Chapter 12: New Enemy
Author's Note: It's almost been 3 years, I plan on finishing this over the course of 3 months.
Planting the last blood blossom bush Irene brought, I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my wrist. Putting the spade I used back in the toolbox, I got up to dust my overalls and take off my gloves along with my sunhat. The same sun hat I wore on my first date with K...Clutching the hat, I shook my head and grabbed the toolbox. No point in thinking about the past.
"Jeanette I'm heading to work-Oh, you finished fast." Taylor stepped out of the apartment with her new name tag. She was starting her first day working at the mall. Something I envy.
"Well," I started, "the sooner I planted these, the sooner those surprise visits from the mayor will end." I shuddered at the last visit that involved lovesick poems and K standing in the back with clenched fists.
Taylor shook her head. "Now if we could find a way to stop him sending gifts. Seriously it's been only a week and the place is overflowing with flowers, chocolates, jewelries, and who knows what else." She pointed at the two windows in front of the building that were blocked with said gifts. "Anyway, my dearest housewife, I need to get going before I'm late."
I rolled my eyes at the nickname as she kissed my cheek. Though considering that I can't land a job, because the whole town still thinks I'm a 'notorious manhunter', Taylor gave herself the right to dub me 'housewife'. After all, I do stay at home and do all the chores. Speaking of chores.
I cracked my neck as I walked into the gift littered apartment. Every room had at least one pile of gifts, even the bathroom. After I put away the garden tools and changed into something comfortable, I grabbed a stack of folded boxes and started to sort everything, that wasn't flowers, until I was finished.
I left the boxes piled up in the living room as I went to the kitchen to eat something. Grabbing a pot from the cabinets and a box of mac and cheese, I started to cook the noodles. Turning around to face the flower covered window I noticed something was off. The little openings around the flowers weren't showing the sidewalk or road, instead they were showing more plants. That wasn't right, unless I shifted the vases while cleaning up. Walking up to the window I grab a vase to take a look outside, I froze in shock and let the vase fall at my feet.
Letting a shriek of horror escape from my mouth, I let the image before me register to my brain. There, in front of me, was a blanket of vines covering everything in sight. Not only that, they were glowing green and moving! Why was this happening?
Backing up, I bumped into the stove and jumped at the burning sensation. Thankfully the water and noodles were nowhere near boiling. The slight stinging made me snap back to my normal self. Taking in a breath of air, I let my mind wander to find an explanation. Let's see, ok, I'm in the Danny Phantom world, a cartoon I used to watch, so I should know what's happening. Moving, glowing vines plus Danny Phantom equals...shit. Why can't I think of anything, and why isn't the window covered the vines?
I blinked and moved towards the window again. Looking over the flowers I was surprised at what I saw. All the vines close to the blood blossoms were either slithering away or laying there dead. Looks like I planted those at the right time. Note to self: Thank Irene for ordering them.
Irene, Taylor, they were out there!
Quickly running to the door, I threw open the door without thinking. Stepping outside, nearby vines rose up and flung towards me. Gasping in fear, I threw my arms up in a weak attempt to protect myself. Squeezing my eyes shuts and waiting for the attack, left me sputtering a string of curse words. Then a sizzling sound made it to my ears, slowly opening an eye, I saw the vines shrivel up in midair. My astonishment to the phenomenon was cut short as the squealing sound of tires came along.
Looking away, I could see a G.I.W vehicle skidding across where the road should be. An agent on the roof was manning the cannon mounted on top, shooting at all the vines attacking them. Others in the vehicle shot their guns out of the windows. They looked like they were holding up, until a bundle of vines shot up from under them. As the vehicle tipped over, they all scattered out, K was among them. My heart pounded as they were left without protection as the vines crushed their only mode of transportation.
I had to do something, anything. "K," I found myself shouting, "over here! It's safe, it's safe over here." I waved my arms like a maniac until everyone saw me. I felt a small amount of relief, until K was captured by one of the vines.
Everyone was too busy saving themselves and trying to get to the apartment to help. K shouted for everyone to keep going, to forget him. Without thinking, I shoved one of my hands into the blossoms, ignoring the thorns, and ripped out a flower. Running towards the vine holding K, all the others Operatives shouted for me to return, that I was crazy, it wasn't worth it, there was nothing I could do. But I couldn't leave K, not when I could help him.
"Jeanette," I heard O's voice, "K wouldn't want you to risk your life for him!"
"Well, it's a good thing I wasn't planning that." I jabbed the vine with the blossom. It rotted from where the flower touched it and writhed as if in pain, then it finally dropped K. "K are you alright?" I asked as he slowly got up.
"I'm fine," he dusted himself off, "now get to safety civilian." He grabbed his disregard weapon from the ground.
Feeling a pang of pain, I tightened my grip on the thorny stem. He had every right to treat me like a stranger and besides, now wasn't the time to feel sorry about myself.
As K shot at the vines near him, I swung the blossom like a sword warding off any threatening plant. Making it to the apartment, everyone was amazed on how a small flower could do so much damage.
"Amazing, what exactly is that?" One Operative asked.
"And why is it so humid in here?" Another stated.
"My mac!" I shouted as I ran into the kitchen.
Sitting on top of the kitchen table, I was eating my mushed mac and cheese with one hand, while O was taking out the thorns out of my other hand. The other Operatives were currently in the living room trying to figure out how to get back to headquarters.
"What you did back there was brave." O broke our silence. "But, you could have gotten hurt...er." He started cleaning my cuts with rubbing alcohol.
Flinching, I sighed. "I couldn't just stand there and do nothing." I jabbed a fork full of mac. "I had to do something."
O lowered his head. "Velia...Jeanette, K would've been devastated if something happened to you." He said in low voice. "Just because he caught you cheatin on him, it doesn't mean he stopped caring about you." After bandaging my hand he patted my head. "I told him what happened after he left. He-"
"He wants to know what's taking so long." K was at entrance and nodded his head towards the living room. "We might have an idea on how to get to headquarters unharmed."
O simply nodded and walked past him, leaving K and me alone in the kitchen.
"Citizen-"
"Don't," I cut him off, "you know my name. Use it."
K crossed his arms, hands clenched as if he was trying to hold himself back. "Ms. Velia, we require your blood blossoms."
After hearing my last name, I was glad that he wasn't calling me 'citizen'. Then after him talking about my blood blossoms, hell no. I don't care if I wanted to make amends with K, Irene worked hard to get those.
Getting off the table, and leaving my food, I marched up to him. "Like hell I'll let any of you, without an ounce of knowledge on gardening, touch my bushes." I dug a finger into his chest. "If you want to use my flowers, it'll be under my terms and my supervision. Got that?"
"Ma'am, I'll have you know that attacking an officer is a federal offense." K pushed my hand aside.
"Is this the thanks I get for housing your asses, not mention saving yours?" I threw my hands up. "If ruining someone's, just recently gifted, rose bushes is a sign of gratitude. Go right ahead, ruin them all."
"Oh please, I'm sure the mayor wouldn't mind buying you more." He scoffed.
"I got them from Irene!" I saw K freeze. "If I would've gotten them from Vlad, I would've thrown them away."
"Is that what you call that?" He pointed behind me at the vases of flowers. "Throwing them away?"
"Did you not see the boxes with return addresses in the living room?" I pointed behind him.
"Look, I don't have time for this." K turned around. "Besides, it was a statement not a question." He walked away, I followed him to find the others were already outside picking at my bushes.
"What the hell!" I shrieked. "I just planted those!" I gripped my hair in horror as they each held a bundle of flowers.
"Relax," O handed K a rose, "Y knows his way around plants. He says you wouldn't even be able to tell that we tempered with them."
"Oh my god," I rubbed my face, "you know what whatever. Just go, just go back to hq, whatever, I don't care."
O handed me a walkie. "If you need, or see, anything I'm on channel 3." He turned to face his fellow operatives. "Alright, let's move out."
K lingered for a while, opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. I spoke for us, "be safe." I couldn't see his face, but he nodded before he left.
I sank into the couch after the door closed, holding the walkie talkie close. Staring up at the ceiling I started to wonder if K and O would be ok, if Irene and Taylor would be ok. A sob left my throat when the reality of it all came crashing, hunching over I let my tears fall and cried myself hoarse.
Why did we have to be the ones thrown into this world? Why couldn't we be at home, where the most dramatic thing in my life was my parent's long overdue divorce. Where Taylor's life was filled with getting the latest gossip and the constant changing of boyfriends, where Irene's life was, is, filled with hunting down the paranormal and complaining about the exercise she gets from it. We didn't belong here, who knows what's happening in our world, in a world that was meant for childhood entertainment.
And...and how are our parents dealing with our sudden disappearance?
After a while I woke up to a loud noise, sometime during my fit I fell asleep. I jumped once realizing the loud noise wasn't from a dream. Scrambling to my feet, I picked up the walkie talkie and looked out the living room window. Peering up, my jaw dropped, I saw something, someone, that looked familiar flying in the sky, firing ectoplasm.
She, definitely feminine, was all red, which made me think of the joy suck ghost. But, that ghost turns into a shadow and doesn't have a heart theme. The ghost's hair was in a heart shaped bun, her one piece bodysuit, in different shades of red, had hearts everywhere, she wore a heart shaped metal breastplate, a transparent train with hearts trailed behind her, and the strangest thing were her large pink wings. What ghost had wings?
When she fired another blast, the vine she hit grew flowers and attacked another vine. Looking closer I noticed more flower covered vines fighting the regular ones. This was something I had to tell someone, this never happens in the show. Then again I didn't remember this episode.
Switching the walkie talkie on, and turning to 3, I pressed down the button to talk. "O, it's me Jeanette, there's a heart theme ghost fighting the vines….O? O are you there?" I felt panicked not getting an answer. "O-over?" I tried.
Almost desperate to change the channel, a voice finally came through.
"Jean- Velia, it's me K, Operative O is currently down." K's voice sounded strained. "The ghost you described is what got him, where is your location? Over."
Gripping the device tightly I responded. "I'm still in my apartment...is he ok? Over."
There was a pause,"he's fine. Ove- hey!"
"Jeanette is that you, are you alright?" Irene's voice came through.
"Irene," I blinked, "what are doing with the Guys In White?"
"Ran into them after they stupidly tried to fight off this new ghost." she explained. "Get this, the new ghost's name is Infatuation and her power is to make people fall in love."
"What?" Something clicked.
"I know right, lame. That's ghost unoriginality for you." Her sarcasm oozed from the device.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…" My chest felt heavy, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't stop breathing. My hand squeezed the device tightly, I couldn't hear what was being said.
Then I blacked out.
" Jeanette." A soft voice came.
"Jeanette." It sounds so familiar.
"Jeanette!"
I gasped and tried to get up.
"Careful Velia." Another voice said.
"O?" I looked up at his uncharacteristic dopey smile. "What's wrong with your face?"
"According to the ghost that got him, he'll be 'in love' until the other person returns the affection, in the affected persons definition of intimacy." K said with a sigh.
Memories on why I passed out in the first place came back, I started hyperventilating.
"Woah, woah, babe," the familiar voice came back, "deep slow even breathes. And my name Jeff."
I started laughing on reflex. "Why." I wheezed out.
"Because I need you to calm down, think, and say what it is." Irene smoothed my hair.
Breathing slowly, I laid my head further back on Irene's lap. "What you said about the ghost, it reminded me of Vlad's behavior. Why he threw out Maddie's picture, why he started paying attention to me. It made no sense why he threw away his emotions for a woman he was in love with for almost 20 years. That has to be it."
The messaging to my scalp stopped. "Shit." Irene said.
"What?" Asked K.
"Like, it's not big news worthy, but there has been an increase in affairs." She pondered. "Not only in Amityville, but the surrounding cities as well."
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"Taylor helps grow the grapevine." Irene shrugged.
"I do!" Taylor stepped out of the kitchen with chocolate covered strawberries.
"Taylor?" I finally paid attention to my surroundings.
I was laid down on the couch, with my head on Irene's lap. O was kneeling down, hovering me while holding Irene's hand. K, grudgingly, was sitting in the loveseat staring at us with furrowed brows. Then there was Taylor placing the strawberries on the coffee table.
"Wait, when did you all get here? What about the plant ghost?" I asked panicking.
"Calm down. Ghost kid took care of Overgrowth and we got here as soon as it was safe." Irene answered. "Now sit up, I have to feed O these strawberries to get him out of his trance."
"What?"
"It's a fantasy of his." K spoke up. "He's always wanted someone to feed him chocolate covered strawberries. The sooner she feeds him, the sooner he goes back to normal."
"Did he tell you guys that?" I asked.
"No," Irene shook her head, "it's something he told K and we're hoping that it's his definition of intimacy.'"
"What do you mean hoping?" I sat up.
"We mean: the victim won't say what their definition of intimacy is, even if asked. Or at least that's what Infatuation said." Irene slumped back. "So we're going by what K told us that O told him once."
"Have you tried asking him?" I asked.
A pause.
"Shit," Irene scratched her head, "so O what's your definition of intimacy?"
O stood up, still holding her hand. "I wouldn't say no to holding both your hands."
"We're fucking idiots." Irene slapped her head.
K stood up. "Now hold on, you haven't tried what he said yet."
"Oh, yeah." She reached for O's other hand, which he quickly grabbed and kissed both hands.
We waited holding our breaths.
O, who probably was blinking rapidly do to his eyebrows, dropped Irene's hands like hot potatoes. "What just happened?"
"Quick, what's the last thing you remember?" Irene already had a notepad and pen out.
"I had to make these strawberries for nothing." Taylor whined. "I don't even like strawberries."
Shaking his head O rubbed his face. "I remember everything, I just," he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I just had this urge to kiss both your hands. It felt like if I didn't do it I would go insane."
"Huh," Irene scribbled on her notepad. "So subject has full memory, does initiate behavior to fulfill objective, only completes objective once circumstances are meet. Hmmmm, also gives verbal clue when asked." She finished jotting down a few notes. "I guess we can start figuring out to snap Vlad out of it."
"What if he isn't under the ghost's control."
I went stiff.
"What if she is instead?" K accused.
"I have seen my girl thirsty." Irene went up to him. "And I don't think planting something that your crush is allergic to defines thirst."
"Thirsty?" The operatives asked in confusion.
"Oh, you know," Taylor lazily sat on my lap, "being 'in love,' 'horny on main,' 'crushing on.' that so of thing." She wrapped my arms around her and nuzzled into my shoulder.
"Okay, did she get affected by the ghost?" O asked, pointing at her.
"No, this how she normally is." Irene and I said.
"Look," K started, "let's go back to the topic at hand. How could we tell when a person is affected."
"That's a good question." Irene rubbed her chin. "When O was hit he started to run a high fever while unconscious, then after he woke his fever was gone and started to hold my hand."
"Shit." I gripped my. "That's what happened to Vlad, except he didn't start showing affection until I told him I used to like him."
"Didn't O start holding your hand when placed yours on his?" Taylor pointed out.
Irene's eyes widened. "How could I have missed that!" She whipped out her notepad. "I'm such an idiot."
"'Liked,' as in past tense." O pondered. "If you told the mayor you like him, present tense, maybe he'll snap out of it."
"Oh," I squeezed Taylor tight, "I don't think I could do that."
K snorted. "Yeah, and you couldn't kiss him either."
I looked down in shame.
"Holy shit." Taylor looked at me at a amazement. "Was he a good or bad kisser."
"Don't you have a boyfriend to worry about?" Irene tried to get this serious again.
"Broke up, now answer."
"Bad." I replied.
"Good, I'm still the champ." Taylor nodded.
"What?" K asked.
"Taylor once kissed Jeanette, back on topic." Irene speeded. "Now that we know Masters is affected by the ghost we need to break that deal."
"And then maybe we can go back home!" Taylor shouted happily.
"Aren't we in your home now?" O asked confused.
"She meant their hometown." A voice at the door said. "And I agree."
"Clockwork?!"