Part 2: The Old Haunt
More than a few heads turned at the clack of heels against the sidewalk, and just about the same number stared for far longer than was polite.
Mandy was not the first attractive woman they'd have seen in their lives. A decent chance she might not even be the most attractive of them. But an attractive woman she was, showing off at least a little bit of leg, and for the average bored and horny man on the street, that was enough.
So much so that they didn't even notice the small boy walking alongside her, perhaps deliberately tuning him out. Children can sometimes kill the mood, after all.
Though in some fairness, the boy's awareness (or lack thereof) of them was about the same.
"Stop fidgeting, Junior." Mandy told him simply without looking, not a single pause in her pace.
Junior…could not bring himself to comply. "This is embarrassing…!" He groaned in a whisper. The gold chain around his neck didn't weigh much at all but he couldn't help but feel like he was constantly aware of it. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if he could at least hide it from view but his mother had insisted he button only the bottom three of his dress shirt and leave the lapel open wide. Not only was the chain visible to the world but so was some of his bare chest. If he were a girl this would be one of the few times he'd be showing off more cleavage than his mother.
"I look like a mafia boss."
"Well, you know what they say: dress for the job you want. Or in this case, make them dress for the job you want them to have."
Junior flashed his mother a bit of the stink eye, a part of him realizing how rarely he actually had two options he use for that; blue and grey respectively. "I get needing to disguise myself to look human. But were these clothes really necessary?" He asked, his fleshy pink digits pulling up on the collar of the shirt. He wasn't sure what was worse; the outfit or all this hair atop his head. It was just a Nergaling replication but still, in comparison to his usual small brown tuft there was just so much of it and it was so hot and itchy! He didn't know how his mom and sister could stand dealing with it all the time. "What was wrong with my hoodie? Couldn't I have just worn that?"
"Of course you could have."
"…Then…then why did you give me these?"
"To see if you'd wear them."
Junior stopped in his tracks as his mother kept walking, a dumbfounded look capturing his features as that one line seemed to crash his brain (despite a lack thereof, anyway).
"Keep pace, Junior." Mandy called back to him, same tone as everything else she said. Still, though he'd never seen her smile or laugh even once in his afterlife, Junior couldn't help but imagine the internal smirk she was having.
When his senses returned to him, and as a frown formed that definitely proved he was her son, Junior gave a quick sprint to catch up with her. "Can we stop at a restroom or something so I can change?" He asked grumpily, his head hanging in a hunch.
"Just do it right here." Mandy said, Junior staring up at her like she was out of her mind. "Junior, this town had a magic skeleton walking two children to school for years and didn't bat an eye. I think you're greatly overestimating how much they'll care about a sudden wardrobe change."
That…was actually a very good point, Junior had to admit. He'd seen the photos and diary entries himself in his dad's old journal.
Still, he couldn't help but be cautious, giving a look around at their surroundings first. Once they passed in front of a small grouping of trees that blocked the sidewalk from view of the road, that's when he acted.
The Nergal flesh spread out from under his sleeves like an ooze and then consumed the very same. Crawling up along the fabric, the black flesh followed the path until both sides met in the middle and moved to coat the entirety of the torso, acting to then morph it into a different shape.
By the time they were back in sight of any cars passing by, the dress shirt was replaced by a thick, seemingly cotton black hoodie; Junior giving a sigh of contentment as his hands rested within the center pocket. It was just a mimicry covering up what he was actually wearing, but it'd do until they got home. At least his chest wasn't visible anymore.
As they continued their walk along the path, Junior found himself momentarily distracted by an odd bit of talking, soon realizing it was from the TVs behind the window of a shop they were passing, all tuned in to the same news station by the look of it.
"-just in time for the 37th Little Miss Scurvy beauty pageant, once again hosted by Endsville elementary school. Naturally I'll be the winner again, just like I was back when I attended. After all I am still much more pretty and much more popular than those poor other girls. Still, they'll need a shoulder to cry on after, so be sure to tune in! I'll need a few bodies to block my dress from their tears. Aahahaha!"
"Mindy, we've been over this, the pageant is only for kid-"
The newswoman's wide smile didn't faulter in the slightest as she shoved her co-host out of frame without even looking at him. Her giggles made Junior gave a wince and he was pretty sure he could see the window on the verge of shattering from the pitch. That or maybe it just wanted to be put out of its misery.
"So, this is Endsville?" Junior commented, rubbing his pained ear as he took in more of his surroundings. Not that he had any personal experience but it certainly at least looked the part of how he imagined a city in the mortal world. Buildings and stores in place of canyons of spewing fire. Chirping birds instead of floating eyeballs with wings. The cars certainly did a good enough job filling the air with smells similar to what he was used to in the Underworld but there was at least a different enough taste to it. It all about matched what he'd read about in the journal…which in itself did seem a little strange. "It's a lot more…non-apocalyptic than I was expecting."
"Kare's attack was primarily on Megaville and that in turn mainly sent shockwaves through the superhero community." Mandy explained, picking up pretty quickly what he was getting at. "Certainly world-shaking stuff…except for places that never really had heroes."
"Not even one? I thought I'd heard that they were everywhere up here."
"Well, I suppose there was Billy for half a day but I refuse to count Captain Spring-Green Squeaker." Mandy said, her face scrunching up on one side in disgust from some unpleasant memory her brain was bringing up. "Otherwise, no. Even Underfist moved more out to Megaville when I did, especially once I became mayor."
"Between that and Mimi's mom and aunts moving there too, weren't they ever worried they were leaving a lot of other "villes" unprotected?"
"Superheroes wear colorful costumes and flashy logos for more than just branding, Junior. Paint a big enough target and anyone who would be a threat to an entire city won't be able to help but aim at it. Even I couldn't resist, I was just a lot more subtle with my takeover, and I left the system in place because it was good at fending off my competition." Junior almost gave a sighing chuckle over his mother's casual bragging. "Megaville was the front line against world and universe level threats. The JLU sent its heroes wherever on Earth they were needed to deal with the on-planet stuff. The Plumbers, Skyway Patrol, and other such organizations filled in the cracks. Most everyone who needed help got it."
"And Endsville didn't need help?" Junior found that hard to believe, given what he'd heard of his parents' misadventures. A spider queen and her army. Demon-possessed pumpkins. Mutated super chickens. Though in fairness he did sometimes suspect his dad was making some of those stories up.
"Let's just say that about the third time an entire city becomes brainless zombies and then is back to normal by next week you stop responding to distress calls and just let things work themselves out."
"IIIIIIII probably would too." Junior admitted. "…Three times? Really?"
"The Brain-Eating Meteor's a little bit of a stretch but I include it." Mandy said. "Honestly, it probably is one of the few positives about this place. The world can literally go to hell in a handbasket, Endsville right at the center and being where the basket was opened, and things will always work themselves out in the end. Give it a few days and most of its residents will remember but won't care enough to talk about it. Endsville… Endsville never really changes." She said. If Junior didn't know better, with her walk and the city around her, he'd almost think she sounded nostalgic.
The screech of tires quickly brought him out of those sappy thoughts, just in time to make sure the crash of many tons metal had his full, undivided attention.
Turning around, Junior witnessed the sight of two cars completely totaled against each other in the very center of the intersection, their drivers screaming a great slew of profanities at each other…as well as just screaming in general.
"…Those guys are on fire."
"Yeah, they do that sometimes." Mandy replied simply, not slowing to glace at the sight, even as two more cars from the other lines sped in to join the fray; Junior having to duck to avoid a tire that flew from the new crash.
Then another two drove in.
Then another two.
Another one.
Another three.
Some guy on a moped.
Couple of taxis.
A literal clown car…
Junior just watched the pile of metal and flames continue to climb up before his very eyes, the people within more concerned with yelling at each other or finishing their (surprising casual) phone calls than getting to safety…or watching where they were going in the first place.
"…Maybe dad wasn't making things up."
Despite Endsville being a fairly large city, the teleportation crystal the two had taken here dropped them off fairly close to the edge of the downtown area. A short walk later and here they were already in the suburbs, trading in the towering skyscrapers and markets for semi-modest homes and condos. A scythe portal would have been able to drop them right off at their destination but Junior didn't know the area and Grim was off on the job. Ironically he'd probably soon be at the area they were before anyway with that pileup (that Junior was pretty sure was STILL GOING even as he ran to catch up with his mom).
It was only about mid-day, with most of the neighborhood likely at work, so the people in sight were few and far between. It wasn't even until ten minutes after the last one that they came across someone on their side of the street, out in front of his house and watering his front lawn.
He was rather…large…in the middle, to put it politely, and had a greying black pompadour that stuck up like a shark fin. But his most distinguishing feature was easily that giant pink nose adorning his face, so large and perfectly round, as if he had a watermelon shoved up his nostrils. That he actually managed to see anything past it, let alone them, Junior couldn't help but feel somewhat impressed.
"Oh! Hey, Mandy!" He waved her down.
Mandy gave a sigh. "Hi, Billy's dad."
Junior couldn't help but turn and gape at her with a dumbfounded stare. This was easily the most respectful he'd EVER heard her speak to someone, restrained and reluctant as it was.
"Wait…THAT'S Billy dad? Billy, as in your old childhood friend Billy?"
"Yep." Mandy said simply, hands on her hips as she was forcing herself to wait.
Junior gawked at him, the man certainly resembling the kid from the pictures (one big resemblance in particular), and that was when Harry-no…Harrison-…Harold! Harold! That's what his name was! That was when Harold finally took notice of him.
"Well, hey there, little fella." He greeted him warmly enough, though Junior had to dodge out of the way of his hose spray when he turned. "Haven't seen you around before. You one of Billy's friends too? New kid at the school, huh?"
"Uh…no. I… I don't go to school here." Junior said awkwardly, feeling odd to be asked if he was friends with someone his mom's age.
"Heh heh heh. Yeah, I don't blame you there. Those beauty pageants can be pretty boring. Still, free limes just for attending. I'll be going myself. Suckers." He was oddly proud of himself for his…insidious?... For his plan. "Anyway, Billy's not home right now, but I can pass on a message if you want." He offered, his absentmindedness turning the hose to spray the rather crooked and very dead looking tree right beside him.
"No, it's fine. I'm just heading home to get a few things." Mandy told him.
"Alright then. You kids have fun. See you around." He returned to his work, whistling a pleasant tune to himself.
On the other side of the fence, Junior and his mother just stood there.
"…Isn't Billy dead?" He finally asked her.
"Yep."
"…Has he even noticed?"
"It's honestly hard to tell with that man." Mandy admitted. The queen of Death's Domain could match wits with the greatest minds in creation and make them break down into tears but even she could struggle to read an idiot sometimes. "Ignorance truly is bliss. Just the contrast between him and Billy's mom proves that well enough."
"What's she like?"
Mandy pointed her thumb at the house's front window.
On the other side sat a woman, probably about the same age, if not younger, than Billy's dad but the significant streaks of white and grey in her hair making her look much older. Only the faintest hints of red remained in the curls to give any indication of how it'd once looked.
It was with a trembling hand that she lifted the teacup up to her mouth, though it couldn't bring itself to open to let anything past the lips. Just as well…there didn't seem to actually be any tea in the cup anyway.
She just…sat there…watching the world outside the glass. Junior and Mandy were directly in her line of sight…yet there didn't seem to be any sign for the two to believe she was actually aware of them.
"Dark." Junior couldn't help but blurt.
"It's less so when you remember Billy's ghost sometimes runs around through here, acting just like he did when he was alive because he forgets he's dead too."
"…Isn't that worse?" Junior looked up his mother.
Mandy's eyes rolled themselves up into the corner of her vision, thinking over that point. "…Huh."
With that being Billy's house, it didn't take much thought to piece together that the building right next door was his mother's old one, and thus Junior's lack of any questions when she turned and lead the way up its front walk. Letting his eyes and head wander, the slightly artsy design he supposed did seem at least somewhat appropriate for her. Admittedly he'd always imagined his mother growing up in some dark fortress surrounded by a moat and more than a few storm clouds when she was younger, but a fancy place like this still fit her more than Billy's house did. Junior actually kind of liked the more simple design of next door himself, but there was a slight creepy air about it that'd probably still keep him from spending a night (than again, maybe it was just the two people living there).
Arriving at the door and his mother in front of him, Junior heard the pop of the lock. "I'm surprised you still have the key to this place."
"I don't. I just looked at it and it knew to open." Mandy said, without a hit of sarcasm, or a key in her hand.
"…I can't tell if you're messing with me or not."
"Hm."
With that short little grunt to end on, Mandy turned the knob and pushed the door inwards.
The eerie creaking from its swing was definitely appropriate. It wasn't as if it was pitch black inside but the light pouring in from the doorway, illuminating all the dust floating in the air as it contrasted with the shadows around its glow, it certainly gave the impression this place hadn't had any of the switches on the wall flipped in years.
Mandy led the way in, and for that Junior was grateful. He was less of a crybaby than he had been some months ago, before the Demon Reaper incident, but he still did not like being scared. He didn't literally cling to his mother's leg like he would have back then but it didn't go unnoticed by either of them how close he was sticking.
Making their way further in, the dwelling certainly didn't get any more welcoming. The day outside was decently warm but there was definitely a coldness to the air in here; one of inactivity. Each of their footsteps kicked up a new scattering of dust from the carpet, disturbing the long stillness.
They passed by a wall of hanging photos, Junior's head tilting up in curiosity to look at each one. Most of the cobweb covered frames were just of his mother, throughout her many years of infancy to childhood (from what he was seeing, the only thing that'd ever really changed about her was the hairstyle).
But then there was one, a bit harder to make out until Junior used his sleeve to wipe away the thick coat of dust. Unsurprisingly, it was another photo of Mandy, one where she was about his own age, if not younger. Interestingly enough, this was the childhood version of her he was probably the most familiar with, as this would have been about the same age she met his father at and thus when he would have started adding memories to his journal.
And…there were two others in the photo with her, whom Junior didn't recognize at all. Both adults and smiling for the camera as Mandy just scowled at it. A man with brown hair and orange-tinted glasses and a woman with strawberry blonde hair tied in a ponytail.
"Mom's…mom and dad?" Junior naturally came to that conclusion, staring back up at her backside, trying to spot any resemblance. If she'd noticed him looking at the photos, she wasn't showing it.
Dust. Darkness. Cobwebs. All the stereotypical ingredients for a house that had long since been abandoned. Maybe he wouldn't have thought much of it if Billy's parents weren't still living next door, but if no one was here, then why were they? And for that matter…
"Hey, mom…where are your-"
Mandy suddenly raised her hand and he instantly fell silent, soon hearing what she just did.
Scratching? Scritching? In another room, something was moving. Possibly alerted to their presence.
They both listened intently, though Junior imagined his mother probably had a much better idea of whatever it might be than he did. Not only were her ears simply more experienced, the moment he became aware of the possibility of a threat Junior felt nerves start to creep their way up his body. He had power now, thanks to the gift of his sister's right eye, but old habits die hard and he had to fight the urge to scooch closer to Mandy.
All he could tell from the noise of motion was that it seemed to be getting closer…which in itself was somewhat odd. They could see down the hall, at its end being stairs that led to the next floor, and to the right of that being the entryway to the next room. If whatever was there was about to leave, shouldn't it sound like it was getting further away, in order to exit through that? But no. From what Junior was picking up, and Mandy's turning head seconded as it followed the noise, whatever was in the next room was right on the other side of this wall.
The soft noises then stopped, Junior finding himself holding his breath to make certain it was actually silent.
For a few seconds, he was just staring at that picture of his mother and, assumedly, his grandparents.
What happened next was a blur of motion. All Junior could be sure of was that his back was now hitting the floor.
It had jumped through the wall, but there wasn't even the crash of splintering wood and plaster to serve as a warning before it was already on him. With the trashing of Junior's arms against the barrage of claws, his screams over jowls that beat against his body, anyone would naturally assume the poor boy was being painful mauled.
Anyone, that is, except for Junior himself, who couldn't stop laughing.
"NO! NO! STOP! AHHAHAHA! STOP! THAT TICKLES! HAHAHAHA!" Junior yelled as tears welled up in his eyes, serving only to add to the wetness of the long tongue slobbering all over his face and padded paws excitedly scratched at his chest.
Mandy reached down, scratching at the big tuft of grey curls atop it head. "Good boy, Saliva."
At her touch, the dog stopped "attacking" Junior, tilting its chubby head further into her nails and ecstatically thumping its leg against the floor.
The beastie still on top of him, Junior did his best to at least sit up, using his sleeve again to wipe all the drool off his face so that it wouldn't get into his eyes when he opened them. "Oh! Saliva!" He exclaimed, definitely recognizing this old boy from the journal as he petted up his neck (or lack thereof) and along his floppy jowls, of which Saliva was only too happy to let him do.
The fat white dog was a little whiter than what Junior had seen in the photos, but the explanation for that was the same as for why he was still alive after so many years…in that he wasn't. It was the simplest thing in the world for a ghost to pass through a wall without disturbing it, even a ghost dog, and the slight luminescence and wisps of will puffing off Saliva give more than enough proof that was exactly what he was. A phantom canine. His dopey form preserved to exactly resemble what it'd been in life almost twenty years ago.
It did not escape Junior that the journal had omitted almost anything about his mother's parents and yet had repeatedly brought up her dog. But even his father had really loved Saliva…which was still somewhat weird given how often Grim was buried in the yard by him but even he admitted he was basically the embodiment of Stockholm syndrome at this point.
Saliva finally got off Junior, bouncing in circles around the two, probably the first visitors he'd had in quite a while.
"Come on, boy. Heel." Mandy ordered the ghost dog, whom happily complied and followed as she started moving again.
Junior got back to his feet; his mood much more lightened. "I can't believe you still have him living-…er…staying here. How come you never brought him to the castle?"
"I tired once but Saliva gets homesick easily, to the point even Walker couldn't keep him in the Ghost Zone after he died. Plus Cerberus is too much a bully to share their space with another dog."
"I did always have trouble believing that Cerberus was dad's originally." Just as much as he had trouble believing Saliva was hers, he added silently to himself. It was hard to buy a lot of what the writings in that old book claimed and even harder still to believe what was now before his own eyes. That his mother and the dancing dog even existed in the same universe felt off, let alone that they came from the same place.
"Then again…" Junior commented as he looked over the rather decrepit surroundings again as Mandy lead the way up the stairs. A good bit of plaster was missing from the wall, exposing the wooden boards underneath.
"…Honestly, it's just procrastination at this point why I haven't moved the rest of my stuff out of here." She admitted, the steps creaking heavily under the falls of her feet yet making barely a sound for Junior's. The boy and his father were always considerably lighter than they looked. It was only the literal floating dog who was making less noise. "I basically just used this place as extra storage space for anything I didn't want taking up room in my house in Megaville and couldn't be bothered to bring it to the castle after I got married."
"Did it always look like…this?" Junior gestured around them. Even despite his lack of weight the handrail bent against his touch so much he worried it was about to snap off.
"No need to do upkeep on a house no one is living in." Mandy retorted with that natural point.
They reached the next floor and Junior looked behind them, their footprints indented in the dust showing clear their path and only theirs up these stairs. If he had to guess, it would probably be the same no matter where they went in this house.
"Hey, mom…" He hesitated to asked, needing a few more seconds of following her before he managed to push it out. There were few other doors in the hall on this level and one of them appeared to be just the bathroom. "Grandpa and grandma… Your mom and dad… Are they…?"
"Gone."
She'd said it so bluntly but Junior honestly hadn't been expecting anything otherwise. "I… I'm sorry. When… When did it happen?" He worked up the courage to ask.
Mandy gave a small glace back at him, Junior, as always, unable to tell quite what she was thinking. She didn't seem angry that he asked, thankfully. More like she was simply pondering how to say it…or if she should even bother answering.
"…I started attending elementary school in Megaville and stayed at a place there during those months." She said once she faced forward again. "A city of superheroes could help me further my ambitions more than Endville could anymore. When I came back for the summer there was just a note and a year's supply of food in the kitchen."
Junior had been listening intently and thus why he soon after cocked his head to the side in confusion, feeling like he had missed a page. "Wait… A note? Food? What-?"
"They're not dead, Junior." She explained to him like it was the most obvious thing in the world, the two finally arriving at their destination; the door at the furthest end. "They simply saw their opportunity and made a break for it."
An empty, decaying house. All the dust. All the silence. He'd thought he'd understood what all those hints beating him over the head added up to. But it would seem there was another answer he had not considered.
"They…abandoned you?" Junior spoke the words, unable to believe it.
"They fled from me. There's a difference." Mandy stated strongly, swinging open the door.
Even in the poor lighting, the room illuminated only by the sunlight pouring in from the cracks in the blinds, it was certainly…pinker…than Junior would have imagined.
Actually, now that he thought about it, he'd only recently seen the inside of his mom's room back home and it could basically be described as the same, just with a little more red and black thrown in.
Flowers on the wallpaper. Lacey pillows on the bed. The shag carpeting he wouldn't have thought much of if it also wasn't pinker than the most fabulous void.
His mother's childhood room.
In her childhood home.
…How was this even less of a happy experience than he was expecting?
While she let her son gape and take in the view, Mandy made her way over to the room's side, opening up the twin closet doors…and soon after giving a sigh. "Great." She grumbled under her breath.
Moving around her hips as they blocked his view, Junior took a look inside for himself. Three walls and a barren metal poll that held not even a single clothes hanger. Mandy didn't even need to pull the light cord to show off all the nothing that was there.
"I'm guessing something was supposed to be in here."
Mandy gave a nod, the annoyance on her face quite clear. "Like I said, there was some stuff I hadn't moved out of this place yet." She said, closing the door back up. "When the old silent alarm was tripped I was open to the possibility Saliva or maybe even Billy set it off by accident. Billy's dad was a possibility too, I suppose. He sometimes wanders in here, forgetting where he lives. But…no." If the burning red of her pupils could leap from her eyes the entire closet would be on fire right now. It was a wonder her curling fingers didn't crush the light wood of the doors. "I got robbed."
"Someone seriously stole from a creepy old house with a ghost dog living in it?"
Mandy turned around to Junior, raising an eyebrow at her son. He didn't quite get her meaning…until he took another look back at Saliva, the panting dog staring up at him with those beady little black dots, not a thought going on behind them.
"Fair point." He felt kind of bad about admitting. "So what did they take?"
"A few mementos from my childhood."
"That's it?"
"Does there need to be anything more?"
"No, no, it's just… Someone broke in just to steal some toys and souvenirs from a little girl's closet?"
"Junior, that little girl was me. Someone who had the Grim Reaper as her "best friend" and who knew a good number of Megaville's more famous citizens. It was just a suitcase left in here but in that suitcase were items that could end the world three times over."
"I thought that's what all the stuff in your vault could do! Why would you just leave other stuff like those just lying around?!"
"Junior, let me put it to you this way; your father keeps everything he deems important enough locked up in that trunk of his (regardless of how many times its been broken into but let's ignore that for now). But he'll still leaving wishing skulls and punch-happy floating arms in the pockets of his robe whenever he does his laundry. Just because something is dangerous doesn't mean it's important enough to remember. But just because something isn't important doesn't mean it's not dangerous. You saw what Horror's Hand did your little pet. Whatever I left here I simply didn't make as high a priority as that."
"…Didn't you have a tricycle in your vault?"
"An evil f**king tricycle."
Junior wasn't certain if his mother's point had really been made to him or if he was just as confused as before. Either way, he at least understood that, right now, someone out there likely had something they really shouldn't.
"Okay, so, what now?" Junior asked. "Do you call the police? No, never mind. I know that's stupid." He quickly corrected himself before Mandy said anything. "The castle? Get dad or Charles to come help? Maybe look for clues and Saliva and Cerberus…probably mostly Cerberus…can pick up a scent?"
"No need." Mandy stated simply, shutting down all those suggestions as she walked past him, heading out of the room. "I already know who did it."
It'd already happened many times today and more than likely it was going to happen many more before the day was out; Junior eyeing his mother in bafflement. "You…know? How? Who? Is it HIM? Aku?" He asked as he made quick steps to follow after her. He almost threw Mimi's name in there as well. The entire reason she was living with them now was because she'd already tried stealing from his mother once. But he'd rather avoid putting his new roommate in her line of sight any more than necessary.
"No. This is too small for them."
"You just said what was in the suitcase could end the world three times over."
"I dated Kare. He was worse about leaving crap like that lying around than your father. Hell, I think Bubbles still had pieces of that pinata he tried to kill them with when we were in school together, hoping it'd reform again one day." Mandy thought back on the Powerpuff telling her that story, probably one of the few birthday parties she was ever a little disappointed she missed. "No… Whatever they were after in that suitcase, it was something that'd only be significant to someone a lot lower on the totem pole, which I suppose ironically would put them a few levels above an Underworld lord. In other words, human."
"And you think you know who it was?" Junior asked as they descended back down the stairs.
"I know who stole it for them."
Author's notes: It's always been a thing but especially with more recent pages of the actual Grim Tales comic, I definitely seem to write Mandy at least a little different from how she is in the comic. A little more openly caring about her kids, though not by much. Then again I've also had stories where she and Junior try to kill either other, so maybe I'm just talking out my ass.
I may be misremembering but I don't think the comic ever touched on what Endville's like in Grim Tales' future. Junior read about it in Grim's journal but that was the period of around the original Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and a little after it. Megaville is far more of a central focus. I think that's also part of what inspired this story, just the idea of Junior's first visit to a mortal realm city being Endsville. Plus I've used most of the bigger Grim Adventures villains in other fics, so it might be fun using the human characters of the show who can't be fit into the Underworld setting.