Disclaimer: Refer to first chapter.
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Present day Amity Park
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"That's it." Isabelle finally announced to Tracy, after a few hours of television. "I'm off to bed." She stood up and made her way to the stairs, Hector padding along at her heels. It hadn't taken the dog very long to attach itself to Isabelle. She had always had a way with animals.
"Alright. I'm going to be out later, so if you wake up and I'm not there… wait a while." Tracy said.
"Still trying to hook up 'mom'?" Isabelle joked.
"I've almost sealed the deal with this guy." Tracy insisted.
"Well I hope it goes well for you." Isabelle said before yawning. "Night." She called as she climbed the stairs. Once in her room, she changed into sweat pants and a tank top, and crawled into bed. Hector jumped up and curled up next to her. They were both asleep after a few minutes.
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Cold. That was the first sensation she was aware of. Freezing cold… and wet. Covered from head to toe in a cold sweat. She slowly sat up and leaned against the wall behind her bed. She let out a shaky breath. Why am I awake? Something must have woken me. Was it a nightmare? She tried to remember through the fog of sleep, but couldn't recall any dreams. It must have been. Where are the covers? She took a quick glance around the room. The comforter had beed kicked to the foot of her bed, and Hector was standing by the door growling quietly at… her?
"Hector?" the dog barked once in response. A short yelp. "Teto?" She tried his nickname.
The dog's fur bristled. He was baring his teeth and growling, looking very intimidating. But he wasn't growling at Isabelle. His eyes were focused behind her. In one quick twist, she jumped from the bed toward the shepherd dog and turned to see what the intruder was.
Floating in the middle of her room, was The Wisconsin Ghost. Waves of cold energy were rolling off him, causing the room to freeze. She was suddenly aware of how much pressure he was exerting on the room itself with just his power.
Hector started to whine and growl.
She tried to make a dash for the door, but a dark pink wall appeared in front of it, trapping the girl and the dog in the room.
She turned back to face him as he spoke. "You will drop your investigation and leave this town."
Hector started barking madly but the dog was quickly silenced with a look from the ghost.
She looked confused, and tried to decide if it was a good idea to transform in front of him or not. "…W-what are you t-"
The pink wall slammed against her back and she was held against it with… Telekinesis probably. She winced and tried to focus. What the hell kind of powers does this spook have? She couldn't move any of his limbs.
"Forget the act. We both know what I'm talking about. I want you and your other agents out of this town." He slowly advanced and lit up his hands with his pink energy. "Or I will eliminate you all."
A knee jerk impulse caused her to react by laughing nervously. "Uh, okay… wow. " When his eyes narrowed, she kept talking. "Look, I'm with you here. I don't want to be here any more than you want me to. I don't' have the authority to-"
"I don't want to hear any of that bull. I'm sure it was a well reversed story. You will all be at least fifty miles out of town by-"
"No, look! You don't understand. I can't pull those kind of strings." She was still nervous because she couldn't tell if the ghost was calm or angry and didn't want to find out. "I'm not the one who makes those choices. I'm just a tool in the operation."
He looked surprised by that. "Oh, okay." He had a devious grin on his face then. "So what happens when a tool is broken?"
Shit. Her mind started reeling for something as he walked around the bed to get closer.
"Should I just do it with an ectoblast? Quick and easy… Or maybe I'll just snap your neck, hmm? That would be clean and simple. I do hate when it makes a mess."
Hector tried to take that moment to attack him, but before he could even touch the ghost, the dog was encased in a bubble of energy. Isabelle almost panicked but it was clear that the dog wasn't in any pain.
Plasmius hadn't even taken his eyes off of her. The cold of the room had changed to heat as his ectoenergy began to flow more. Now, he was only a few feet away.
"Listen! I know where you can find the person in charge." Isabelle cried as she tried to shrink into the ectoshield. Now right in front of her, he reached up...
She was about to transform and blast him as far away as possible when she heard him laugh.
"Relax, dear girl." His fingers stroked her cheek, but she was too stunned by the sudden change in behavior to react. "I'm not going to kill you now. But if you're still here in one week, I will." He was running his fingers through her hair so she tried to move out of his reach. He grabbed the back of her scalp instead and forced her to face him. "I have a message for you to deliver."
Hector was making all kinds of angry dog noises trying to escape the bubble, but both halfas ignored him. "I'm not a secretary. Why can't you do it?" Isabelle sighed, regretting the words as soon as she said them. She couldn't shrink any further into the ectoshield, so when he pressed closer to her, she found herself stuck between the ghost and his energy.
"I'm a busy man, I don't have time for some things. Listen up," He tilted her head toward his so she was completely facing him. "You tell that red specter that I don't want to see her again, or next time I won't go so easy on her."
"Red specter?" She asked, but inhaled sharply when his fist tightened in her hair.
"I thought we weren't going to play stupid, unless of course, you really are an imbecile." But when she didn't say anything, he realized he would have to elaborate.
"That she-devil ghost who wears red." His grin appeared when her eyes widened, showing razor sharp fangs. "Yes I thought you would know her."
Oh my god he knows! She tried to think of how to explain this to him. Maybe she should go ahead and transform? Her thoughts were interrupted when he continued talking.
"She appeared around the same time you and your boys in white did. You tell her not to bother me… anymore." He was leaning closer in an attempt to stress each word, but with their faces inches apart, his eyes were drawn to her lips instead of her eyes. The room was getting noticeably warm by now, and she was starting to breathe heavily. She tried to look down but his hand in her hair kept her facing him. then he pulled her face closer to him.
She wasn't surprised when he started to lean in closer. She could see the kiss coming, but couldn't move or do anything to stop it. But when all he did was brush his lips against hers in a soft kiss, she jolted in surprise. He backed away wearing a smirk and a strange glint in his eyes. "Remember, one week." He said before disappearing with a puff of purpley pink smoke. A moment later, the bubble and ectowall dissolved and disappeared as well.
Isabelle backed up to the wall and slid down to sit next to the door. Hector whined and slunk over to lie down next to her. She was still getting the dog used to ghosts. Her lips were still tingling from the light contact so she chewed them while she pet Hector absently, trying to calm him. So he doesn't know I'm the ghost...
That… That really just happened. She sat there waiting for her heat to bean normally. Slowly a grin spread across her face. She couldn't get it to go away, it had a mind of its own. Hector cocked his head sideways showing his confusion. "I can't believe I never thought of it before." She sighed heavily as the room's temperature finally started to balance out.
"Red Specter." She repeated with a smile. "It's been so obvious."
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Isabelle didn't return to sleep after that. She was wide awake after her encounter. So she and Hector sat on the couch and watched television. As soon as Tracy returned from her late night, Isabelle told her everything that had happened. Everything.
"A ghost, that's crushing on a human?" Tracy said with a humor laced voice. "That's been done before, hasn't it?"
Isabelle groaned. "Be serious! He was in my room, Trace! In my room, and touching me, and… he could have killed me. He almost did."
Seeing and sensing that her friend was distressed, Tracy stopped joking. "Calm down. You're fine! If it makes you feel better I'm, sure the Guys will set up some guards around the place at night."
"That's not good enough." Isabelle sighed, and stood up to pace. "He could literally, just waltz past them anytime he wanted to." She stopped her pacing but started fidgeting, and looked at Tracy with a worried look in her eyes. "I can barely hold my own against him when I'm a ghost. H-he… he was in complete control. I couldn't do anything… and..."
Tracy took that moment to grab Isabelle in an embrace. "Isabelle…" She said slowly emphasizing each syllable. "Calm down. You're just afraid right now. Here, take a few deep breaths." The two girls sat down on the couch and Isabelle did her best to calm down. Hector joined them, lying his head across Isabelle's lap. The three sat there listening to the advertisements on television for a while.
"Better?" Tracy asked after a few minutes. Isabelle nodded slowly. "Good. I'm going to call the Guys, tell them what's up. They're probably going to want you to tell them yourself. But for now, relax. He's gone, and if he comes back for whatever reason, you're not alone."
Isabelle nodded and let out a shaky sigh as she ran her fingers through Hector's fur. The dog was starting to snore as he completely relaxed. "Hector was with me." She leaned closer to the dog as she scratched his scalp. "Good boy, Teto." She whispered.
"Hey, Red?" Tracy called from behind her. "I know you don't think you're very strong, and maybe you're still afraid of using your powers still, but I've seen you grow into yourself in the time I've known you. You're stronger than you think."
"…thank you." Isabelle said quietly as Tracy went to report to the Guys in White.
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