Mutated Ectoplasm

5. Mystery Meat

Invisibility.

Intangibility.

Ghost sense.

Increased strength.

And flight.

These were the powers that Karkat had at his disposal, and he had some mixed feelings about it.

Looking out the window of the bus, the teen couldn't help but sigh as he thought over the weekend he and his friends had had.

They figured that (after getting their homework done) that they should spend the weekend determining just what he could or couldn't do. Even if it didn't explain exactly what happened, it would help make them understand what exactly they should expect. They even did it in the park the town was named after to make sure they had plenty of space to work with.

Several facts were noted down during their experiments.

1. He could fly on command and most, if not all, detrimental effects involved were clocked down to zero. While the same couldn't be said for any passengers, he could easily reach speeds of 60-75 miles per hour. He didn't try to go any faster due to lack of time, but the fact he could reach those speeds was staggering.

2. The "ghost sense" that he had tested with his friends was not something they could physically trigger. As long as a ghost or ghostly entity was in the area, it would activate and help him track it by coming out as smoke. They only figured out it was a regular power after it went off when another ectopus tried to step out of the portal (which was promptly closed before it could get out).

3. He wasn't too much stronger than before, definitely not able to lift double his weight. It was about 50 pounds more than he could normally, which they all suspected could increase if he worked out enough.

4. All of the powers mentioned above can be used in either form, but his human form limited their effectiveness.

It was a good list for now, if he could say so himself. Of course, he had other questions as to what he could do, but some of them were not exactly things he was willing to try just yet. Phasing other objects through walls, making other objects go invisible, possession...

Karkat shivered involuntarily. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know if he could do that last one. He was fine piloting his own fucking meatsuit, thank you very much.

God, this was complicated. At least they had some answers right now.

Speaking of 'they,' Karkat felt the seat shift as Sollux plopped down beside him, mumbling a tired greeting as Aradia moved into the seat in front of them energetically. At least today was starting out pretty normal.

"Alright, my sweet boys!" Aradia had already turned around to look at them, a manic gleam in her eye. "I know these past few days have been stressful and all, but I think it's about time to get back to some of our regular shenanigans."

"I don't remember the goth kids pulling any shit since Thursday." Sollux shifted in his seat to look at her in the eye. "Or are we focusing on a new target?"

"Neither. I just really feel like we need to do something mischievous this week, otherwise we'll all have mental breakdowns before Wednesday." The teen grabbed something out of her backpack, palming several pink spheres in her hand. "I heard some football players were getting high and mighty and hurt some kids in the chess club. Real 'teen movie' type stuff. I was thinking adding some color to their wardrobe would set them straight."

"These things won't make too loud a noise, right?" Karkat grabbed one carefully, looking it over. "Just to know whether or not we should run as fast as possible when we put them in- where do you want us to put them?"