So life is crazy as I'm switching over jobs. I have more ideas than ever before (including a ridiculously intense obsession with the anime Gundam 00 that makes me incoherent every time I try to talk about it, aha) but haven't really had time to develop anything into a full fic stage lately. Trying to work on that, but I'm guessing it might be a while, unfortunately.

In the meantime, have this! It's short and kinda silly but bibliomatsuri was awesome and gave me the prompt "Maddie and caramel" when I needed a break from typing up my speech syllabi. Set after The Ultimate Enemy. Title from a comment by narwhalsarefalling

all-is-not-lost-at-all also edited a photo on tumblr for this story that is absolutely perfect. The link is on my profile. :D

evil ghost caramel of DOOM

August 23, 2015

"I'm going to be in the kitchen for a while!" Maddie shouted to the house at large as she circumnavigated Jazz's spread out study space covering the coffee table to get through the living room.

"I'll warn Danny to stay away, then," Jazz grumbled under her breath after turning the page. Then, speaking up, she asked, "Making fudge again?"

"Yep!" Maddie replied brightly. "Your father's running a bit low and…" She paused. Turned. "Wait, how did you know?"

Jazz snorted, making her highlighter jump up a line on the page. "Uh, well you don't really make anything else," she said, trying to rub out the florescent orange. It wouldn't budge. "Oh darn it," she hissed.

Maddie stood in the kitchen doorway. "That's not true. I make lots of things, sweetie."

"It's actually mostly fudge and dinner," Jazz countered. "And since it's only two o'clock…" she trailed off, realizing that the next paragraph in the textbook was also important and required all of her mental concentration.

Maddie's forehead scrunched up in thought. "You know, I guess you're right. I haven't made my cookies in a while. Or the pumpkin cheesecake. Or… oh, I can't even remember the last time I made caramel! You know, I used to be famous for my caramel in college. I made a plate for Jack, actually, when we started dating…"

"That's nice, Mom," Jazz said absently.

"You know what? I'm going to make some caramel," Maddie decided.

"As long as it isn't mutant hot dogs, I'm good with it," Jazz sing-songed as she turned another page.

"Well, no one's been eating them…" Maddie lamented. "It would be a waste to make more when we still have some in the fridge..."

"That's because they're mutant. hot. dogs," Jazz pointed out, shaking her head at the obliviousness of their family sometimes.

"Haven't they stopped growling yet?" Maddie asked, opening the refrigerator drawer. The hot dogs all surged for her hand with their little fanged teeth and she promptly kicked the door shut. "Guess not. Well, some nice caramel should be safe."

Fifteen minutes later, her opinion had changed completely.

Jazz wasn't entirely sure how everything her mother touched managed to become at least vaguely sentient, but her family fudge recipe seemed to be about the only constant exception. The one safe product to come out of their kitchen.

The mass of molten caramel, despite Maddie's most forceful efforts with a wooden spoon- and later her hip blaster- sludged up the sides of the pot nearly as soon as the sugar had melted, oozing slowly, but determinedly over the counter top and anything in its way in an effort to get away. Even when it was off the stove-top, it continued steaming and bubbling over itself. Maddie yelped when it started inching its way over her fingers, yanking them back as fast as humanly possible.

As soon as she heard the commotion, Jazz had joined in the fray as well, wielding a broomstick with more skill than she should have possessed. Thankfully, Maddie was more occupied with her burned fingers and containing the caramel sludge to notice her daughter's growing combat skills.

It seemed to speed up every time Maddie shot at it, though, oozing less as the edges started to become brittle and charred and cracking to reveal a glowing green center.

The hastily erected cookbook blockades didn't stop it from slowly pressing itself out through the increasingly melted screen of the open kitchen window.

From there, it disappeared from view, possibly sticking to the side of the house, perhaps fallen into the grass.

For a few long moments, Maddie and Jazz stared at each other, breathing heavily in an unbelieving silence.

Then Maddie snapped out of it and ran for the basement, throwing open the door and shouting, "Honey! Got a problem!"

Jazz cringed and made a speedy exit up the stairs before Jack could emerge with an entire battery of assault weapons. Before finding sanctuary in her room- just in case the caramel goo was still attached to the house when her parents decided to attack it- she knocked on Danny's door. It was closed, but then again, it was usually closed whether he was home or not and she didn't know what his plans had been that afternoon. Or

He told her to come in, though, so she sheepishly stuck her head in and grinned.

His face fell before she even had a chance to begin.

"Uh, hey, little brother! So, yeah, Mom may or may not have created a sentient glob of caramel that escaped out the window and, uh, it may or may not seem to gain power when shot at with ectoplasmic based weapons and, um, Mom may have just gone to get Dad to take care of it. So… I think you may have a new ghost to dealwithtonightsorry!"

(Danny texted Sam and Tucker to give them a head's up that he'd probably need them on patrol that night to track down a culinarily created ghost. He face-palmed when they both responded "sweet")

And now back to speech handouts... *sigh*