AN: Hello :) I promise, now that things are fixed, this story will start going much faster :) More at the bottom!, now read!
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Over the next few days, talk of the star began to die out, the meteor still sat out behind Starks Pond, but nothing strange came out of it, no one grew any extra appendages, and the world didn't need to be saved by Irish step-dancers.
A few people, however, were noticing some odd changes.
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"Dude, over here!"
"Shit! That's a foul!"
"Shut up, you stupid Jew."
"Cartman, dammit, I'm going to punch you if you say that again!"
"Yo, just play the game."
"Stay out of this Tucker… don't flip me off!"
Stan and Token were once again forced to stop their game to restrain their friends.
"If you guys don't stop trying to punch each other every five minutes we'll never end this!" Melody complained. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Melody were playing against Token, Craig, Kaylen, Clyde, and Mutt.
"Well if the Jew would just leave we could have even teams!"
"Why do I have to leave? You can walk your fat ass out of here!" Stan put a hand on Kyle's shoulder, ready to pull him back again.
"You know what? I'll just sit out. I'm not feeling so hot anyway." Melody threw the ball to Craig and walked over to the edge of the concrete to sit on the grass.
"What's up?" Craig asked. "You've been feeling bad for a few days now."
"You're preggo! Who's the daddy!" Cartman turned to Craig, pointing at him. "Ha-haha-ha-ha!" Cartman did a little dance, his taunting dance he's done since he was little, only to be punched by Kyle, again.
"Guys!" Kaylen glared at them. "What's up?"
"I dunno… it's like… you know when you're on a roller coaster? Or an elevator? My insides keep feeling wrong. But it just happens randomly."
"Weird." Kaylen shrugged it off, returning back to the game. As Melody watched, she noticed several… oddities about her friends.
"Yo, Craig." She nodded him over after their next break. "Sit. Tell me if you notice anything odd." The two sat, watching as the game continued, ignoring the jibs from Cartman.
"Mutt's gotten really fast. He used to never be able to steal the ball… ever." Mel nodded. "And Kyle can jump a lot higher now… but it doesn't really seem natural. Clyde almost disappears half the game, I keep forgetting he's there until he's already done something."
"Exactly."
"So?" Craig and Melody stared at each other, thinking hard.
"You think it has to do with the meteor." He leaned back on his hands, satisfied with his conclusion.
"Chloe won't shut up about it. She thinks something is still going to happen. I guess she's got me a little paranoid."
"It's entirely possible. South Park does unexpected things, making us wait would definitely be new."
"Watch this!" Stan yelled, Melody and Craig looked up as he weaved through the people, dribbling with ease. He jumped up, trying to get as close to the rim as he could, but he was just a little too low…
Until the goal bent down to meet him. The basketball went through the hoop, bouncing off into the grass. Stan dropped from the goal and backed away, everyone else doing the same. Melody and Craig jumped to their feet in surprise.
They stood in a stunned silence for a while, staring at Stan in shock until Kyle broke the spell. He placed a hand gently on his friend's shoulder.
"Dude… the fuck?"
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"It was the weirdest thing ever!" Melody was pacing in Chloe's room. It was about an hour after Stan had moved the hoop.
"I bet it's because of the meteor! I knew it would do something weird to us!" Chloe stopped packing her cheer things and triumphantly clapped her hands.
"Us? It turned Stan into a… a magnet or something! That pole is metal… he bent it! Chloe. He. Bent. Metal."
"Yes, I heard you the first three times. But listen, you remember how Craig dented his car when he kicked it? He's strong, but not that strong. And Kyle's been jumping like a kangaroo! He can barely get off the ground normally. And you, you're weight's been all over the place. That's not normal."
"So? What's it all mean?"
"I have no idea." Chloe continued packing her bag for practice. "I'll talk to Wendy, she's good at figuring these things out!"
"Make sure you tell me! This is all too fucking weird."
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"Weird." Kenny replied. Stan was staring at the cup in his hands, almost as if he were afraid to drink from it. Kyle and Cartman had rushed Stan to Kenny's house, the only home without adults, so they could talk about it. "Can you do it again?"
"What? Hell no! How the hell would I do it?"
"More like how the hell would he do it? Stan's not strong enough to bend metal. It was a freak accident or something."
"No, wait… Kenny may be on to something." Kyle got up and began to pace. "Stan, what were you thinking right before it bent?" Stan stared hard into his cup.
"I was thinking about how I was too low, I wasn't gonna make the shot, and I'd look really lame. I wished the hoop was just a little bit closer to me."
"Try it with something else!" Kenny pulled Stan's cup to the other end of the kitchen table. Everyone stared and waited.
"Lame!" Cartman called out, though he, too, was disappointed.
"Try with something else. Maybe it's only certain things you can move." Kyle suggested.
"I bet Kyle wouldn't mind if you tried out your power on him…"
"Shut up, Cartman!" The three other boys yelled.
"Fine! Fine!" The larger boy sat down across from Stan and started pouting.
"Certain things? Like what?" Stan asked.
"Metal. The pole was metal. The cup is plastic. Try…" Kenny dug around in his drawers until he victoriously pulled out a spoon. "Try this!" Stan took the spoon in his hand and concentrated on it. Kyle slowly started counting in his head as they all leaned in, staring at the spoon.
10…11…12…13…14…
"Holy shit!" They all jumped back as the spoon suddenly shredded into several small shards, embedding themselves in the table. Once again, no one moved for several seconds.
Then Kenny quickly shoved another spoon into Stan's expecting hand.
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"I swear dudes! It was the coolest thing ever!" Mutt was pacing around in front of John, Kevin, and Thomas. They were sitting on the benches at the park, enjoying the last rays of sun before winter came.
"But Stan's not –shit!- exactly strong. How did he do it –tits!-?" Thomas asked, interjecting swear words with every tick.
"It's probably just another of South Park's crazy things. It has been a while since anything happened." John shrugged.
"I thought maybe we'd outgrown it finally." Mutt continued pacing. "Melody and Craig were whispering about something not too long before it happened."
"They're always whispering. No surprise." Kevin waved it off.
"Nah, you didn't see them. They were thinking about something, they were watching us. I think the realized something's up. And you should have seen how quickly Kyle and Cartman rushed Stan outta there!" Mutt defended his thoughts.
"I think we should just stay out of it, whatever it is." John said.
"But what if we can't?" Mutt asked. He plopped down between John and Thomas. "What if we're a part of it this time?"
"A part of what?" They turned around and saw Gabrielle leaning against the tree behind them, her arms crossed.
"Shit!" Thomas yelled, twitching and nearly falling off the bench.
"Umm… well Stan kind of had a weird moment."
"Psh, if it's just Marsh I don't care." She waved her hand, cutting off the rest of Mutt's sentence. But the boy didn't care; he wanted to finish telling her anyway.
"I think it's from that meteor! Everyone who saw it has been acting a little weird lately… like there's just something off about them. Pay attention at school on Monday, you'll see what I mean." Gabrielle gave a look over her shoulder, glaring back at the smiling Mutt.
"You could stay a bit longer if you like." John asked. "We wouldn't mind some female company." Gabrielle flipped him off and stalked off into the trees behind the park. She leaned against one, hidden from their view, and listened in on the rest of their conversation.
"Do you really think it's from the meteor?" Kevin asked. "I really wish I'd seen it now!"
"If it is, I think you should be glad you didn't see it. Odds are, you get to sit back and enjoy the show." John stared in the general direction of the Starks Pond, where on the hill behind it lay the meteor. "You're right. Weird things are happening to us. I was running after a paper the wind had blown away a few days ago, and when I jumped to grab it, I nearly ended up in a tree."
"See!" Mutt jumped excitedly.
"Wow! So you –fuck!- can fly now?"
"Maybe! That'd be cool! Though just being able to jump high would be cool enough."
"It's like a super power!" Kevin shouted excitedly. "You guys are turning into bona fide superheroes!" When Kevin started ranting about his favorite hero, Gabrielle took it as her cue to leave.
"Superheroes, huh. Well then Cartman would become the villain… and I would make the perfect assistant!" She allowed herself a rare smile, continuing on her way home, thinking of what her own power might be."
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Kyle slowly trudged into his house, letting the door slam shut behind him. He waited to hear his mother screeching, but as there was none he assumed she was still out of the house.
"Ike!" he yelled out, hoping his brother was still home.
"Yeah?" Ike's black mop appeared over the railings from upstairs, Dougie and Arabella's popping up behind him. "What's wrong?" Ike's calm face turned into a frown as he picked up on his brother's distress.
"You three saw the shooting star, right? Did anyone else in your class?"
"Just us three!" Arabella answered cheerfully. "Why?" Kyle answered with another question.
"Has anything happened? Anything… strange?" He was still leaning against the door, appearing casual with his hands in his pockets, but all four knew these were important questions.
"I get this… tingly sort of feeling… whenever I… touch someone." Dougie answered nervously, he wasn't sure if that's what the older boy was looking for. Kyle nodded and bit his lower lip, adding this into his mental notebook.
"I've been having odd dreams, I stare at people, and they can see my dreams." Arabella proudly stated, giving a loud suck to her lollipop to accent her statement.
"I can sense people's powers." Ike said. Three heads swiveled quickly toward him. "At least, that's what I think it is… I've never felt something before, and it's only with people who were on your list. Everyone feels… empty somehow." Kyle and Ike were staring each other down, their mind running. These were the two smartest boys in all of South Park, if they couldn't figure out what was going on, no one could.
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"Good job girls! That's all for today." Wendy called everyone together for the end-of-practice huddle. Everyone just sat in a circle on the floor, gossiping and stretching.
"So Wendy… I was just wondering…" Chloe started to ask.
"If anything strange has been happening? Yeah, I got a call from Kyle explaining what had happened to Stan." The other girls all moved in closer, wanting to hear the news.
"Oh no! Is he okay?"
"Wendy, are you okay? You didn't have to have practice; you could have gone to see him!" To most of the cheerleaders, the only things more important than cheering were boys.
"No, no! He's fine now. He just had one of those South Park moments that always seem to happen to those boys." The squad all sighed together. Those 'South Park moments' were the main reason Wendy kept breaking up with Stan, only to go running back a week later when the chaos was over.
"So, has anything been happening to you?" Chloe asked.
"I'm not sure if it's actually anything strange, but…" The girls leaned in closer. "I keep catching glimpses of something on everyone's forehead whenever they speak. I have no idea what it is, or what it means, though."
"Sounds strange enough!" Bonnie agreed. "Do you think this will happen to everyone?"
"We'll find out eventually. We always do." Heidi said grumpily. "I can't wait to graduate and get out of this town!" She threw her hands up and turned to get her bag. "I'm sick of all the weirdness. I'll see you guys on Monday."
"Yeah, you girls can leave whenever you want to." Lola and Millie also left, leaving just Red and Bebe behind.
"I've been noticing some weird things too…" Bebe confessed. "I thought I was just going crazy! Well, maybe I am anyway."
"Same here! It's so weird. I normally avoid things as much as possible." Red admitted.
"I've been getting really tired and just feeling out of it lately… it isn't until I've drank some water that I feel better! But it's not just drinking it, when I wash my hands, or shower. Anytime I touch water!"
"Hmm." Wendy put her finger to her lips. "Red?"
"I've just been super warm. I'm not sweating at all, thank God, but I took a cold shower and I steam came off of me!"
"That is really weird. I think we've accidently got caught up in whatever mess the boys made. Ugg, I am going to have a talk with Stan later!" Wendy turned and stormed off, grabbing her bag and mumbling about boys being trouble.
"To listen to them you'd think they were forced to date all these years." Chloe mumbled. She grabbed her bags and walked out with Bonnie, trying to piece all the pieces together in her mind. Nothing was making sense!
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"Here you go." Indie placed two cups of steaming hot cocoa in front of Kyle and Ike. Dougie had gone home about an hour ago, after Kyle and Ike went nearly comatose, sitting or standing still for long periods, speaking incomplete sentences the other seemed to understand, moving positions, and starting the process over. Arabella called Stan first, then Kenny, knowing they would both have the most experience dealing with a thinking Kyle. When they didn't answer she called Indie, who agreed to come over and help her revive the boys.
"It hasn't been like this…" Ike mumbled, causing Kyle to jump and begin pacing. He paused, staring at Indie like it was the first time he'd seen her.
"When did you get here?" Indie giggled.
"I've been here for about twenty minutes. Arabella was worried about you two." Kyle turned to look at her.
"You're still here." He shoved Ike's head, causing the younger boy to fall off the couch, bringing him back. "Sorry, it's just… this makes no sense. Like, even less sense than most of the stuff around here does."
"The only times things have ever been this weird were back when we were kids… when Cthulhu was raised." Kyle began pacing and Ike drank his cocoa.
"Thanks, Indie."
"Anytime!" She said, still standing, her head moving as Kyle paced circles around his living room.
"You don't think it could be the same as back then do you…"
"Hey, Indie… has anything weird been happening to you? The rest of us who were near the meteor have been weird… at least I think that's what they said…" Arabella spoke up, trading her sucker for the mug Indie handed her.
"The shooting star!" Kyle pulled on his hair as he thought. "Everyone who saw the star has been having weird things happen!"
"Yeah, actually! My eyes have been really sore, and everything keeps going fuzzy, even with my glasses on. But what does that mean?" Kyle was about to answer when his phone went off on the table. He lunged for it.
"Whoops, 4 new messages." He read them all quickly, his pacing slowing with each one.
"What do they say?" Ike asked impatiently.
"Stan, Craig, Cartman, and Melody all text me updates. Stan confirmed Wendy, Bebe, and Red had something happen. Craig said Token and Tweek are both acting weird. Cartman says he talked to Gabrielle, who's heard from John and Mutt, all three acting weird. Melody said she just got back from Kay's house. They met up with Christophe… he and Gregory are the same." Kyle threw his phone down on the couch. He dug through his backpack until he found his notebook, and opened it to the page with the list.
"That should be everyone right… all except Butters." Ike said, remembering the list well. Kyle nodded confirmation. Indie perked up.
"I was going to go see him once I left here! I can ask him about it and text you, okay?" Indie gave Kyle a quick kiss before heading out, waving bye to Arabella and Ike. It wasn't often she got to help out with the guy's adventures; normally Kyle refused to let anyone else 'suffer'. But for once, she was allowed to be a part of it!
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Indie nearly ran all the way to Butter's house. She was panting and out of breath by the time she knocked on his door.
"Well, hiya Indie! You didn't have to run here, ya know." Butters held the door for her as Indie went in and collapsed on the couch.
"Sorry… I guess I… got a… little carried away…" She gasped. Butters got her a glass of water, which she gulped down gratefully. "Thanks!"
"Sure! So, uh, why did you run all the way here?" Butters knocked his knuckles together, oddly excited for the answer, though he had no idea why.
"Well, I was just at Kyle's, and I think he realized something about this meteor!" Butters' smile grew.
'So he finally came to the same conclusion I did… the fact that I got there before Broflovski definitely shows brain enhancement!' He thought joyfully to himself. Butters shook his head slightly. 'Whoa, I never call Kyle by his last name! Or… anyone! Even Eric!' Butters was so lost in his own thoughts he didn't realize Indie was still talking to him.
"Hello, Earth to Butters! You in there?" She waved her hand in his face, nearly making the boy wet himself.
"Sorry!"
"It's fine. I was just wondering if you'd had anything weird happen to you since the shooting star incident. Kyle thinks everyone who saw it is developing in some way, though we don't know how yet."
"Actually, I was sorta thinking the same thing!" Butters admitted.
"You were?" Indie was shocked.
"Yeah! I've been get A's on all my homework and tests… without even studying! I've gotten a whole lot smarter!" Indie's smile grew.
"So we're both having things happen to us! I have to call Kyle!" Indie pulled out her phone and wandered into the kitchen to make her call.
"If Kyle's just proved this theory right… odds are my next one is right as well. We're becoming our childhood heroes! Soon, I will be Professor Chaos!" Butters turned and looked at the back of Indie's head as she excitedly told her news to Kyle.
"But Kyle will be on the good side, like always. Who will Indie chose?" Butters began pacing, his hands folded behind his back and head bowed slightly. He'd been working on perfecting his evil pace. "I must speak with The Coon."
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AN: DUN DUN DUN! And so things slowly start moving. I've got up to chapter... ready for this... 10 planned out! Not written, planned. But being planned basically means I know exactly what I'm writing so it'll only take a few hours of me sitting down and focusing (which is the hard part). I am VERY easily distracted, especially since I have discovered the wonders of Skyrim. Though I love reviews, and since you guys are amazing at reviewing, odds are I will write pretty fast until I get to unplanned chapters :) Till then, ciao!
~Skye