There wasn't much a lifeless ghost could do at night. Even if it could sleep for the pleasure, it wasn't necessary, and even then it was already dificult enough as it was.
Besides, Darwin could be sabotaged, since he slept in the same room as his brother.
As such, Carrie was the perfect candidate to spy on Gumball.
That, of course, along with her ghostly powers.
The Penny was initially against this idea. All she wanted was for the ghost to search for information on the Void and on the rune Mr. Sma had brought to class, but Carrie claimed she had tried to, at Darwin's behest, finding nothing more than the phrase:
"Beware the Outsider."
The faery kept refusing to greenlight this act, until she had seen her boyfriend, once again, flinching his hand over and over again as they left for lunch.
Reluctantly, she allowed it to be happen, though on the condition it would only happen that night and no more.
Now, while the bedrooms were off limits, the backyard was what was thought to be where the cat had been last night, and as such she stayed in the bushes nearby, noting the strange box that was laid by the side of the shed.
She waited there for hours, patiently awaiting for the right moment, until the backdoor of the Watterson's house was slowly opened, revealing a familiar face.
Then, after he investigated the area, the cat took a deep breath, and readied himself.
First, he began setting up the box, before setting up a few tin cans on top of it, taking precaution every step he took.
Then, he put a target on the door of the shed, using a nail that was previously set there, presumably last night.
Thirdly, he picked up a small stick off the ground and began practising tricks utilizing his left paw, as if it wasn't the first time he had done so.
In the end, ten minutes later, he thre it away, and stood up from the porch.
Gumball then pointed his now ready hand in the direction of the target, and adopted a crouched stance.
The back of the hand began glowing, and from the palm a purple thorn grew right into the center of the object, quickly rapling the cat right into it. After ensuring he had remained with his feet and thorn planted on the target, the feline pointed right back into his original position, repeating the process.
Carrie was in utter disbelief.
Part of her wasn't willing to believe it.
Gumball had never been someone interested in the supernatural, except when it could directly benefit him.
And since he did not have powers, this could only mean that he was utilizing black magic of some kind.
But that was absurd! She knew the nature of all kinds of black magic from interactions with other spirits, including her previously cursed father.
However, she realized that, given the strange nature of the Void, which Penny had claimed is probably related to his strange behavior, it shouldn't be considered as weird as it could be.
Still, the display of the abilities was strangely unnatural, and even she felt an unknown presence when he had performed them.
Quickly messaging Darwin, she waited until the cat turned around to leave the bushes, ready to confront him on the meaning of his abilities.
-So is this why you acted so strange yesterday?
Gumball froze in fear the moment he heard another voice. He was sure he had checked every corner of his house, backyard and even beyond.
He slowly turned around, coming face to face with his classmate.
Both stayed staring at each other for many solid seconds, unable to utter anything to break the mood.
-Will you answer me or not? -Carrie questioned him, breaking the silence.
In a reflex, Gumball instantly used Tether on her, somehow managing to get a hold of her, surprising the cat with the extent of his powers.
-Let her go, Gumball!
The boy looked back, and he was now witness to his brother opening the back door.
The feline complied, apologizing and sitting down on the doorstep.
Once again, the tension was raised, and nobody talked for minutes, before the blue cat closed his eyes and requested the only thing that mattered to him at the moment:
-Please don't tell Penny about this. Or anyone else for that matter.
-Why did you hide these... powers, from us? Were you afraid we would laugh at them? -Carrie asked, still stunned by the fact the cat's supernatural prickle was able to touch a ghost.
But Gumball ignored her completly, instead continuing to spell out his request.
-I know that if you tell her, which I know you will, everyone else will know about it as well, and they will assume the worst, and then they will mock me. The rumors have already started to spread.
Darwin sat down right next to his brother. He began understanding his reasoning for keeping it a secret, as he was well aware that the cat absolutely hated the fact he was a mockery at school before this whole debacle.
-If anybody is telling Penny, and then the others, it's going to be me. Alright?
The fish and the ghost both looked at each other and nodded, before Carrie decided to take advantage of the situation.
-If you tell us how exactly this happened, we will keep our mouths shut.
Gumball prepared himself, bringing to mind everything that happened before, took off his glove, revealing the tattoo, and began telling them its origin.
-...And that is why I have been wearing this stupid glove.
Penny was carefully listening as the couple walked towards his house for an after school study session, being followed by Darwin and Carrie at a distance.
-I suspected something supernatural, but I wasn't thinking with magic inducing tattoos.
-So... will you forgive me for keeping this from you? - Gumball begged, holding his hands in an appropriate position.
-Why did you hide it in the first place, though?
The cat went quiet for a while, then responded with:
-I didn't want to look like a loser in front of everyone.
-A loser? Why would your new powers make you look like a loser?
-If I failed using them, if I did a mistake, I would never hear the end of it from how, even when being special, I would still miserably fail. I just wanted to train with to ensure victory, kinda like you with cheerleading.
Penny smiled when she heard about his attempts. Not because of the possibility of him failing, but because she saw something in her boyfriend's eyes that he rarely had; passion.
Unless it involved doing something for his family, a very close friend of his or his girlfriend, Gumball was hardly a motivated person, to the point he only has average grades in spite of his mother's insistence.
This time, though, she could tell that he would be better off enjoying himself, though the pain he received would remain an issue to solve.
-Oh, Gumball. I am very glad that you are finding fun in practising with your powers.
The cat smiled as well, but his was bigger, and just as honest.
He was enjoying the fact his girlfriend was supporting the fact he had gotten something he had hoped for a long time.
That she was leading him on.
That she was essentially telling him "go get 'em".
This made him even more motivated to continue with his experiments with his abilities.
-Well. Thank you, Penny. And I strongly mean it.
And thus, both kept looking at each other and holding a sweet smile, until they had arrived home, where Richard Watterson was busy sleeping off his one task for the day, which was setting up the table.
-I mean, we don't have any exams soon. Studying isn't as important that way, right? -Penny suggested Gumball.
-Are you sure? It doesn't sound li- ohhhh. -Gumball understood, increasing the length of his smile. -Mhm, history can wait. We have other matters to attend to!
Gumball had already shown both Tether and Alternate to the other, the former having been more properly received than the latter, as they initially thought he was just doing one of his strange impossible movements, like that time he gave an old man pants without him noticing so he could hide a watch in its pockets.
However, truth be told, neither of them were all that flashy, at least by the feline's definitions, and he thus needed something new.
Unfortunately, he had already spent all the knowledge provided by the runes from the principal's office, so he couldn't unlock the other abilities.
Well, except for one.
One he had already forgotten about.
Black Cat.
That was a name he had been thinking about for a while.
At least the other two could be extrapolated and thus explained, but this one was just an enigma.
Or maybe an anagram.
-Maybe it gives everyone else bad luck? -The fish said.
-Or maybe it will make you a stealthy person? -Carrie followed up.
Well, there was really only one way to find out, wasn't there?
Quickly adopting a stance, Gumball told everyone to stand back, as he directed all his will into his paw.
He was pointing at a small toy in the room.
And yet, nothing.
He tried again.
Nothing.
What if he focused on himself?
This time, he closed his hand with all his strength, and that finally gave him results.
However, he was unable to presict what would happen next.
His left arm began extending and warping, and so did the other.
Their color turned jet black, and it now had the appearance of a constantly drawn smoke, the outer edges increasing and decreasing in an irregular interval and random angles.
Soon the legs followed, and so did the torso.
Gumball now had to crouch in order to fit in the ever tighter room, but he did not care, for he not felt stronger than ever.
He felt capable of bending a car in two.
He felt capable of running for miles.
He felt like a giant.
However, being so caught up he was on his new form meant he was unaware of the other's reaction at that moment.
They were terrified.
Darwin instantly tried to defend the others using his book, holding it in front of them and shrinking his eyerises in horror.
Carrie began backing away with the other two, still remembering that the cat's powers could touch, and very well harm, her, and negan instintively levitating random objects.
Even Penny, in spite of her best attempts, was unable to hide her fear, a fear she couldn't explain, a fear that simply radiated from her boyfriend's new body.
Eventually, after he had almost crushed the ceiling, the feline's body returned to normal, and so did his clothes.
-So, what did you guys think? -Gumball asked cheerfully, still ignorant of the paleness in their eyes.
After a moment of silence, the faery spoke up, much calmer than before:
-W-well, it was... impressive!
-Really? Glad to know that you enjoyed it!
Gumball then looked at the time, picking up his books afterwards.
-I would practise with it a bit more, but I it would require a bigger space. -He said, looking at his notebook. -Besides, we still have things to study about.
The trio was confused by the cat's lack of awareness towards their very visible shivering.
Then again, Penny had not transformed into a rat out of horror, so perhaps it was just all in their heads.
However, they would have to have a talk with Gumball about this, sooner rather than later, though his genuine glee at the moment stopped them from doing so as to not ruin the mood.
Instead, they all just sat on the floor and turned to the page the feline had already started dictating, much to their surprise.
For them, everything now felt disconnected.
Whatever had just happened needed to be explained, and Gumball wouldn't be the best source of information.
Carrie would definitely have to resume her search.