Author's Note: Here we are the next chapter of Marvel Falls. For this one, I was hesitant on uploading as it seemed like a filler chapter. It took a bit of work, but I hope I did it justice.
Now, I have news to share. I will be taking a break from this story for just one week. I'm focusing my writing on a certain story next weekend, and it has to be finished around that time. Between that and another story I'm working on (Blue Beetle Rolls Out), I'm afraid I have to take a break from this. Don't worry though. I'll get right back to it the weekend after.
With all that said and done, enjoy this chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
In the dark of the night, a couple of burglars in ski masks sneaked their way to the side of Greasy's Diner. One of them pulled out a crowbar and lodged it into the door. He pulled hard on it while his partner watched.
"Remind me why we're robbing this place and not—I don't know—a bank. Or perhaps a jewelry store."
"Banks and jewelry stores don't have Lazy Susan's recipe for her coffee omelet." said the burglar with the crowbar.
"What?! That's what we're here to rob?! A stinkin' omelet recipe?!"
"Well, yeah." He finally managed to pry the door open. "What did you think we were here for?"
"Money! You know, like coins and dollar bills!"
The crowbar crook scoffed. "You can't eat dollar bills. Use your head."
"I… We could just…" His partner groaned in defeat and entered the diner with him. "Fine! But let's make it quick. If the other underhanded crooks of Gravity Falls find out we broke in a diner for a recipe, we'll be the laughingstock of criminals everywhere."
"Don't worry, buddy. What's the worst that can happen?"
"You know…" Both crooks were startled at hearing a third voice behind them. They turned and gasped seeing Ms. Marvel standing in the same doorway they busted through. "…It's a common trope that bad things tend to happen whenever you ask that."
"It's that teenage superhero girl all over the news!" the crowbar crook yelled out. "Run for it!"
He dropped his crowbar and ran for his life to the nearest exit. However, unfortunately for him, that exit happens to be the very door that Ms. Marvel was in. She embiggened her hand and grabbed him with it.
"Why did you think it was safe to get past me?" Ms. Marvel asked.
"Well, I ain't so dumb!" shouted the other criminal before jumping out the window. When he got back up to his feet, he ran from the diner as fast as he could. Ms. Marvel just watched with an unfazed look.
"Uh, aren't you gonna go after him?" the crook with the crowbar asked.
"Nah. You're not the only one with backup." Ms. Marvel answered.
The other crook ran frantically while looking back to make sure Ms. Marvel wasn't following him. He was so focused on what was behind him, he failed to notice the other superhero in front of him until she tackled him.
Doreen Green (who wore a brown domino mask), planted herself on top of the crook's back and pinned him down. He tried to break out, but she was too strong to let him.
"Nice try, punk, but you got trounced by the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl!"
The crook sighed in defeat. "There goes my rep."
After delivering the crooks to Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland, Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl soon found themselves surrounded by fans and reporters who took their pictures. They smiled and waved to the public.
One "reporter" stepped up to the front holding what he thought was a microphone. "Toby Determined. Gravity Falls Gossiper. Gravity Falls wants to know where you super-girls came from."
"First of all, Toby," Ms. Marvel said, "Sorry about before when I accused you of wax homicide. Second of all, don't you know your microphone is actually a cucumber with magic 8 ball?"
Toby looked at his fake microphone and sighed. "Why do I bother?"
Shandra Jimenez stepped in front of Toby and took his spot in questioning the young heroines. "Shandra Jimenez. I'm sure all of Gravity Falls wants to know how you two girls got your powers."
"Well, I was born with mine." Squirrel Girl said.
"And I got mine from a mysterious crystal." Ms. Marvel answered.
"I see." Shandra said. "And where did this mysterious crystal come from?"
Ms. Marvel opened her mouth to answer, but she stopped herself when she realized she was unable to provide an answer, mostly because she couldn't figure it out herself. It started to haunt her since then.
"Whoo. Talk about overbearing fans." Squirrel Girl said once she and Ms. Marvel left the interviews. They stopped halfway to their homes when they decided to change back to their civilian clothes.
"Yeah. Sure." Kamala said quietly.
Doreen looked at her friend with concern. "Hey, Kam, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Kamala said.
Doreen narrowed her eyes. "I know when something's wrong, and something's wrong. Now, what's wrong?"
Kamala sighed. "All right. I guess I'm a little put off by Shandra Jimenez' question about where the crystal came from. I mean, I've had these powers for half a month, and I don't have any idea what they mean and why I'm the only one who seems to have them."
"I see your point." Doreen said. "You sure there's nothing that can help you find out?"
"Just Gideon." Kamala said with a little venom in her voice when she said that name. "He seems to have knowledge of where my powers came from. Unfortunately, he'll only tell him if I promise to be his girlfriend forever, so that's a hard pass."
"I hear that." Doreen said before getting an idea. "Hey. How about something to help get your mind off of it?"
"You mean other than arresting a couple of recipe thieves and beating up a weekly supernatural monster?"
"I was thinking something more relaxing." Doreen said. "Tomorrow's scheduled to be the hottest day of the summer, and people tend to use this time to cool off at the Gravity Fall pool. What do you think? Think you're up for a cooling break from all the superhero stuff?"
"Well, I suppose even Captain Marvel took a break every once in a while." Kamala said. "Sure. And maybe my parents would be interested as well. Sure beats sitting around the house where even the fully-blasted air conditioner won't cool things up."
"Great. See you there." Doreen said as she headed back home.
The following day, Kamala put on a red, one-piece swimsuit and headed to the pool with her parents. They followed her as she looked around seeing the bunch of people everywhere.
"Thanks for taking me to the pool, guys." Kamala said. "And thanks for taking me shopping for this new swimsuit."
"Well, I think it's a shame you lost your burkini." Muneeba said.
"Uh… Right. Lost." Kamala said thinking back to how she used her burkini to make her Ms. Marvel costume.
"It's a real shame they don't sell those in Gravity Falls." Yusuf said. "We should probably suggest this."
"We can do that when the heat dies down." Muneeba said. "Right now, let's cool off by this refreshing pool."
"Why don't you two find a couple of chairs to sit in?" Kamala asked. "I'll get us some refreshments."
"All right, dear." Yusuf said. He reached into his pocket and picked out a twenty-dollar bill which he gave to his daughter. "Nothing over this limit."
"Deal."
Kamala headed to the drink stand and ordered three refreshing drinks. While she waited, she noticed a very familiar group of people enter the pool.
"Hey, Dipper. Hey, Mabel. Hey, Soos. Hey, Mr. Pines."
"Hey, Kamala." Dipper said. "Here to beat the heat too?"
"Yeah. I'm supposed to meet Doreen here so we can relax together." Kamala said.
"'Cause that's what we can expect from the pool," Mabel said, "The sparkling oasis of summer enchantment."
"Yeah, nothing like sitting in a moist tub with strangers." Stan said sarcastically. "It's like the bus, but wet."
"Mr. Pines, please don't ruin this." Kamala said.
"Whoa, whoa! Stop the presses!" Mabel yelled out. "Who's that?"
At the far end of the pool, there was a handsome boy with long, wavy hair blowing in the breeze and a necklace around his neck with a red seashell. He slouched at the edge of the pool with an inflatable raft in front of him.
"Oh, yeah." Soos said while eating a bag of chips. "Word is, dude never leaves the pool. People say he's a 'mysterious loner'."
Mabel gave a big smile admiring the mysterious loner. "Is it getting hot out here, or is it just that guy?"
"It's the hottest day of the year, Mabel." Dipper said. "Besides, can't you go for one week without having a new crush on some random guy."
"Uh-uh." Mabel replied shaking her head. "Just look at his little mustache hairs."
"You're sure he's even your age, Mabel?" Kamala asked.
"I think he is." Soos said. "You are clearly enamored, Mabel. Go to him."
Without hesitation, Mabel raced around the pool jumping and knocking over everything and everyone in her way.
"Good kid, but she freaks me out sometimes." Kamala said just as her drinks were brought up.
"Eh, Mabel's all talk." Dipper said. "You wanna know a secret? She's never even kissed a guy before. She always messes it up somehow."
"Oi. Women." Stan grunted. "Uh, no offense, Kamala."
"Some taken, sir."
All of a sudden, Stan was surprised by a water balloon that blew up in his face. He and the others looked up at the lifeguard chair to see who threw it.
"Hey, Mr. Pines." Wendy greeted from the highchair.
"Wendy?" Stan asked. "Where's the lifeguard?"
"I AM the lifeguard. I make the rules, sucka! Boosh!" She threw more water balloons at Stan chasing him away. Everyone laughed with her as he ran.
"Wow. You work here?" Dipper asked.
"I found out lifeguards get free snack privileges." Wendy said. "Plus, I get the best seat in the house."
"Yeah, you do!" Dipper said before nervously laughing for a long moment. He then stopped and whispered, "I've been laughing for too long."
"Well, I better bring these drinks to my parents." Kamala said picking up her cold drinks. "Good luck with your job, Wendy."
"Have a good day, Kamala." Wendy said. "Just be careful, because I'm most likely going to abuse my power."
Kamala chuckled as she returned to her parents.
After slouching back at beach chair, Kamala finally rested feeling the heat of the sun and the coolness of the wind and the breeze over the pool water. With her parents beside her, she took a sip of her drink until it was empty. Thankfully, it was just in time before Kamala caught sight of her best friend who approached.
Doreen Green wore a light-brown tanktop of a pair of green cargo shorts. Sitting on her shoulder was Tippy-Toe, who rested on Doreen's shoulder with a pair of tiny sunglasses over his eyes.
"Hey, Kamala." Doreen greeted.
"Hey, Doreen." Kamala returned. "Gotta say, this pool trip idea of yours was an awesome one."
"Glad you like it." Doreen said. "I can't get into the water myself on account of the fur on my tail, but it's still a great place to relax. And maybe even keep an eye out for some shirtless guys."
"Sheesh. You too?" Kamala asked. "Come on, Doreen, let's not put any more pressure on today by looking over some…"
Kamala fell speechless immediately after her eyes caught someone on the other side of the pool. As soon as she saw Dante with red swimtrunks on, she couldn't help but smile. Doreen noticed and smiled.
"By looking over some what, exactly?" Doreen asked.
"I, uh… I gotta go." Kamala said jumping out of her beach chair and heading across the pool area.
Kamala ran around the pool until she came face to face with Dante. She gave a nervous laugh when she approached him.
"Uh, hi, Dante."
"Hey, Kamala." Dante said. "Nice running into you here."
"Same." Kamala chuckled for a while before whispering. "I've been laughing for too long. Oh, great. I sound like Dipper."
"Hmm? What about Dipper?" Dante asked.
"Nothing." Kamala said. "So… you beating the heat too?"
"Uh, sorta. The thing is, I kinda like the heat. I've always been a summer guy, I guess." Dante said. "Hey, Kamala, I'm glad I bumped into you. There's something I kinda want to talk to you about. It's… well, it's a pretty big question."
"Yes?" Kamala asked suspecting it was a certain question she wanted to hear.
"Well, I know we had our fair share of crazy adventures." Dante said scratching the back of his head. "The Quentin Trembly thing. The shrinking thing. The Trickster thing. I guess, after all that, maybe I should ask you if… Maybe you'd like to…"
"To what?" Kamala asked raising her hopes.
"To… To… AAAAAHHHH!"
Kamala was freaked out when Dante screamed in her face. He ran past her allowing her the chance to see that there was something attached to his back. A live lobster sank its claws into his back and he ran out of the pool area leaving Kamala confused.
"Was that… a lobster? What's a lobster doing in a public pool?" She asked slightly disappointed that he didn't get to finish what he was about to say.
The next day, Kamala returned to the pool. This time, without her parents. However, she was still down over what happened with her crush yesterday. She sighed in her pool chair while Doreen sat right next to her.
"Still bummed over the Dante thing yesterday?"
"Yeah." Kamala sighed. "I can't figure anything out about my powers. And right before the guy I like was about to tell me something personal, he somehow gets a lobster attached to his back. Things aren't exactly coming up Kamala."
"Hey, I'm sure things will turn up soon." Doreen said. "In fact, look over there."
Kamala looked and saw Dante again. She smiled and looked around and didn't see any trace of a lobster anywhere. She didn't think of a better time to talk to him and make a better conversation then now.
She got up from her chair and approached him. "Hey, Dante."
"Kamala." Dante said with a blush. "So… sorry about that the whole screaming thing yesterday."
"It's fine." Kamala said. "I mean, the lobster came from out of nowhere. So anyway… Last I checked, you had something to tell me."
"Right." Dante said before clearing his through. "So, Kamala. If it's all right with you…"
"Yes?" Kamala asked with a growing smile.
"Would you, maybe, like to go…"
Once again, their talk was interrupted. The two of them felt something brush against their legs and found a wandering skunk stepping in between them. It raised its tail up at Dante and gave out its most foul stench all over him. Dante yelled out in pain while Kamala instinctively stepped away from the smell.
"OH, COME ON!" Dante shouted. "WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!" He ran out of the pool area as quickly as he could again.
"This is getting ridiculous." Kamala said as Doreen walked up beside her. "First, a lobster. And now, a skunk. What, is the entire animal kingdom trying to get between me and Dante?"
Doreen looked at the skunk and followed it as it walked away. She then glared angrily once she saw where it was going. "No. Just that animal."
Doreen pointed at a pool chair at the corner of the area. The skunk hopped on it and got stroked in the fur by a certain child who Kamala wasn't happy to see.
"Gideon." Kamala marched over to confront Gideon with Doreen behind you. "You!"
"Oh, hey, Kamala." Gideon greeted. "Might I say, you look radiant today."
"Can the creepy talk, Gleeful!" Doreen snapped. "We know you sent that skunk to spray on Dante. And I bet the lobster the other day was your doing to, wasn't it?"
"Oh, perish the thought." Gideon said with a conniving smile.
"How could you do something that low?" Kamala asked.
"It's just as easy as backfiring all of Stanford Pines' attempts to get me out of his favorite spot." Gideon giggled. "Besides, it's not like pretty boy didn't deserve it for trying to scoop you away from me."
"Scoop me away?" Kamala asked angrily. "Listen, you fancy-suited hamster, if you try to ruin my chances with Dante again, I'm gonna…"
"Gonna what?" Gideon asked. "Lay one finger on me, and I'll have the pool manager ban you and your friends from this place…" He creepily whispered, "…forever."
Kamala narrowed her gaze at him. "You evil, evil, little elf." She stopped at that and walked away with Doreen, but not before Tippy-Toe gazed over at Gideon and pounded his palm with his fist.
"The nerve of that twerp!" Kamala ranted. "If he wasn't the most beloved citizen in Gravity Falls, I'd teach him a lesson he'll never forget."
"I'll sell tickets to that." Doreen said.
The two girls stopped when Dipper ran up to them. "Kamala, Doreen. Glad I ran into you. How would you like some superhero work tonight?"
"Anything to get my mind off that pest, Gideon." Kamala said.
"What's up, Dipper?" Doreen asked.
"Well, as you can see," Dipper said holding up a whistle, "I just got hired to be assistant lifeguard yesterday."
"I see." Kamala said. "All to get close to Wendy, I take it?"
"Maybe." Dipper said. "The point is, our boss, Mr. Poolcheck, he takes the rules waaaaaaay too seriously."
"Yeah. I've seen that guy around town." Doreen said. "He's scarier than half of the monsters we've faced."
"Just a minute ago, he gave me a job to do." Dipper said. "Last night, someone broke into the supply closet and damaged the pool skimmer. He assigned me to guard the pool tonight to make sure it doesn't happen again. If I want to keep the job, not a single item can go missing. So what do you say? Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl on the job?"
Kamala and Doreen looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure thing." Kamala said. "Whoever this vandal is, they're the perfect person I can take my anger out on."
Before leaving the house that night, Kamala told her parents that she needed to help Dipper with something important. It wasn't a lie. She just didn't tell them that she would change into her Ms. Marvel costume on the way to the pool. As soon as she arrived, she found Squirrel Girl and Dipper waiting for her.
"Hope I'm not late to the party."
"Nope. We haven't seen anybody try to break in yet." Doreen answered.
"All right." Dipper said. "Let's keep an eye out for any trespassers."
CLIP-CLIP!
Everyone quickly turned to the sound of something snipping at things. Dipper pointed at Stan Pines, who appeared out of nowhere after cutting the cage fence with a pair of wire cutters.
"Stan Pines?" Squirrel Girl asked.
"I, uh… I'm sleepwalking." Stan lied. "Also, now, I'm sleep-talking. So you must be the weird girls who think they have superpowers, huh?"
Ms. Marvel stared blankly at Stan. "We do have superpowers."
"Sure. Whatever you say." Stan said rolling his eyes.
"So you're the one destroying pool supplies?" Dipper asked.
"What? No!" Stan answered. "My crime is a lot better than that. I'm gonna get that seat and be ready in the morning when Gideon comes. Then, maybe, I'll destroy some pool supplies. Night's still young."
"As much as I'd like you to get a leg up on Lil' Gideon," Ms. Marvel said, "I'm afraid no unauthorized visitors are allowed in the pool after hours."
"You're here, aren't you?" Stan asked.
"They're with me, Grunkle Stan." Dipper said. "Now, turn around and go back to the Mystery Shack."
"Sheesh. All right. I'm going." Stan said. He started to turn to leave the pool, but then turned back and ran past the guards just as quickly.
"Not so fast, Pines!" Ms. Marvel yelled. She, Dipper, and Squirrel Girl ran away from the fence without knowing that Mabel was also sneaking into the pool driving a golf cart.
After a short chase, Squirrel Girl caught up to Stan and tackled him to the ground. She twisted his arm behind his back hard.
"Ow, ow, ow! Cut it out, will ya?!" Stan shouted.
"Squirrel Girl, ease up." Ms. Marvel said. "He's an old man."
"I know. I wasn't really going to hurt him." Squirrel Girl said. She stood back up and forced Stan to do the same. "Now, you better get going."
"Fine. I will." Stan said walking away.
Dipper, Ms. Marvel, and Squirrel Girl kept watching Stan waiting for him to leave completely. However, they didn't finish as they heard a scuffle coming from where they were a minute earlier.
"Hey, who's there?" Dipper asked pointing his flashlight and following the sound. The girls followed him.
As soon as they returned to the hole in the fence, the three were surprised to see Mabel with the golf cart.
"Mabel?" Dipper asked. "Is there anyone not breaking into the pool tonight? What, is Soos here too?"
As if on cue, Soos was heard climbing over the fence behind everyone. They didn't need to turn to know he was there.
"I'm okay!"
"Go home, Soos." Ms. Marvel said.
"You got it." Soos said before leaving.
"So why are you here, kid?" Squirrel Girl asked.
"Uh… no reason." Mabel said nervously.
Just then, a sound was heard that sounded like someone clearing their throat. It came from the cooler that was placed on the back of the golf cart. Everyone looked suspiciously at it.
"Did that cooler just clear its throat?" Dipper asked.
"Don't be silly." Mabel said with a nervous smile. "There certainly isn't a merman in there, if that's what you're implying. Who said anything about a merman?"
Ms. Marvel raised an eyebrow. "Nobody said anything about a merman."
"Mabel, I don't have time for your games." Dipper said. "If you don't give me those supplies, I'll lose the coolest job ever."
"You're an assistant lifeguard, my dude." Squirrel Girl said. "But yeah, Mabel. You better give that cooler back."
"I understand." Mabel said before quickly pointing away. "Look! A thing!"
"What?" Ms. Marvel asked turning around. Dipper and Squirrel Girl did the same.
While they were distracted, Mabel jumped to the driver's seat of the golf cart and drove off as fast as she could. "SORRY, GUYS!"
"Mabel!" Dipper yelled. "Kamala, do you mind…"
"Don't mind if I do!" Kamala answered. "EMBIGGEN!"
Ms. Marvel grew to great size to be able to step over the fence. She scooped Squirrel Girl and Dipper up and rested them on her shoulders before going after Mabel.
Mabel drove off into town proud of what she was about to accomplish, but her hopes started to simmer when she saw a giant Ms. Marvel running after her. From her shoulder, Dipper yelled out into the megaphone that he had on him.
"Hand over the pool supplies in the name of pool law!"
"Pool law is dumb! And so is your hat!" Mabel shouted back before making a turn towards Gravity Falls Lake.
"Mabel, don't make this any harder!" Ms. Marvel yelled. "Whatever you took can't possibly be worth all this trouble!"
"You have no idea!" Mabel yelled.
After a long chase out of town and through the forest, the lake was finally within sight. Ms. Marvel was starting to get exhausted because of how long she kept up her gigantic size. She made one final attempt to stop Mabel by reaching out to catch her. Unfortunately, just before she could make a clean grab, she collapsed to the ground from exhaustion dropping Squirrel Girl and Dipper from her shoulders. As she fell, she accidentally knocked the golf card off-course and caused it to flip dropping Mabel and the cooler. Ms. Marvel shrank back down to her normal size with very heavy breaths keeping her conscious.
After recovering, Dipper marched over to Mabel, who secured herself over the cooler she took.
"All right! The jig is up! Hand over that cooler!" Dipper demanded.
"Never!" Mabel replied.
"Why not?" Dipper asked. "Why do you even need it?"
After a moment of deep thought, Mabel decided to confess. "I needed the cooler to save my new friend because he needs to go home and he's really nice and we combed each others' hair and he needs to be in the cooler because he breathes water because he's a merman!"
Mabel pushed the cooler open and a person rolled out of it. It was the same kid who Mabel admired the other day, the one with the seashell necklace. The lower part of his body turned out to be a fish body.
"Hola." he greeted.
"Wow. Way to bury the lead, Mabel." Dipper said.
"A merman?" Kamala asked after standing back up with Doreen's help. "You were a merman all along?" The merman nodded his head.
"Dipper, Kamala, Doreen, meet Mermando the merman." Mabel introduced. "He's a merman."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Squirrel Girl asked Mabel.
"Mermando made me promise not to tell anyone." Mabel said. "He thought you'd be weirded out by him."
"Mabel, I got superpowers from a blue mist that came out of a mysterious crystal." Ms. Marvel said. "At this point, nothing seems weird to me anymore."
"Mysterious crystal?" Mermando asked before gasping loudly while clutching his throat. "Water!" He continued to hyperventilate trying to breathe desperately. "Agua! Yo necisito!"
"What's wrong with him?" Squirrel Girl asked.
"He doesn't breathe air!" Mabel explained. "He needs water! Dipper, you're a lifeguard! Give him CPR!"
"You just said he doesn't breathe air!" Dipper reminded.
"Then give him reverse CPR! Doy!"
"That's not a thing!" Ms. Marvel shouted.
Without thinking, Dipper pulled out a water bottle and poured it into his mouth without swallowing it. He then pressed his face onto Mermando's mouth to force the water into it. Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl watched while Mabel took the opportunity to take a picture of Dipper making it look like he was kissing Mermando.
Finally, Mermando gasped able to breathe again. He sat back up and looked over at Dipper. "Thank you for saving me, but why didn't you just roll me into the lake?"
Dipper looked stunned realizing that the lake was a mere three feet away from him. He then smacked himself on the head out of frustration.
"Here, buddy. Allow me." Squirrel Girl said giving Mermando a gentle push into the lake.
Once Mermando was able to swim again, he started to make dolphin noises until he coughed.
"Everything all right, buddy?" Ms. Marvel asked.
"No. I am weak from coughing." Mermando said. "How will I get my family to hear my call from the mighty depths of the ocean?"
"I've got it." Mabel said. She then headed to the nearby ground and picked up Dipper's megaphone. "Problem solved."
"Mabel, those are pool supplies." Dipper said. "I'll get fired."
"Dipper, I think this is more important." Ms. Marvel said. "We're trying to get this guy back to his family."
"But… I…" Dipper said hesitantly.
"Come on, Dipper." Mabel pleaded. "Don't you know what it's like to fall for someone, even though you know in your heart that it'll probably never work out? But you'd do anything for that person?"
Dipper fell silent thinking back at his chances with Wendy. He sighed and let Mabel take the megaphone and give it to Mermando.
"Thank you, Mabel." Mermando said. "Also, Kamala, thank you for speaking up in my defense a second ago."
"Hey, like I said, you needed to go back to your family." Ms. Marvel said.
"Nevertheless, I have decided to provide you with knowledge."
"What kind of knowledge?"
"You said that you got your powers from a mist that came from a crystal, correct?" Mermando asked. "Well, I believe I know where this crystal came from."
Ms. Marvel widened her eyes and she knelt down to listen. "You do? How?"
"Legends of my people tell of an ancient society of beings with special abilities like yourself. Like you, they were all given their powers through a process called Terrigenesis, which comes from exposure to a mist that comes from what is known as a Terrigen crystal."
"That must be what we found the day we found the journal." Dipper said.
"So I'm one of those super beings?" Ms. Marvel asked.
"Well, the proper term is 'Inhuman', but it would seem so." Mermando answered. "It's said that all those who would be Inhumans would carry the potential for powers from their ancestors. Meaning, at some point in your family's ancient history, there exists one of the original Inhumans."
"Whoa." Ms. Marvel expressed.
"So what happened to the Inhumans?" Dipper asked.
"Despite their marvelous gifts, the Inhuman race was seen as outcasts and monsters by normal humans and were driven away." Mermando explained. "Some say they went extinct. Some say they went into hiding. No one knows for sure. But while they may be gone, their Terrigen crystals still remain waiting to transform more potential Inhumans."
"Like me." Ms. Marvel said staring at her hand. "So… I'm an Inhuman. This is… This is big. Thanks, Mermando. We've been at a dead end for half a month trying to figure my powers out."
"Well, Mermando, I guess this is it." Mabel said sadly.
"Not quite. This is!" Mermando said. Suddenly, he climbed up to where Mabel was and pressed his lips onto hers. Everyone stepped back in brief surprise seeing Mabel's first kiss before their eyes. After breaking the kiss, Mermando swam back into the water.
"WOO-HOO! That was my first kiss!" Mabel cheered. "Hey, Dipper, it was also kind of your first kiss too, huh? Huh?"
Dipper shuddered. "Please, don't involve me in this."
"Well, since all that's taken care of," Ms. Marvel said, "How about we head back?"
"Sure." Mabel said. "Oh, wait. One last thing." She ran over to the rocky shores and raised her fist into the air while Mermando leaped over her. "YES! I've always wanted to do that."
Kamala and Doreen waited at the pool just a few hours later. They kept their eyes at the front gate until Dante entered. He turned his head left and right keeping an eye out for any more animals. At the same time, Gideon creeped his head out of a corner to snicker at Dante's direction. He then picked up a wild wolverine which he stroked to calm.
"Now, now, boy. Get ready for a nice treat." Gideon whispered.
"Ready, Doreen?" Kamala asked.
"Born ready." Doreen said. "You just focus on Dante."
Kamala got up from her pool chair and went to approach Dante. Seeing her, Gideon placed the wolverine down aiming him toward Dante.
"This is it. This will make pretty boy so scared of being near Kamala, he'll never want to again." Gideon snickered wickedly. "Now then, my savage lil' friend… Charge!"
He released the wolverine and allowed it to rush forward as fast as it could. However, it didn't last long. Before it could get far, however, it was ambushed by a bunch of squirrels that pinned it down.
"What?" Gideon gasped. "How…" He turned and saw Doreen leaning on the fence with a smug grin on her face. "You! This was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Oh, perish the thought." Doreen said mimicking Gideon's remark earlier. "All right, my fuzzy-tailed friends. Time to commence phase 2."
"Phase 2?" Gideon asked.
All of a sudden, the squirrels got underneath the wolverine and launched it towards Gideon making him fall on his back with the animal on top of him. The wolverine looked down at Gideon and growled.
"Oh, no." Gideon said before running and screaming.
Finally, without any interruption, Kamala and Dante were free to talk.
"So, Dante. Crazy couple of days, huh?" Kamala asked. "Don't worry though. Doreen and I made sure the animal attacks stop."
Dante smiled. "That's good to know. Because there actually is something that I've been meaning to ask you."
"Yes?" Kamala asked more hopeful than ever before.
Dante took a breath and finally gave his question. "Kamala, would you like to go out with me?"
Kamala smiled finally hearing the question she was waiting to answer. "You know what? Yes."
"Great. So… Pick you up at seven tomorrow?" Dante asked.
"It's a date." Kamala said gently grabbing Dante's hand to hold.
From afar, Doreen watched in pride. "Aw. How sweet." She walked along the pool until she came across Stan sitting on his favored chair. "Mr. Pines. You got that chair after all."
"Yep. Wish I could see the look on Gideon's face when he sees that I'm right here." Stan laughed.
"Oh, I have a feeling he's got other things on his mind." Doreen said. She looked outside the fence and laughed seeing the wolverine chase Gideon around the field outside.
"What's so funny?" Stan asked. "Hang on. I'll look for myself." He pushed himself to stand back up, but found himself unable to. It wasn't at all possible for him to separate his body from the chair. "Huh? What's happening?"
Doreen looked closely at the chair and examined it. "Oh. Guess Gideon saw your 'early bird' plan coming and put superglue on the chair."
"WHAT?!" Stan yelled trying to push himself out. "Get the kids! I'm gonna need spatulas!"