Log:What's Best for the Fam

2021/01/26 Phantom|Travis

Evan 1

Travis is secluded in his room, sitting in a beanbag with his legs crossed. He's in a comfortable navy t-shirt, heather gray sweatpants, and socks, reclining a bit with his eyes closed and hands on his knees. It gets noisy in his head. Not just from the Brainwave, but listening to thoughts around him at school. And today Travis found himself getting frustrated enough with some students that he almost mind controlled them to dunk their heads in the toilet and flush. It would be so easy...but...that's the sort of thing that leads to the path his father took. Treating people like puppets. He takes a deep breath in through his nose, and out through his mouth. He can't be like his father. He just...can't.

There is a soft knock on the door to your room. Then a moment later, it comes again.

Travis fails to clear his thoughts. He restrains a sigh, then puts on his usual charming smile. "Come in."

Anna Marie walks through the door at the invitation. The mixed raced ghost girl's expression confused as she walks slowly up to you. "Mistah Travis, you needta go talk to Mistah Evan. He's not talkin right now and just looks all tore up. He won't even get angry when I tug at him, just turns away. It's no fun!"

Travis is surprised it was one of the ghosts knocking. Especially her. Even more surprising are her words. He starts unfolding his legs and stretching them out before him. That doesn't sound at all like Evan. "Alright. I'll go talk to him. Where is he? His room?"

"Yeah, off the fountain room. It's a lot nicer now tha it's Mistah Evan's room. Mastah Damon was no fun." She then brigthens. "We can play hide and seek later, right? When Mister Evan's all better, right? I'll go check my hiding places!" And with that, she runs off through one of the walls leasing to the outside.

Travis smiles at Anna Marie. "Yeah, we'll play later," he confirms as the girl runs off. He rises up and stretches his arms overhead, then relaxes and makes his way to Evan's room.

When you get to Evan's room up the short flight of stairs from the fountain room, you see Evan sitting on the edge of his bed holding a school blazer. There's a half full suitcase on the bed and both of the trunks he uses for storage are open. He's got a blank expression on his face and he seems deep in thought.

Travis pushes aside some of the curtains and enters the space that serves as Evan's room, smiling amicably. "Planning on going on vacation without us?" he teases quietly.

Evan looks over at you blankly for a moment then sighs. "Detective Carpenter of the CBPS came by gymnastics practice today. Along with his 'assistant' Ms. Grimm who's strong with magick...and the CBPD CSI guy, Augustus Weaver. The guy who chasd me and who's name we just figured out this morning? Well, seems they figured out who I was as well."

"With 30 minutes left in practice, Coach Molnar got a call, then cleared the gym and made himself scarce. You know, classic Dean Hardesty tactics to obstruct police investigations."

"Shick. They tracked you down there? I didn't know they were that close," Travis frowns. He steps past the curtains and lets them fall close. "How'd you get away?"

"I didn't, Travis. They had me dead to rights, so, I went with telling them the truth...well, with mostly truth. Detective Carptner led off with wanting to ask me questions about a series of frauds committed on pawh shops. He went straight for the jugular. So, well, I tried to divert all the blame to me." He shook his head. "I don't know how, but I left a fingerprint somewhere. And they know there are others involved. But, I didn't tell them any names or how many." His expression starts to shut down again.

Travis takes a breath and considers things. "Well, they didn't arrest you. If we lay low and maybe hold off on our next scam, we can avoid any trouble. Change our strats up," he says as he walks over and sits beside Evan where there's space.

"I can repeat the convo for you word for work, Travis," Evan says in a soft voice. "But, in the end, Detective Carpenter let me go after looking at my hands." He holds them up and out fingers fanned. "I think, but, I'm not certain, that the fingerprint had a scar on it. Which, well, I don't any more. The scar that is. Cause of my regeneration." He sighs heavily. "But, he knows about me, and suspected about us all but no details. He and Grimm hinted they know were not from this Earth. And, well, they want to have some nup keep an eye on us to keep us on the straight and narrow. I tried to play them off with the Bloodhound and by saying we'd stop the grift. Which, well, we'd decided to already for now." He's rambling a bit.

"Let's...make sure he doesn't figure out you can heal," Travis says for starters. He takes a deep breath. "Shick. How'd they know? I thought the only person who knew was Ms. Steinberg! No. No nups."

"Exactly, no nups for you all. And I've got no idea how they know." He drops the blazer into the suitcase.

"I think I need to move back to the dorms for a while. Until things settle a bit. And to figure out how to deal with the nup he wants to saddle me with. It's the best way to keep you all in the clear," Evan says with a tight smile.

Travis looks surprised by that. "What? The dorms? Hey, if we gotta run, we run together. You're not going out there to risk getting cuffed by some beat cop."

Evan looks over at you. "Detective Carpetner is the one who gets the weird cases in the CBPD. I looked him up more on the way home..." He trails off for a moment then says, "And it's the best way to keep the nups away from you all. I'm not running cause then he'd look for who else is missing from Bayside. So, I play the good boy, deal with the nup keeper, and learn how to work around the nup. In the meantime, you all and I just go on with life. We're not high priority and, well, Detective Carpenter is so strightforward and honest, he like the cops in movies, all actual serve and protect. I don't think it's an act with him."

Travis is still wary of this detective. "Well, could be an act still. I dunno. And Ty plays all our nup roles. Why not have him dream up a nup keeper for you? He already pretends to be our parents."

"I offered up the Bloodhound. I don't think they believed me." He shakes his head. "And Detective Carpenter wants someone to 'guide' us, or rather me. I mean, he thinks I'm gonna let the nup know you all. But, I didn't promise that. And, I don't think the detective has enough to get a conviction with my fingerprints matching. It's all so fluod right now."

He points at the suitcase. "But, in case he is following me somehow, me being at the dorms gets me away from you all. And you all being safe is the important thing, got it?"

Travis sighs and frowns. "I got it. But I don't like splittin' up the fam like this. If this is really gonna be trouble, we can always run again."

"I don't know. This isn't something I'm familiar with. I mean, the cops back on our Earth, well, they're thugs in someone's pockets. Most of them anyways. It seems different here. I mean, when I asked if he was giong to beat info out of me, Detective Carpenter got upset. And not cause of me smarting off. He was actually offended I'd think that way...it's not what I expect from the boys in blue."

Travis looks confused by that. "Like...offended? And it wasn't because there were witnesses to hear you claim that?" He's genuinely puzzled at how bizarre the concept of an honest cop is.

Evan nods. "And so did the other nups like they couldn't believe I'd think such a thing. They thought I was taunting him I think. I mean, I'm getting the heroes here are /actual/ heroes, well, most of them. But security types? I figured they be the same as home maybe just outwardly nicer given all we've seen." He shakes his head. "It's messing with my head a bit, Travis...but, we can still meet up. Tessa can come get me after all or I can sneak out. I don't think it's gonna be a heavy surveillance situation."

Travis sighs as his shoulder slump. "Alright. For now. But we gotta work on figuring out a way to get this cop off our backs in the long term so you can stay here again. Anna Marie's gonna be upset, y'know. So are the rest of us."

The red headed teen bumps his shoulder into yours. "I'm not all grins and giggles over this either, Travis. But, best to err on caution for me for right now. So, you all pretend I'm bad blood at school if anyone asks. And we meet up private, here or at Takaga Mansion." He nods. "And hopefully, whatever nup gets to be my keeper can be worked around."

Travis nods, sighs again, and bumps back. "You think he knows you're Felix?"

Evan shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. So, we can be around each other as CD as much as we like, I think."

Travis still looks unhappy. "I don't like treating you like an outside at school, but...I get it. Got to keep up appearances," he says reluctantly.

Evan nods. "Exactly. I mean, I don't expect you to start bullying me cause that's not what QB does. But, maybe not stand up for me if one of the team talks down about me." He sighs. "I better get finished packing. I snuck in all ghosty and I'll sneak back out the same way."

"You at least going to say bye to the others?" Travis asks as he stands up, pointedly not responding to the part about not sticking up for Evan. He'll abide by his plan for now, but he doesn't have to like it.

"I wanna be an emotional coward and just run, but that's too much like Cateran," Evan says after a long moment. "Yeah, let 'em know to gather for a meeting I guess."

Travis pats Evan's shoulder. "At least you can give them the heads up on how to treat you at school. But it's not like you're going very far. So I get it if you don't say anything to them tonight."

"Yeah, better do it later. Need to pack tonight," murmurs Evan.