Summary: Kwan helps Valerie out with a little project.
Characters: Kwan, Valerie, and Elle
Written: June 2015
Note: This is set during chapter 58 of Spectacular Specter.

Chapter 58.5

Kwan rolled his eyes after reading the multiple texts from Dash. He loved his friend, but when it came to Phantom, Dash could go overboard with excitement. Dash wouldn't stop talking about how Phantom showed up at his house and wanted his help proving his innocence. He even got Phantom's autograph. It would be a lie if Kwan said he wasn't even a little bit jealous. He wished he had been there to see Phantom in person with Dash.

"This is awesome!" Valerie's mouth stretched into a wide grin as she turned to look at her backside in the mirror on his closet door. "I can't believe you got this done so quickly."

Kwan laughed, pushing his phone to the side. "You sounded like you wanted it right away, so I tried to get it done as soon as possible." He smiled softly as he watched Valerie, who came over to try on the suit he made for her. It was black, for stealth reasons, with some patterns in red, for a splash of color. It had a helmet too, but Valerie left it off for now. "Everything fits all right?"

"Perfectly!" Valerie walked over to his desk. "So," she leaned back against the desk and smiled innocently, "what other toys do you have for me?"

"Is that all I'm good for?" Kwan teased with a shake of his head. The suit looked good on Valerie, and he could imagine people mistaking her for a superhero.

Valerie kicked his shin lightly, frowning at him. "You know that's not true."

"I know." Kwan managed a small, wincing smile. "Hard to break habits though, you know?"

Valerie dropped a hand onto his head, her fingers playing in his raven hair. "I wouldn't be asking you to do all this if it wasn't about my dad. He got hurt and can't tell me anything. I need to do this to find out answers."

"I get it. If anything like that had happened to you or Dash, I would be doing whatever I could to find out the truth." Kwan tapped his fingers on the desk. "So how is it with your aunt and uncle?"

"Ugh, their place is so cramped! And with my cousins-" Valerie shook her head. "The only good thing is that I get to stay at Casper High. Though I'm guessing the rest of the A List will be lobbying to have me kicked out. Can't have poor little Valerie living in Emerston cramping their style."

"That's not-" Kwan bit back his argument when Valerie glared at him. "Okay. But I'll still be with you. And Dash. And I know there's always been tension there, but I think Paulina and Star do care about you, even if they have a weird way of showing it."

Valerie snorted, but she had a hint of a smile. Then she bopped him on the head, and Kwan winced, pretending it hurt as he rubbed his head. "Don't try changing the topic. I need something to fight - I mean, in case it comes to a fight, I want to be prepared."

"I'm just worried you're going into this with your mind already made up that Phantom's the villain."

"He was standing right there after my father was blasted through the wall," Valerie argued, one hand clenching into a fist. When she caught his frown, she tried to relax. "He did help when you got shot though," she mumbled as she glanced away. "I suppose it's only fair that I give him the chance to speak. But I'm not going to be all star struck about him like Dash."

Kwan chuckled as he stood. "Yeah, Dash gets pretty crazy. Okay. I don't know if this will actually work." He walked over to his closet. "I found some interesting articles on ghosts, but they're pretty old and took a while to dig up. But if the theories are right, this," he dug into the back of his closet, hidden behind some clothes, then brought out a rifle like weapon, "should probably do the trick of, at the very least, neutralizing his powers. It shoots out an electric pulse." In theory, that was how it worked, but he wasn't given much time to build it and double check everything. He hoped Valerie never had a reason to test out the rifle because there was the slightest possibility it-

Valerie grabbed the weapon from him then held it like she was taking aim at the window, feeling out the weight of it. "Dad never liked the idea of me using guns." She swung it around, the strap crossing in front of her while the rifle rested against her back. "But I think I can get the hang of it."

"Right." Kwan bit back a laugh at the rather Valerie response. "So if you're going up against someone who can fly, I thought you could use this too." He retrieved something else from his closet.

"And that's supposed to help me fly?" Valerie folded her arms as she lifted an eyebrow, seeming completely unimpressed.

His mouth curled in a small smirk as Kwan tossed the rectangular device to the ground. As it fell, it expanded, widening and lengthening to support a person standing on it. It hovered in the air before them. "I think it'll be a big help."

"Oh, that is sweet!" Valerie climbed onto the hover board, shakily. Her arms flailed out to the side until she balanced herself and stood steadily on it. "This might take some getting used to, but I think I can handle it."

"I probably could have made it better," Kwan rubbed at the back of his neck, dropping his gaze to the floor, "if I had more time. And there's no guarantee the rifle will even work. If I could tinker with it all a little-"

Valerie slapped her hands to his cheeks then forced him to lift his head. "I really appreciate you doing all of this for me." She kissed him on the forehead before pulling away. "I should probably go though." She sighed, hopping off the hover board, which folded up about the same size of a laptop, easy enough to carry in her bag. "There's the stupid curfew, and my aunt will chew me out if I don't get back by then."

Kwan turned his back to her so Valerie would have some privacy as she changed back into her regular clothes. "So you're really doing this?" Even if they had discussed it, he thought it was all talk and his friend wouldn't actually go after Phantom like she kept saying.

After some rustling of clothing, Valerie wrapped her arms around his neck, having to stand on tip toes to reach. "Phantom was there. He saw what happened. I have to talk to him about it." She pulled away and grabbed her things. "I'll tell you about it when I manage to catch, uh, up with him."

"Just, you know, be careful." Kwan followed Valerie to the window in his room. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"It's going to be okay." Valerie easily swung herself out the window and caught hold of the drain pipe running next to it. "Trust me. I can take care of myself."

"I have no doubts about that." Kwan leaned on the windowsill as he watched her climb down the drain pipe to the ground. He knew she could hold her own in a fight against humans. But a ghost? He worried if it came to fighting, Valerie might chew off more than she could handle. Once she was on the ground, Valerie waved up to him then turned to head to her relative's apartment. After waving goodbye, Kwan pulled away from the window and closed it. Before he could collapse onto his bed to relax for the rest of the night, he heard his phone buzz. He picked it up from his desk, expecting another message from Dash. To his surprise, Valerie's friend Elle was calling him. "Hello?"

"What do you know about ectoplasm?" Elle asked with no preamble.

Kwan blinked a few times as he sat at his desk. "What exactly do you want to know?"

xXRainbowCleoXx: There's just something about Val x Elle that's adorable. 8D Elle's fiercely protective of her friends. 8D Sometimes, I really wonder why the A List hate Danny so much. D:

Tetractys: Hopefully, Mr. Grey wakes up soon! D: Valerie can be a bit rash and jump to wrong conclusions, huh? XD;; Let's just hope she gives Phantom the chance instead of going with the "shoot first" mentality.

YumiStar: Walker needs to get wrecked! D: Hopefully, by both Valerie and Phantom. XD;;;; *shot*