but her chest hurt and she started wheezing whenever she tried.
She brought her arms closer around herself as she watched, cards thrown in the air exploding in fireworks, a chill going down her spine as she was enraptured by the pretty colors.
Was it getting colder?
—
"̸̻̊Y̸̢̏ô̴͖ư̵̮'̶̣̐r̴̨̚é̸ͅ ̶̉ͅă̷ͅl̷̢̐l̶̬͌ ̵̅ͅg̷͇͒o̸͙̕ĭ̸̹n̷̮͛g̷͎̈́ ̶̗̿t̷̙͗o̷͎͌ ̵̭͊ḑ̷̑i̵͖͐e̸̼̓ ̶͔̏l̷̮̆ȧ̶͈ů̸͈g̴̡͝ȟ̷͓i̸͉̾n̵̻͌g̵̟̈́!̶͕́"̵͙͘
She grinned and giggled..
..why was she giggling..?
…everything was…so gray…and cold..
…
..die laughing?...that sounded nice..
She…was laughing now…
…
..but..she felt really sad actually…
Why was she always working again..?
..it seemed pointless…her parents would be mad but…they always would be…
…They always got mad at her…she never did anything they liked…..
Maybe…she…should just di-
VVVVVVHHHROOOACH!!!
Her left bracelet fired a full powered blast, it only lasted for a second before shutting off with the top of the bracelet glowing and fractured. A bright white light screamed like a high voltage power line through a subwoofer, moving like a steamroller it raced at a fast running pace that held the force of a semi and immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
Zombozo looked up wide-eyed for only a moment before he was sent flying as he was hit, his chest disappearing as he ragdolled, dust kicking up from his body.
Her eyes widened as she gasped, grabbing her chest as something deep inside her twisted up, she doubled over and puked.
The feeling of hollowness between her ribs.
Everything was so gray but it didn't look any different.
She h-had to say something to the others…but did she want to..? Could she get away with just laying here gasping?
She felt so miserable…
She turned her head a bit to see Ben stand up while a bunch of people screamed and ran, Kayden was blinking confused and she could kinda see Grandpa rubbing his head as he got to his feet, but…Ben looked fine..
Why wasn't he sad?
She slowly pushed herself to sit up, tired and numb, feeling like she'd only just come up from being underwater but without the adrenaline that kept your heart beating…
…Just the cold..
…
…Ben looked at them..his eyes swirled with something…wow.
She blinked and took a deep breath, trying to focus as a snarl twisted across Ben's face, his face twisting till it looked like the edges of his face were going to tear.
He looked livid beyond anything she'd ever seen...was he mad she killed the clown..that thought stung..makes sense though she'd fuck up like that…loser like her….her perfect cousin will probably fix it though…or maybe he'll just finally dump he-
"̸̨̲͎̦̈̂͒̕͝Ÿ̸͙̟͔́̇ǫ̵̦͙͋͌̈́͜ư̵̖̼̱̰͕̖̱̝̂͂͋̍̓̈̑͊͝ ̴̬̠̠̩̒̂b̵̳̀̀͌͋̃̆ŗ̸͕̬̅͊͒͋̊̏̑̕͠͠a̵͓͠t̶̡̲̹̪̣̟̏̄͋ş̶̡̻͙̰͚͎͚̟̭̽̌̈́͊̃̀̔̽͝!̵̛͎̘̺̼̅̽͐̕ ̵̢̧̰̠̞͙͍̜̌̄̂̀̒͜D̵̡̡̥͙̳̭̫̟͓̍̽͘̚ȋ̶̡̫̝̥̱̙͂̈́̿͐̚̚d̴̛̦̈̎̎͋̈̍ ̷̨̰̮̠̘̃͘n̴̫̤̙̂̎ͅo̶̱̔̎̉͝ ̴̜̹̰̤͛̚ô̶̱̖͈̅̐̌̈̈͌̈́͆͘ǹ̴̖̩͉̼̰͂e̴̬͆͒ ̷̘̗̮̞̺̠͓̻̰́͌̈̋́͂͊̔̓͊t̷̯̱̰͋̈́͂̎͠͝͠e̶̢̛̖͒͆a̸̱͉̜̦͛̓͛̑͌͠c̶̨̩̣͈̙͊̈́̓h̴͖̜̭̠͇̲̙͖́̔̀̔͐̐́̍͗̍ͅ ̷̡̞̒̏͂̍̅̿̏̿̓y̴̮͑̋̍̈́͌̀̀̚̕ō̷̩̟̜̰ü̷̧͓̣̥͈̖͙͔̽ͅͅ ̴̥̰̟͍̣͒̾̐͋͑̐̕ï̴̢̝͈̬̭͈ͅt̵͖̀̂̌̾̚͘̚͠ ̴̡̢̮͎͔͕̱̊̔̊ͅw̴̥̐̐̏͌̐̓̍͊͘a̵̡̢͇̰̘̪̟̻̽̾͑͜ś̶̛̝͍̟̻͙͈̥̩̭͐͂̓̂̆̕͠ ̵̗̹̜͔̽̑ř̸̰͉̪̾̓͂͛́̿́̈́͆ų̴̹͍̉̂̀́̽͗d̵̲͓̥̠̤͎̈͑e̴͓̎̓̃̿̓̎̀̆͝ ̷̡̩̮̦̟̲̫͝t̸̳͉̫͓̬̰͌̂̐͋̓͛̀̕ơ̸̢̳͍̰̙̖̝̩̙̊̍͂̈́̀ ̴̡̮̗͖͓̏͛̓͑͌̊͋̚i̶͎͎̜̬̻̺͚̲͐̉̋͘͝n̷͍͗̑̿͑̿̓͜͝t̶̢̤̣̗̘͍̹̻̾͆͑͘ͅe̴̛̪͇̜͌̋͂̽̍̌̽͜͝r̴̮̋̿̚r̷̨̧͖̲̳̋͒̅ŭ̷̥̰̩̱̝̾̑̈́̓͜p̶̪͇͙͙̪̲͇̙̥̌̂̑̍͂͆̉t̸͙͉̮̟͔͇́͗̐̀̈́̅͋̓̆͠ ̵̢͙̻̝̺̼̹̀̒́͛a̴̛̛̰̻̎͂̀̋̏͌̒̚ ̷͎̩̗̼̲̯̭̆̉̏̋͊͠ļ̸̹̤̤̦̮̘́̾̆̎͂͗́͝ị̸͈̺͇͑v̸̡̬͚̜̩̰͈͖̋̇̑́͜e̸̝̲̝̱̫̲̺̜͈̘̿́̀̒̈́̋͂̅͝͠ ̷͇̻͈̤̇̎̐̌̿̄̆̏͛͝s̵̛͇̠͖̱̗̤͛̈́̄̀̂̋̃̏̐h̶̗̝̜̀ơ̴̡͎͓͎̝̭̟̥̫͒̇̇̽͗̔̓w̴̡̝͙̭̮̲̙̃̉!̷̧͍̳̺͗̉̾̑̉͊̿͝ͅ"̷̨̧̛̠̤͈͓̹̻͌̿̾̓̒
She flinched and turned to stare in shock as the clown stood up, sound bubbling through her skeleton in an unholy choir of all her half forgotten nightmares.
His skin peeled back, flesh bubbled, cloth degrading as his eyes blackened, yellowed teeth took the appearance of fangs. The six foot clown grew closer to eight feet, his shadow breaking up to fill the tent with the image of a vast spider.
Spoiler: ?!?!
They stared, horror and revulsion filled the void inside her, oozing out like puss from a vacuum sealed jar. Grandpa froze and even Ben was caught up short as he stared in shock.
"The absolute fuck are you!?" Ben shouted, recovering quickly apparently as the other performers in the circus screamed and ran out of the tent.
Ben hopped up onto the bleachers and began walking down the seats towards the bottom, his gaze locked onto the clown monster that shifted and moved like he had no bones, his shadows long legs clicking above.
She breathed, blinking as she tried to rouse herself into moving, she felt sluggish and unmotivated like all the joy had been sucked out of her.
A screeching sound like bones scratching against a chalkboard vibrated her skull, low sharp cackling.
"̷͎̋I̵̤͂'̸͔̏ṁ̵͜ ̷̙̇a̴͔͐ṅ̵̼c̴̩̀i̷͔̚e̵̥̊n̸̤͆t̵̟̉ ̸̤͌b̵̳̽ë̶̢y̷̠͠ọ̴̒n̷̼͝d̶̹̅ ̶̦̈́m̵̢̾è̸̲a̵͚̾s̸̟̓u̷̹͗r̴̮̎e̶̙͑,̸͔̉ ̷̯̾I̸͖̽'̵̜͊m̶̗̂ ̶̠͊m̴̜͘o̵̘̔r̶͓͌e̶͇̓ ̸̱̀ṕ̴͍ö̴̫́w̷̪͗è̵͉r̷͖̚f̴͎̽u̸̹̎l̷̜̇ ̵̪̽t̴̙̑h̸̞̔ä̵̗́n̶̡̊ ̴̡͒y̶̼̾ọ̸͑ǘ̶̳ ̸̱͝c̵̤͊a̸̠̽ň̸̳ ̴͈͐f̴̨͗a̷̐͜t̸̺̐h̵͚̒ȯ̶̲m̸̜̃ ̷̤͘ḿ̸͕o̵̡̿r̸͕̂t̷̬͂a̸̗̓l̶̳͗!̸̀ͅ ̴̰̋I̸̕ͅ ̷̖͊a̷̜͂m̷͕͝ ̸̓ͅd̶͚̈e̵̯̾p̵̮͌r̴͓͠e̸͖̍ş̴͋ŝ̶̻ḭ̵͘o̴͔͒ņ̴̏!̴͌ͅ ̵̓ͅI̶͉͐ ̷͊ͅȃ̷̩ḿ̸͜ ̵̢̕s̸͎̍ų̶̛i̸̯̎c̶̤̊i̴͇͑d̶̻̕e̵͈͂!̷̙̐ ̶͚̆Ì̸̱ ̶͍̃a̷̫̔ḿ̷̮ ̶̪̀ṫ̷͙h̸̡͋ḛ̵́ ̵͕̈́y̷̙̋â̶͇w̷̙̒ń̶̖i̴̢͝n̴̦̓g̵̝̾ ̸̧̿v̴̂ͅo̵̦̕ì̶̦d̶̼̀ ̸̗͠ỳ̷̠ö̴̘́u̶̖͐ ̸̘͛s̴̠͘ṱ̵͂ạ̴̎r̶̢̋e̸̡͐ ̷͓̌i̴̪̒n̷͈̑t̵̟̆ǒ̵͈ ̶̹̍ẉ̸̾ḧ̵͖́e̷̳͐n̷̝͒ ̷̬͗G̵̦͌ŏ̷̫ḋ̸̝ ̵͍̔l̸͕̀ë̸́͜ä̸̡́ṽ̸͎ê̵̮ŝ̶͓ ̸͎̄ỷ̴̯õ̸͔u̴͎̔r̴̦̆ ̵̦͋ẘ̵͚o̴͇̊r̸͖̾l̷̡̉ḏ̸͊!̸͓̈ ̵̢͝L̷͔̋o̵͖͘ò̶̟k̸̬̒ ̵̢̑ư̷̜p̷͉̄o̶̖͘n̸̞̈́ ̴̳̉m̴͙͌y̷̧̔ ̶̼͒w̵̩̕e̶̻͋b̴̻̃ ̵̜͗w̸̒ͅh̶͈̄e̷̤̎ṟ̵̈́ē̴̦ ̷̻̀İ̸͜ ̷̟́d̷͖̓r̵͔͑a̶͈̓ŵ̸͈ ̴̙͌í̴̘n̶̪͝ ̴̓͜y̷̥͝o̵̊͜u̶̞̐r̶͉̈ ̷̭̓s̶̢̛ö̵͍́ǘ̵͎l̶͎̆ş̶̌!̷̝̈́"̵̱͊
The words hurt to hear, but the choir of unholy sound was lessened now, it sounded less like her nightmares and more like just raw fear. Up above the shadows moved and black strings pulled down from the very air a large bronze clockwork machine, clicking and ticking away, a bright blue glow emanating from inside it.
Grandpa grabbed her and Kayden, he was sluggish and sweating but he moved easier than either of them, basically dragging them. "Come on kiddos. We need to move"
There was a flash of green light and she focused back on Ben, who'd transformed into Heatblast, he easily replied to the monster like he wasn't bothered at all. "Big deal, I've been depressed before. But if you're really a demon then I think it's time you saw the light of God, specifically the only God in my world"
"HYAAAAH!"
Ben's body flared brightly, flames spiking before he slammed his hands together and three massive beams of fire burst from his hands, spiraling around before slamming into the bronze machine.
Everywhere they passed the shadows shrieked backwards from the flames, the fire dimmed every inch they progressed but that only made Ben push harder as heat rippled from him, the once solid ground under his feet visibly boiling.
Fire didn't just slam into the machine, it splashed between the mechanisms, whooshing throughout it until the whole bronze pile was glowing and wreathed in flames, the shadows grip seemingly breaking as the machine slipped and fell.
"̵͔̤̊͌͆́̿̌́̓̽N̴̥̩͙̹̜̥̤̣̲̗̹̟̼̥̯̄̍͗̑͒̾̉̿͗̊̇̃̿͆͠Ȍ̵̞̤͎̽͊͊͋̅̄́̈̆̈́́̏̈͝!̷̭̮̼̥͉̥̪͐̑̐̓̾͐̆̓͝"̸̢̻̬͓̖̪͚̠̳̳͔͙͚̲̌̀͐͒͑̋ͅ
BOOOM!
The whole tent rattled like a baby toy as the machine smashed into the floor, there was a pulse of blue light and then she was knocked backwards onto her back.
Sharp pain burned wonderfully in her back, she could feel the comforting warmth of Kayden over top of her, adrenaline flooded her as her eyes widened. She shivered for a whole new reason, feeling like she was going to puke again as she forced herself to sit up, she desperately dragged air into her lungs and flinched as Kayden absorbed the concrete under them and started pushing herself up with a growl, anger clear on her face while Gwen found herself left still feeling sad, it wasn't suffocating like before but she still felt like one of her pets died.
Blinking and shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she started to work on setting her remaining bracelet while Kayden took off running after Ben, who was still staring at the…th-the thing.
The clown spider creature stood, it had shrunken by a foot and the shadows had diminished to a wispy figure behind him, the emaciated clown growled, its voice now like nails on a chalkboard. "̷Y̶o̸u̴ ̸f̴u̵c̴k̵i̵n̸g̷ ̶h̶u̸m̴a̸n̸!̷ ̶D̷o̸ ̵y̸o̶u̶ ̷k̵n̸o̶w̶ ̵h̸o̸w̴ ̴m̴a̴n̴y̴ ̵s̸o̶u̷l̴s̴ ̴I̸ ̴c̴o̸l̵l̵e̴c̴t̴e̴d̷?̷ ̵H̷o̷w̸ ̴m̴u̵c̸h̵ ̶p̸o̴w̷e̸r̷f̶u̸l̵ ̵p̶o̵s̶i̸t̷i̷v̴i̶t̵y̵ ̸t̶h̴a̶t̶ ̴w̵a̴s̴!̷ ̸I̶t̶ ̸w̶a̶s̵ ̴e̸n̵o̴u̶g̸h̷ ̴t̶o̸ ̷m̶a̸k̵e̵ ̶m̵e̷ ̷a̶ ̵H̶e̷l̴l̴ ̴L̷o̴r̵d̷!̵"̴
Ben scoffed, seemingly done with waiting, jets of fire propelled from his feet launching him into the air as he began to rain fire bullets down onto Zombozo.
Kayden punched the stage and tore up rock from the ground before launching it, twisting her body and snapping off each stone like a baseball, which was about how big each rock was anyway. Gwen felt motivated enough to focus now so she quickly joined in on leveling up her working bracelet, firmly set in the red setting, and she began firing off both shots and prolonged beams at the walking nightmare.
Zombozo did his best to dodge, moving across the ground without taking a step like he was being pulled by an invisible string, the hazy shadow spider skittering around. It used one of its legs to try and slash at Ben but the heat and light was enough to disperse it before it could, Ben skated and jumped around, throwing a disc of fire forcing Zombozo to focus on him.
"Kayden!" Ben yelled out. "Go grab that machine and absorb it!"
Kayden nodded and abandoned throwing stuff to go run towards the machine.
She kept focusing on aiming towards the clowns head, she could guess at what Ben was planning, even if her thinking was a bit sluggish.
She was safe in the bleachers and her shots were strong enough to hit him even through the shadowy thing covering him, Ben as Heatblast was protected and drawing most of the attention, but Kayden's stone throwing wasn't doing anything and concrete wouldn't be as durable as that metal machine even if it was just bronze.
Zombozo growled. "̸H̶u̷m̷a̵n̵ ̵f̵i̷l̴t̶h̸!̴ ̵I̶'̸v̷e̷ ̸w̴a̸l̶k̷e̶d̴ ̵t̴h̶r̴o̴u̵g̵h̵ ̷t̷h̶e̸ ̷d̶e̴p̷t̵h̷s̴ ̵o̷f̸ ̵h̴e̵l̵l̴!̷ ̶Y̶o̷u̴r̷ ̷f̶i̵r̴e̶ ̶a̷n̵d̸ ̷e̴n̸e̵r̶g̴y̵ ̷w̴e̵a̸p̵o̴n̴s̴ ̷a̷r̵e̶ ̵n̵o̶t̵h̷i̴n̵g̷!̶ ̷T̶e̸a̵r̷ ̵t̶h̶i̷s̸ ̷v̴e̸s̸s̸e̷l̴ ̵a̸s̶u̵n̸d̶e̸r̴ ̷a̷l̴l̸ ̴y̴o̶u̸ ̶w̴a̷n̴t̸!̸ ̶I̸ ̵f̶e̵e̷l̶ ̸n̵o̷n̷e̷ ̶o̵f̷ ̴i̸t̵!̸"̵
The spider's leg stabbed through one of the fireballs and headed towards impaling Ben, who dodged to the side and slashed at the leg, Zombozo's eyes grew so dark they almost seemed to drink in the light as the hazy shadow spider grew more solid.
Ben's hand slammed against the shadow like it was solid and it bubbled without burning. "Oh FUC-!
Before Ben could finish his expletive he was smacked hard by the spider and sent flying into the air, spinning before catching himself with a burst of flames, Zombozo attempted to capitalize on Ben's distraction by stabbing at him, only for Ben to dodge and skate down the limb while slashing out flames.
"Hey! Freakshow!" Kayden yelled, now armored in bronze before lifting and throwing a giant gear at Zombozo.
The spider shadow jumped, much to everyone's shock and cleared the distance, uncaring of the flames Ben sent or her shots that burned him.
Kayden threw a punch as the clown landed next to her, Zombozo's chest caving in from it though he didn't seem to care as he grabbed her by the wrist, pulled her in and then punched her so hard the bronze armor around her head was torn off before lifting and slamming her into the ground.
Zombozo growled. "̵S̵t̵u̴p̷i̸d̷ ̶g̷i̸r̶l̵,̶ ̸m̸o̸r̸t̷a̵l̵ ̸m̵e̴t̸a̴l̷s̴ ̸a̷n̵d̵ ̷p̵o̶w̴e̶r̴ ̷m̶e̶a̷n̸ ̴n̷o̶t̵h̵i̶n̸g̸!̷ ̴I̵'̸l̴l̸ ̶p̵e̸e̷l̷ ̸a̵w̶a̵y̵ ̷y̵o̴u̵r̶ ̶f̴l̴e̶s̴h̶ ̴a̸n̷d̷ ̷u̴s̷e̵ ̴y̴o̴u̵r̸ ̸s̸o̶u̷l̶ ̴t̴o̸-̷
"Hey! Let her the fuck go!" Ben yelled, landing on the ground before he began to…sing? "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potest-
Zombozo screamed. "̶͈̙̭͍͖̙̹̄̋͑̓͠Ņ̸̭̹̼̖̲̗̍̆̇͠O̴̝͔̩͈̺̺̓͌́̓!̴̭̹͉̹̱͌͆̒̽"̵͔̊̀́͗
Zombozo threw Kayden high in the air and Ben abandoned whatever the hell he was doing to fly up and grab her.
Before anyone could do anything Zombozo hugged himself tightly, the shadow spider broke into a wave of liquid darkness that splashed over Zombozo and then was pulled inwards before suddenly exploding in a cloud of confetti.
She stared before turning to look for Grandpa, who was right behind her, having stayed close by probably in case she needed help. She forced herself to stand and huffed. "C-come on!"
"Huh?" Grandpa Max blinked and stared before violently shaking his head. "Right! Let's get down there and help Ben and Kayden kiddo!"
They ran down to the stage and over to where Ben set down, laying Kayden down before transforming back, the bronze armor flaking off Kayden.
"Shit, what the hell was that thing!? Is she okay!? What the hell were you doing!?" She demanded once she'd gotten over to them.
Ben was already looking her over. "She looks fine and based on what it said, that was a demon here stealing positive energy from souls for power, which I assume is the reason we are so depressed though it seems to have mostly faded now that that machine is trashed"
"Holy fuck, a real demon" She stepped back, feeling a bit of panic. She'd really need to listen more next time her Mom took her to church.
Grandpa looked around, not even saying anything about her cursing.
Kayden groaned and held a thumbs up as her armor coating flaked away. "I'm okay. Now what the shit was that you did dork"
Ben shrugged as they all turned to look at him with curiosity. "Well from context I assumed he was some kinda demon and he didn't deny it, seeing how he survived getting directly shot by Gwen I figured regular damage wouldn't hurt him so I just mentally recited a prayer to bless myself and Heatblast's fire, since that seemed to work to a degree I tried to do a old fashioned exorcism and you saw how that went"
They all stared and after a minute Kayden groaned out. "I thought you said you were an atheist"
"Yeah I am but I also said I started as a Christian and I didn't stop because I thought that sorta stuff wasn't real or impossible. Hell, I'm still an atheist, if anything I've just found another reason why God isn't worth crap if even my worthless soul can perform an exorcism" Ben said with a careless shrug as he bent down and helped Kayden sit up.
She wanted to say something about that, call bullshit or point out how Kayden was obviously fine and taking the chance to press up against Ben but she genuinely didn't have the energy right now, instead she simply asked. "So this sucky feeling is going to fade?"
"Probably?" Ben shrugged. "If we can find and beat whatever energy is left in Zombozo out then it'll probably happen faster but I'm just guessing"
"Great" She groaned.
Grandpa however urged them onwards. "Let's get to the Rustbucket, we need to go"
They all nodded and quickly, or well as quickly as they could, made their ways out of the circus.
Rustbucket/2:28am/Early Morning
I sigh, hating the tired creeping exhaustion I'd thought I'd escaped in my last life, the feeling of joy, motivation and general interest just steadily leaking out. In this life it had been intoxicating to not have to deal with that, now it felt like a slap in the face even if it wasn't too bad, mainly just an inconvenience that I wasn't used to dealing with anymore.
However, that just made my sigh deepen when we stopped in front of the Rustbucket and were able to see what had happened.
It was immediately obvious that the door had been blown off its hinges, I hurried inside while mentally noting that the doorway already felt cold, almost nothing was touched except the space where I'd stored the charms, book and staff had been completely torn apart.
Behind me I heard Grandpa groan. "Well, it seems like we're not going anywhere either. They trashed the steering column"
I know he hadn't meant it to be taken any way, just him stating a fact, but I was stressed and the disappointed tone of voice grated at both my frayed nerves and the small kernel of insecurity I had deep inside, usually it wouldn't but usually a demon didn't give me magical fucking depression.
I growled, my teeth clenching so hard they hurt. "Fuck your stupid fucking steering column, I'll fix it later! Like I do every time! Hex has the fucking book and charms! He must have come while we were distracted with Zombozo, meaning he'll be after Gwen and the luck charm next, we have to prepare in case he's still around so he doesn't hurt any..one..oh god-
At some point I'd turned to glare at Grandpa but at the end my anger just slipped away to be replaced with horror, I could feel myself paling sharply, I ignored the others look of confusion as I rushed over to the small radio we had, trying to get to the news station.
Till finally the station clicked on, and of course because of this universe's plot convenience I heard exactly what I didn't want to.
"#-llo! We're back again with an update! Earlier this hour there was a large fire at the newly opened Museum of Witchcraft and Mysticism that destroyed nearly all the exhibits, new reports say that there were thirty one injured rescued from the building with eight requiring hospitalization, however we're happy to report there are no confirmed fatalities so fa-#"
I roared so hard it felt like my throat was going to tear itself bloody and I proceeded to punch the radio as hard as I could, the thing was knocked from its resting place with the hard plastic casing breaking, my hand hurt but I ignored it as I punched the metal shelf twice and screamed again.
"FUUUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! PIG COCK SUCKING PUSSY BUTTER HUFFING JESUS FUCKING WHORE CHRIST!"
Someone grabbed my shoulder and I twisted, moved without thinking while seeing red, I'm so happy it wasn't Gwen or Kayden because I'd have punched their lights out, I was that angry. Instead it was Grandpa who grabbed me by the wrist and shoulder and just let me yell at him.
"Fuck! I was right! He destroyed the fucking museum and when he didn't find it he came for us! I was fucking right!" My face is hot, something wet is on my cheeks and I can't tell if it's tears or blood from a popped vessel with how much I'm drowning. I try to pull away and also beat my free fist against Grandpa but it's weak from how my shoulders are shaking. "Why didn't you listen to me! If you'd have just listened they wouldn't have gotten hurt! Fuck! W-why didn't you listen…"
Grandpa grabs me by my other wrist and sinks down onto a knee, I can only just barely stop myself from headbutting him on instinct and I don't have any strength to keep from crying or shaking. My brain latches onto him speaking even while I don't have the ability to reply beyond loud yells of anger, his voice is firm but calm and gentle in a way that just makes me cry harder.
"Ben! BEN! You took the book! You already took the book! How is it anyone's fault? He had no reason to do it and he still did it"
My answer tears it's way out of my heart. "NO! WE HAD TO HAVE DONE SOMETHING! I HAVE TO HAVE DONE SOMETHING!"
"No. Ben, no" Grandpa demands. "This wasn't my fault and it wasn't your fault, it was Hex who did this and the fault is his alone. You took the book and it didn't help, because stuff like that never helps, bad guys don't care and still hurt people"
My knees go weak and I fall, trying to curl up and Grandpa pulls me into a hug, it's tight and warm. "I'm sorry Ben, but bad guys just don't care. You couldn't have stopped it. This is why I said you can't be acting out of control and extreme, it doesn't help and just makes it worse, worse for yourself"
I grit my teeth and want to scream but I stop myself, just letting the tears and snot drip from my face. I feel two people press into my back as they join in hugging me hesitantly, orangish red hair tickles my cheek.
"I'm so sorry Ben"
I'm not sure who whispered it in my ear but I hated them so much for it, I don't need sorry, those people don't need sorry.
But I also couldn't help hugging tighter.
—
Spoiler: Upgrade
Twenty minutes later and I'd repaired the RV and merged with Gwen's laptop to start cross referencing the Archamada, Charms of Bezel and demons to try and figure out what the fuck had happened to us.
Grandpa was sitting on the bench with Kayden and Gwen on the opposite side of the table from him, Kayden and Gwen were looking at me hesitantly like they were worried about me freaking out again, that was probably the most humiliating part of this and for my own sanity I was very strongly ignoring the still slightly damp patch on Grandpa's shirt.
Instead I focused on the information I could gather, thankful that Upgrade's robotic voice made it difficult to project emotions. "#Okay, so from what I can gather Zombozo is most likely possessed by a type of Karmic Demon#"
Grandpa just nodded with a grim look while Gwen and Kayden looked confused, which Kayden voiced. "Uhh, don't leave us in suspense dork, what's a demon and how is him being 'kermic' or whatever special?"
"#Karmic, it's a.. actually the origin doesn't matter at the moment#" I control myself and instead pivot to the important information. "#Demons from what information I can find are spiritual entities like you'd imagine from hell made from the tortured and damned souls, basically ghosts but stronger, but the exact information on them is sorta complicated. I've found related articles saying they take the form of black smoke while others say they take the form of people with a hidden 'true' form, another says they can possess people and use them as puppets, but luckily there are a few commonalities#"
Instead of a screen, a holographic projection of photons held in a crystalline pattern takes shape, creating a three dimensional picture for them. "#Firstly holy water, sanctified ground, prayer and blessed objects all seem to deliver some form of harm to demons or ward them away and while it doesn't look like it's enough to permanently end them it can distract them long enough to exorcise them. Additionally a couple dozen sources that seem reliable say that once exorcised, a demon is trapped in hell unable to free itself of its own power and must either be summoned or find a 'natural' way out, whatever that means#"
Gwen bit her lip. "That's…not exactly confidence inspiring. You were able to say that exorcism but he interrupted it and ran, who's to say it'll even work if you do finish? Also ignoring that, where are we supposed to get any holy or blessed stuff?"
"Uhhh.." Kayden shifted in her seat, looking hesitant to get their attention as her cheeks pinkened. "I've got a rosary and I've been baptized…also I'm pretty sure I remember a couple prayers. If Ben can get an exorcism to work then I should be able to 'bless' something, at least in theory…hey Ben, you get baptized?"
In my last life yeah but-. "#No. Parents are hippies, remember? They didn't want to force anything on me growing up, it was always my choice and I just never got around to it#"
Kayden nods. "Then yeah, I definitely should be able to do something"
Gwen pursed her lips. "Well…I've gone to church with my Mom, I could probably do it with you but…I'm not sure if I'd be as good?"
"#From what I remember, there are no qualifiers on belief, as long as you have faith in the prayer and actually endeavor to stick to your beliefs and be faithful it should work. The fact I could do it even though I don't have any faith implies that as long as you're not evil or malicious it should also work to a degree, remember that honesty, universal love and acceptance are still meant to be central#" I offered, trying to help give Gwen some confidence.
Gwen and Kayden smiled slightly and nodded. I didn't believe in it anymore, but I'd still spent much of my life in the sphere of Christianity, hell I spent Pre-K up to the first grade in a christian private school, well before I was expelled of course but still. I knew what I was talking about at least.
Gwen looked at her phone and frowned. "I've been checking the website for the circus. We need to hurry and get ready to stop Zombozo because they just scheduled another show, on the other side of town for tomorrow night…or well tonight since it's like two in the morning"
I morph out of the computer and after taking shape I press the dial, transforming back to human, then I shake my head. "No, we need to find Hex. Magic guy is after artifacts in the same city a demon clown is hiding in? Yeah right, the chances of that being a coincidence have to be astronomical. Their connected and I'd bet a kidney Hex is going to use Zombozo for some kinda spell or evil plan or something, we need to take him down first then sort out the possessed guy"
Gwen and I were about to start going back and forth only for Grandpa to cut in. "No kiddos, we need to head to bed. Like Gwen said it's two in the morning, if we get to sleep now we can wake up around noon with at least some energy, eat, prepare supplies and a plan and stand a much better chance"
"I-
Before I could complain the time seemed to catch up with me, I yawned with my mouth stretching so wide my jaw clicked, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. Immediately after Kayden and Gwen both yawned equally as loud as well, Kayden blushing while Gwen simply looked resigned to sleep.
I smacked my lips and sighed. "Fine, to hell with today anyway. I'm going to bed"
I turned and trudged towards my bed and proceeded to ignore everyone else as I took off my shoes, my glove and hoodie before sinking beneath my covers, not even bothering to get further undressed or anything.
"Yes! Finally! Come on Kayden! I need a proper night's sleep after today" I could hear Gwen say followed by a yelp and the sound of someone getting dragged around.
"Haaah~ Fine"
And now based on the sound of it, it was time for Kayden to be resigned to her fate as Gwen's teddy bear.
Rustbucket/6:30pm/Same Day
"Exorcizo te, creatura aquae, in nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis et in virtute Spiritus Sancti" Kayden prayed quietly over a jug of water with her hands clasped together over her rosary, she made the motion of the cross with the rosary over the water and then dropped it into the jug with a ploop.
…
"..uuh Ben? You sure this is a proper latin translation right?" Kayden hesitantly asked as she picked up a water gun we'd gotten from the local dollar store and a funnel, she began pouring the holy water into the gun.
I was sitting across from her, Kayden having already dressed up in her Absorbing Girl 'costume', which I'll have to figure out an alternative to at some point this summer.
I was soldering a speaker onto a small square machine I'd rigged up.
I shrugged. "Internet says so. I don't have this shit memorized, I only knew the exorcism because it's cool"
Click.
Kayden sighs when the door to the bathroom opens and out walks Gwen in her Lucky Girl outfit, as she steps out she's adjusting her left most bracelet which I'd replaced the lenses for. "So, this thing should work again right doofus? I'm surprised you were able to fix it in like twenty minutes"
"I didn't fix it" I rolled my eyes. "I replaced the lenses which aren't that difficult to make, just using bits of glass reformed by Upgrade is enough. The bracelet itself and its components are made to survive the heat, they just needed a cleaning, the lenses were the only thing actually damaged"
Gwen shrugged and pressed the luck charm into a slot I'd formed into her left bracelet, it popped into place with a few raised bumps in the metal holding it firmly. Gwen shook her arm around roughly before nodding satisfied. "Well at least this isn't going anywhere"
I blow gently on my soldered weld and set the device to the side to cool for a bit as I clean up, I see Gwen heads over to her bed and picks up her hoverboard, which I'd modified with Upgrade so that it would have a clip-on latch to attach to Gwen's belt so she wouldn't keep leaving it behind.
I glance outside at the setting sun. "It's starting to get dark, there's less people around and it'll be a few more hours before Zombozo starts his show. Perfect time to jump him and have him bite the curb"
Kayden snorted and smirked. "You fight like a thug who learned MMA, I've never seen someone so ready to send someone else to the emergency room"
I shrugged. "I'm not that violent honestly. I go easy on bullies at school and shit, but when it comes to villains and bad guys I don't see the point in holding back. The faster they decide to stay on or can't get up off the ground, the faster I can focus on making sure innocent civilians aren't hurt"
Kayden and Gwen shared a glance before looking at me deadpan, Kayden's tone and gaze flat. "You broke that one teenagers leg when he tried to punch you at the arcade"
"You gave Sarah Livsey and Mary Jane in my fourth period a centaur wedgie because they stole my homework" Gwen added just as flatly.
"Also you put me in an arm bar and then body slammed me!" Kayden piled on with just a bit of heat.
"Hey! Firstly you were high as a kite at the time and I didn't want to hurt you so I had to be creative! Also those teenagers were going to jump me and I'm not fighting multiple people at once!" I valiantly defend myself. "And I'll have you know I was only going to warn those two bitches about leaving you alone until the blonde one made a few choice rude comments about our relationship that I'd rather not mention, then she insulted you and well..yeah"
Gwen made a face behind her mask. "Ughhh~ Fucking Sarah, such a gossip"
Kayden raised an eyebrow. "Something I should know?"
Gwen waved it off. "Nothing. It's just that Sarah spread a rumor that Ben was my boyfriend and or that I was paying him to help me, me saying that he was my cousin didn't help"
I cracked my knuckles and was about to ask only to get glared at by Gwen. "Don't. I didn't tell you for a reason. I appreciate you wanting to defend me but I'm plenty strong by myself, I can handle some rich daddy's girl who probably bleaches her fake blonde hair and a stuck up kiss ass redhead. If I want it handled then I'll do it"
I held up my hands in surrender and sat back, I could tell when I wasn't wanted.
We quieted down after that, Kayden finished filling the last water gun, there was one for her, Grandpa and Gwen while I wouldn't be needing one. Gwen started going through stretches and limbering up, after I checked the welds on my invention and tested it out a couple times I put it into my hoodie pocket and joined her, my back giving a satisfying series of pops after sitting down working for the last few hours.
Of course it didn't take long for Grandpa to come back from getting gas and I wasn't surprised when he had bad news, he immediately headed towards the driver's seat. "Bad news kiddos, the local news report in the gas station just said there's a haunted house reportedly having come alive with people trapped inside"
Gwen and Kayden shared a glance while I frowned, Kayden was the one to voice the thought. "It's a trap"
I nodded. "Of course, without a doubt Hex is trying to force our hand so he can get the luck charm"
"Doesn't mean we can ignore it" Grandpa said with a sigh.
I nodded. "Of course. I'm going to work on Ultra's temporary look, at least something to cover my face. You guys keep working"
And then I proceeded to get to work.
—
What most people don't understand is that Upgrade is a living hivemind of a nanite swarm, he's a walking grey goo scenario and yes his main powers function is to interface with technology and use his own body to improve it, but that didn't exclude him from merging with other non-organic materials and altering them, he just couldn't use his nanite components to improve them technologically.
Thus some old clothes were sacrificed to become a temporary suit, it was a padded bodysuit that covered me from the neck down with reinforced and hardened gloves for punching(The right glove was just a covering for my Ionizer), colored green with a yellow-ish gold band that covered my sides and lower back along with matching yellow-ish gold patches over my shoulders, on the chest was a black circle with two arrows pointed towards the center and a white hourglass that formed the Omnitrix symbol. It was warm and would offer sufficient padding but mainly it was good for breaking up my exact body dimensions.
But the main point was my mask. It was made to resemble the Ultra Ben visor with the dome like ear covers, the single tinted visor and the connected chin strap, only it was missing the two antenna's since I had no use for them and my lower face was covered by an angled green half-face mask, the back of my head was covered by a basic armored plate which also covered my hair. The whole thing was padded and molded to my head, with it being meant to shift and hide the proportions of it just like my suit.
Spoiler: Just the Ultra mask
There were vents along the mask that allowed me to breath and speak clearly, with my voice coming out in a deeper metallic register.
Note to self, when I make my proper mask add a voice modifier and air filter.
As we stopped in front of the old haunted mansion and stepped out of the RV I quickly went over the plan again. "Grandpa, sprinkle holy water around the perimeter of the house and message Kayden's phone when you've finished. Kayden and Gwen, you're on evacuation, get everyone out and distract the witch or demon if they make an appearance, if the demon shows and Grandpa finishes then Kayden starts plan B, otherwise we move directly to plan C. I'll look for and handle Hex"
"""Right!"""
And then we moved out.
It was a hasty series of plans thought out on the drive over, we didn't have enough time or information for a long term anime style plan and I disliked those sorts of fragile detail focused things on principle anyway so we split the difference, we had clearly outlined long term goals and a series of short term plans that could be easily changed on the fly to achieve said goals.
One. Save the civilians. Meaning we'd need at least two of us to reasonably handle any situation.
Two. Keep the Luck Charm away from Hex. Meaning the best choice was for me to fight him.
Three. Take care of the soul stealing demon. We were reasonably sure Hex was at fault and that it would be aiding him thus we had to prepare to deal with that.
Fourth. We had to protect our identities. Thus Grandpa couldn't be seen around Lucky Girl, Absorbing Girl or Ultra any more than necessary.
So logically the basic outline of the plan was already made for us.
Coming up the stairs and towards the thick wooden doors of the mansion I twisted on the ball of my foot, snapping out a kick towards the space right below the doorknobs and proceeded to fracture the old oak wood as the doors were flung apart. Stepping inside I quickly took stock of the situation, the mansion's main entrance was a large two story room with a main staircase and a wrap-around balcony along the wall of the second floor, with said balcony having a direct overhead view of the first floor.
Wooden boards, decorative decor and vases and other useless crap was flying through the air, wind howling like a storm strong enough to actually force us to push against it. On the second floor people were gripping the railing and screaming loudly, the supports and balcony shaking like it was an earthquake.
"Everyone stay calm!" Lucky Girl announced, stepping in front of us and striking a pose. "We're here to help!"
Then she proceeded to run towards the stairs, a sigh escaping my lips as I turned to look at Absorbing Girl with a flat look hidden by my helmet. "Go make sure she doesn't hurt herself"
She smiled fondly and nodded, touching the metal casing of her cuffs and covered her arms up to the elbow in a layer of steel as she ran after LG.
To be fair I wasn't that worried after I'd taken the moment to knock the wonder out of Gwen's head, getting her to focus and actually plan, she was very smart so I fully expect a semi decent plan from her. Instead I looked up and around, stepping out of the way of different things flying around as I looked for where Hex could be hiding, my eyes narrowed as I caught sight of him through the curtain.
I quickly used my elbow to press the Omnitrix button as I lifted my Ionizer glove, firing a beam at him before quickly searching through my transformations already having an idea of who to pick. I heard things start crashing to the ground as Hex was interrupted, forced to block with his staff before glaring at me, however he was already too late.
Spoiler: "Diamondhead!"
I took a running jump and used a shard of diamond under me in order to launch myself upwards, my arms swiping to launch shards of razor sharp crystals at Hex who quickly lifted his staff and spoke. "Contego!"
Black light that looked to be flecked with red poured out of the staff and Hex's eyes, like cold rotted blood, just the sight of it as my shards hit against his shield made me feel sick somewhere deep inside.
I landed with a loud crash as the wood splintered beneath me, I rushed forward.
"Merchus Verdactus!" Hex intoned. Making a hand sign with his right hand in front of him and bringing it down while slowly rotating the staff above him, lightning pouring off both. Hex dodged my punch and slash before he swiped the staff through the lightning. "Perturbo!"
The lightning was pulled inwards towards the staff and solidified, a crescent scythe blade of crackling black energy coming from the mouth of the staff, the dark magic or mana or whatever seeming to drink in the light around it.
Spinning the staff Hex slash down at an angle as I jumped back, a hiss escaping me as a crack fractures through my crystal chest along where the blade had touched.
Fuck. He can cut me.
As the crack slowly closes I construct a shield on my left arm, my left hand turning into shards, my right hand fusing and lengthening into a thin sharp blade, angling myself so my shield is in front of me I stomp on the floor and growl. "You will not hurt these people!"
"Foolish shape changer, I will ru-
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
CRASH!!
Hex ducked as Kayden was smashed through the floor at an angle, through a bit of the wall and ceiling and off into another room, Hex ducking and me flinching in surprise meant I missed as a blunted spike of crystal shot up from the floor to where Hex's head had been just a moment ago, intent on knocking his lights out.
Hex and I stared at each other for a heart beat as his eyes narrowed, I sighed. "Oh crab apples"
"RAAAAH!"
—
It had been going well, at first anyway.
She'd run up towards the balcony and smiled widely, turning on her heel to look at Absorbing Girl as she grinned and hopped excitedly in place, able to burn off a bit of her nervous energy without worry. "Launch me up!"
AG stopped and crouched down, cupping her hands together without a word, running forward she jumped, landed a foot in AG's hands and was launched upwards towards the ceiling. Controlling her breathing and remembering her dancing and gymnastics lessons, she spun and flipped mid air before landing gracefully on the balcony, bending her knees to absorb the force before popping up with a smile.
"Howdy everyone! Enjoying the haunted house? Personally I'm a bigger fan of movies" She unclipped her hoverboard as the people stared at her, dropping it caused the hoverboard to grow and expand as it began to float. She stepped on and held out her arms towards the group of six as the balcony was torn free of the wall. "I know a great classic movie we should all go see called "Grab on and let's go!""
Luckily the group of people agreed with her spectacular taste in movies and they were quickly flying over towards the door, everyone tightly holding onto her as she focused on getting to the ground, slowly lowering safely so everyone could get off and quickly run outside. "Ground floor! Thank you for flying Lucky Girl Airlines! Have a nice day!"
She jumped off and put away her hoverboard again before paying attention back towards her partner, seeing that Absorbing Girl had caught the flying balcony that had torn itself free by one of its banisters, she decided to stand back and wait to see if she'd need any help. After a moment the whole thing slowly fell to the floor with AG carefully lowering it, having absorbed some of the wood from the banister to cover her whole body except for her metal coated arms.
She skipped over and whistled. "Damn you are actually really strong, like that's crazy. Beee-Ultra's right, we do need to stop somewhere for a few days so he can build a machine to test out how different stuff effects you"
AG shrugged. "It's not that much right?"
"I mean the one test we ran..you're like a hundred pounds or about and you lifted twice that at your base?" She asked and got a nod. "Right and your only coated in wood and a bit of metal, that banister has got to be at least a good four hundred plus pounds of solid wood though-
"You both ruined everything"
They spun around at the sound of a hissing voice behind them, only for Gwen to find her foot slipping underneath her, at the same time a beam of bright blue energy hit Kayden who was launched through the wall with a scream.
"AAAAAHH-!
She cursed and quickly scrambled to her feet. "Fuck! Absorbing Girl! You-!"
Gwen blinked in shock as she caught sight of the girl they'd fought before, only she looked…a lot worse for wear then what she remembered, definitely worse than anything they'd done.