XLII
"I feel like I'm back in the projects," Keith says, suddenly feeling more comfortable, reminiscent of a simpler age.
"She hid them inside a run down apartment building?" Twyla asks, looking at the unkept, old, and torn walls, with cracks, falling paint, stains of diverse natures and shapes and graffiti befitting of gangsters adorning the walls that make the all-too-real scenery the least likely place to find their friends holing up, but there is no mistaking it, one thing Wonder Wolf can always trust is her nose. She has brought them to the right place. No need to ask in which room are her ghoulfriends, her nose knows.
Room 401 is where the monsters hide, so with no hesitation she opens the door at the end of the hall.
Howleen, Clawdia, Cleo, Lala and Rochelle jump at her in sight, relieved to see her again, then with no warning Lala jumps on Keith who hugs her back, less hesitant and warmer than before, a low and short growl flies from a table on the corner. Naturally she tells them how they got here while they tell her how they have spent their time in this pocket world. Much to her surprise, her friends have been enjoying the situation rather than dreading it.
"Soon as it happened, Rochelle and Devon saw something was wrong and when almost everyone started douching it out as real supers, they were the first to look for shelter. Rochelle and Cleo got most the other ghouls — everyone who was not in a costume that is — rounded up in here. There are a lot of rooms in this place, then Casta did something magical to this room and hide it from the invasion," Draculaura explains cheerfully, a little too much actually. "Ever since we've just been watching the fights and it has been awesome! Not sure half of this will be in the final edit but I'm so looking forward to watch this movie."
"And here you were worried for nothing," he says coldly, glaring at her. "That was some quick thinking from you, Lady Marmalade… for a gargoyle I mean," Keith turns to Rochelle. "You've changed." Adds too casually and it almost feels like a compliment.
"It was that or letting them die."
"Oh, and you should see Ghoulia, Spectra and Toralei in their new Power Ghoul costumes! Well, they had it on when it happened and now they're supers too —"
"Yes, I know. I just saved… Polterghoul from a bunch of weir creepy things." Wonder wolf cuts in, ignored.
"— and they've been kicking some real ass, and you should see Webarella swinging around in that new sleek black and white costume while she fights. Most exiting three nights of my unlife."
"Three nights?" Twyla utters.
"It's only been about an hour out there," Clawdeen points out.
"What?! An hour?" Clawd jumps off of the table. "How is that possible."
"Usually reality bubbles tend to distort time and space to fulfil their function." Keith explains casually, staring out of the window. "I suppose the villains from the movie have been showing up in a constant loop every time they're defeated and every time they show up a new shift jumps into action."
"You're good." Draculaura says. "That is exactly what's been happening, Ms. Dead Fast has been calling the shots, and there have been so many alternative endings. I feel like an unliving DVD!"
"How did you guys do with food?" Keith asks.
"Oh, you're going to love this," Devon says showing him the fridge which is full of food, and as he explains for some reason it seems to have infinite supplies. Magic, because of course. He catches a glimpse of a joyous gleam in his brother's eyes. "She left us here with this, and then took off to fight the Deimos Horde, she believes she can break this spell by ending them, you would have loved them, true to comics. Needless to say, no matter what they do, the spell remains unbroken, so clearly that's not it, then again she hasn't tried defeating the big boss (not many chances of that now). Either way, someone has to fight them, lest they destroy everything, our apartment included — surely is hidden by spell but we're not taking any chances with her charm," says with a slightly sardonic tone.
"Well it doesn't matter what the problem is,": Clawdeen cuts in, "I told you if the school's is burning or something stupider happens — like the alien-demon siege we got out there and you need a hero and a god to save the day —"
"— You'll be at the cemetery, but as you know we couldn't get there," Cleo says, arms folded.
"Right, well it doesn't matter. We're here now, so time to save the night. Put on your mask, honey."
"Not sure it will be enough to turn into Anubis," he argues.
"Well, then take off your shirt, sure that'll do it." Lala interjects, Clawdeen scowls a little.
"Yeah, I mean Anubis is always bare chested." Cleo follows with a wicked grin in her beautiful face.
"Not. Happening. Ever!"
"…Sorry Deenie, that is all the help I can get you with Clawd around," Lala adds, then Clawdeen's little scowl turns into a wait what? look.
"Where are the others?" Venus asks, poorly masking her concern in her voice.
"Somewhere around this building, we don't have a check-in book, whoever you're looking for find it yourself," Cleo replies.
With a scowl and a few well chosen words meant to sully her capacity for ruling Venus slams her way out of the room looking for Batsy.
"I'm guessing someone must have a secret paramour around here." Lala states so dismissively, it aligns with indifference.
"Would you explain to me again how did you get here again?" Clawd insists, approaching Keith.
"Magick."
"And how exactly is it you can do magic?"
At the second he makes that question, Keith's expressionless and indifferent eyes turn cold and hard with hatred. The one emotions that gets away with peeking the most through them.
"I am what you'd call a Thaumaturge."
"All right, how about you get us all out of here then?" Clawd asks, his voice teeming with a desire for confrontation.
"Because that won't solve the problem." Keith answers, this time cold and controlled. "But she can, assuming we can figure out why she lost control of her powers in such way, and I really hope it wasn't a case of stage fright," he states.
"That… might take a while." Polterghoul says, looking abashed. "That red beacon is where they keep her, and we can't get through. No one here came as a hero strong enough for that it seems… and the ones we got are too busy fighting their foot soldiers."
"Well, either we spend a month in here as the night ends outside waiting for this spell to whither or we solve it quickly from here. And I'm not about living a month worth of spoilers. I can easily leave anyway."
"I don't care what, I'm ready to go out and kick some alien ass and be done with this crap," Wonder Wolf says, taking a step forward. "Maybe you didn't have anyone strong enough, but now you got me! I'm the hero this city needs"
There she said it!
"Then by all means do it. And make an awesome, over the top, visually fantastic display of heroism while you're at it. Oh, and since some of those things are close enough to dinosaurs… surely is not ideal since is not what I've dreamt of witnessing my entire life, but unless we find one —"
"You're not letting it go, are you?"
Keith stares at her for a brief moment, quiet.
"Pretty please?"
Clawdeen sighs heavily with faint exasperation.
"Fine…"
"That's my ghoul!"
Clawdeen rolls her eyes, arm folded.
