(A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this story and I hope you're ready for what I've got in store for you. This story will have more twists and turns than a snake.
The girl in the picture is exactly what my OC looks like, in case you're curious or have no imagination (I drew her myself). I'm not gonna say much other than she's older than she looks. She does have a name, but that won't be until later. I'm saying this now because I don't want you guys asking her name or anything like that. Feel free to guess her name (by all means), but you won't get it right.
If you guys want to come up with some theories about her, go for it, I'm perfectly fine with that. I'll give you a big hint, look at her clothes and her eyes. That's it. That's all I'm gonna give you guys. You'll just have to wait for the rest.)
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It was about an hour after Ben took down a couple of crooks terrorizing a pier as Ripjaws and he, his cousin Gwen, and their grandfather Max were in a nearby town. She had suggested they go to a circus, much to his dismay, but their grandfather was all for it.
They walked around a little and saw a shout man advertising an attraction. Apparently, these were some kind of 'freaks', as he called them.
There were four small stages with sets of curtains for each one. Three of the four curtains opened, while the final one remained closed, hiding whomever or whatever is behind it.
"Step right up and see the fingerless freak of nature, who's strength knows no bounds: Thumbskull!" he announced.
A tall, muscular man with a thumb nail growing out of his head. A small metal pole was over his shoulder, which was bent into an upside down 'U' shape.
The bent pole was then taken by a woman in her twenties with very strange hair. It was like tentacles with orbs at the ends that were similar to the ones on XLR8's feet.
"And presenting Frightwig!" he announced. "When this beauty lets down her hair, no telling what could happen."
Her hair twisted it into a shape that was similar in shape to the yoke on an airplane or helicopter. She placed it on an anvil that was near her.
A man wearing a mask over his mouth walked out of the curtains. He had black strands of hair that were just barely hanging onto his scalp and weird, misshapen and discolored eyes.
"Next, we have Acid Breath!" he announced. "The freak who's unique skill is as vile as his attitude!"
He removed his mask, revealing a mouth of rotting and missing teeth. He breathed out some kind of green vapor that turned the twisted pole and anvil into acid.
Gwen grimaced, "Ew! Gross!"
The final set of curtains finally parted open and a young girl stepped out from the darkness. She had long, unruly jet black hair that covered most of her face. She wore a sweater similar to what the other 'freaks' wore that was much bigger than her body, it was more like a blanket if anything. Her skin was a pale ashen color, similar to the other three, albeit hers was slightly lighter. She was barefoot, unlike the other three, who all wore black shoes.
The most startling thing about her was the purple eye that was visible from underneath her hair. To Ben it looked familiar, but he wasn't sure why.
"And last, but certainly not least, the youngest of the group, who's unique skill is as mysterious as her, presenting Enigma!" he announced for the final time.
She raised a hand and the acid levitated off the stage and ground. She raised her other hand as the acid circled above her. The circling stopped and she spread her arms in a wide gesture as it turned into five perfect spheres. The spheres then began to change shape as she closed her eyes and concentrated on them. They crystallized into elongated shards and they penetrated the wooden floor of the stage when she lowered her hands.
The crowd was utterly amazed by the performance given by the four 'freaks' and clapped in satisfaction. While everyone else enjoyed it, Ben was more jittery than amused by anything so far.
Soon, everyone went inside the Big Top for the main attraction. While they were busy being entertained, the 'freaks' would play.
"It's go time," Acid Breath said. "Let's rob this town blind."
"My favorite part about the job," Thumbskull said, cracking his knuckles.
Thumbskull started smashing in the windows of jewelry and electronic stores. Frightwig used her hair to rip ATMs from the walls of the buildings they were built in to. Acid Breath used his acid to melt cars and steal valuable car parts and items left inside by the owners. Enigma went inside of stores, placing her hands on the cash registers and safes, melting them, and taking the money inside.
Acid Breath, Frightwig, and Thumbskull all got a thrill out of these thefts, but Enigma didn't. This wasn't the life she wanted, but she had to do what they told her to do or there would be consequences.
Ben practically ran out of the Big Top and was clearly shaken up, "There is nothing funny about clowns!"
The sounds of the 'freaks' destroying property as they stole caught his attention. He rushed into town and hid in an alley and watched as Thumbskull broke into a jewelry store and as Acid Breath melted a car and took the radio.
Frightwig tore an ATM off a wall and laughed as money poured out, "It's payday!"
Enigma came out of a store with a handful of money and a gold plated clock. She looked very unhappy as she threw the money in her hand into the pile near Frightwig.
He gasped, "The freaks are felons!" He held up the Omnitrix and started to fiddle with it.
"What did ya find, brat?" Acid Breath asked.
"A thousand dollars and a clock," she replied, her voice was very hoarse and low, as if she was sick.
"That's it?" Frightwig asked, her hands on her hips. "This has to be the poorest town we've ever been to."
"The boss says we'll be going to the big cities soon," Acid Breath said with a voice full of maniacal laughter.
She sighed through her nostrils and went over to their car to grab a bag to put the money inside. She wasn't even sure if there were any more bags left to carry their stolen items or any room for them to get inside of the car for that matter.
Suddenly, they heard the strangest combination of a howl, a growl and a bark. They looked in the direction where it was coming from and saw a strange, orange, dog-like creature with claws. The oddest thing about it was that it didn't have eyes.
Enigma was scared of it, but she thought it vaguely familiar, though she wasn't sure why or from where. She got down and watched as she hid behind the car.
Thumbskull dropped everything he had stolen and backed away, "Good doggie! Down, boy!"
Wildmutt barked and pounced on him, knocking him down. He then jumped onto Acid Breath, knocking him down to the hard ground. Frightwig tried to attack him with her hair, but he caught it and tossed her aside.
He noticed the air around him was suddenly turning white and had a gaseous appearance. The white gas solidified into a transparent dome the color of soapy water that covered his entire head.
The dome prevented him from using his sense of smell to 'see' what or who had caused it. The air inside was wearing thin, any longer inside will cause serious damage to his senses.
He started shaking his head and thrashing around in an attempt to get it off. He hit his head on the walls of buildings, cars, lampposts, and even the sidewalk. It took some time, but he was finally able to shatter it, much to her shock. He took in several deep breaths, thankful to be able to breath again.
He used his strong sense of smell to sonar the area for anything out of the ordinary. He barked when he found something or someone hiding behind a car. He grunted and leaped onto the roof, causing the entire vehicle to shake.
Enigma was shaking as she heard Wildmutt destroying everything around him to the dome off of his head. The dome that she created. It wasn't something she was proud of, but she had to do something to help her fellow 'freaks' with the alien canine.
She jumped when she heard him jump onto the roof of the car and felt the car shake. Drops of a clear, sticky, smelly fluid fell next to her, prompting her to look up. She screamed bloody murder when she saw him and crawled away like a scared little kitten.
He turned around to face the other 'freaks', who were now standing. They looked ready for a fight.
"Hey! That's our car!" Thumbskull shouted.
'Oh, really?' he thought mischievously.
He dug his claws into the metal of the car and ripped the roof open. The money and items they stole poured out of it like a priceless waterfall.
"No mutt's gonna steal my loot!" Acid Breath growled.
He took in a deep breath and acid saliva spewed out of his mouth. Wildmutt jumped off the car just in time, the acid melted what remained of the car's roof and several items instead, the remaining items fell out.
Frightwig attacked him with her prehensile hair again. He caught her wild locks in his maw and spun his head around, throwing her against the side of a nearby car.
The sidewalk around him suddenly turned into liquid concrete, causing him to sink a little into the ground. He sensed that Enigma was nearby and was slowly clenching her fist closed. He remembered what happened earlier and knew that he had to get out of there.
He felt the wet cement around his limbs harden. He struggled against it as it began to solidify and his claws dug into it. The drying cement started to crack, they were hairline cracks, but it was more than enough for him to jump out of there. He turned his head in her direction and she gasped in shock and fear.
She raised her hand again and a medium blue energy illuminated the outline of her hand. Small pieces of the now-dry concrete suddenly hovered behind him with the same blue energy surrounding them. She clenched her fist and the pieces turned into arrowhead shapes. She pulled her fist back towards her waist and they shot down on him at a downward diagonal angle.
He quickly turned around and swatted them away like flies, they shattered into dust upon impact. He then turned his attention to her and jumped her, knocking her to the ground.
Acid Breath looked at Thumbskull and gave him an order, "Don't just stand there like a sore thumb! Get the boss!" He ran back to the circus to do just that.
Enigma's entire body went cold when he said that. She was scared to death of Zombozo, their boss, so much so that there were times where she was certain that just looking at him would give her a heart attack.
He came back rather quickly and Zombozo appeared before them in a cloud of confetti. A wide, twisted grin was on his face as he stared at Wildmutt.
"I hear you're full of tricks. Let's see if you know how to play dead," he said, his voice low and thick with bloodthirst.
He kicked him in the face, sending him into the wooden legs of a nearby radio tower. To the surprise of all them, instead of fighting back, he whimpered like a scared puppy and cowered behind the support beams.
"This isn't a mad dog! It's a scaredy cat!" he shouted.
Thumbskull scratched his head, Frightwig looked angry and had her hands on her hips, Acid Breath looked at the ground in embarrassment, and Enigma hid her face with her long sleeves. He looked beyond upset with them for interrupting his 'meal'.
"Don't just stand there! Get him!" he demanded.
Frightwig used her hair to pull at the beams, Acid Breath used his corrosive saliva to melt them and thus make the radio tower even harder to support, Thumbskull started punching at them, and Enigma raised her hands and the remaining beams turned into acid. It came down like a dead tree and Wildmutt was nowhere to be seen.
"Dog gone," Thumbskull said, laughing like an idiot.
"Come on! We've got bigger laughs to get!" Zombozo said and disappeared in a cloud of smoke and confetti.
"You heard him, let's go!" Acid Breath ordered.
He, Thumbskull, and Frightwig ran back to the circus to pack up, but Enigma stayed behind to look at the rubble. She hoped that Wildmutt was able to get away in time.
Frightwig saw that she wasn't following them and roughly grabbed her wrist, "Let's go, brat!" She dragged her back to the circus as she continued to stare at the destroyed building.
They were too far away to hear the Omnitrix by the time it began to time out. There was a red flash of light underneath the wooden rubble. Ben crawled out from underneath the boards and collapsed to the ground with a tired grunt.
The four of them packed up the circus while their boss 'fed' himself with his invention. This wasn't their first rodeo and packing the circus was a quick and easy process for them having done it a million times.
Once that was all packed, they began to put all the items they stole into crates. It was also something they had done a million times.
Now, they only had one thing left to do before they hit the road again. They had to pack a 'snack' for Zombozo.
They gathered together some people that were still laughing from the show. Among them was a young girl with carrot-colored hair and vivid malachite green eyes that Enigma remembered seeing the crowd standing next to a brown haired boy.
Once everything was loaded into large trucks they got inside of them and left. Frightwig, Acid Breath, and Enigma were all in one truck, while Thumbskull and Zombozo were behind them in another.
The trip was long, silent, and seemed to be going on forever. Normally, Enigma would be suffering from boredom due to these long trips, but on this one she was suffering from guilt.
She felt that way because she was worried about the canine creature that attacked them. She wondered if he was able to make it out from underneath the rubble with his life.
He was able to jump out of concrete, but then again it wasn't yet completely dry when he escaped. Also, that much wood and the pressure due to the impact made it unlikely that he would make it out unharmed.
She stared out the window and looked down the cliff below the road they drove on. It was so dark down there it was like an abyss, an abyss that seemed to have her trapped in some kind of trance.
She snapped out of it when someone pulled on her elbow. She saw that Frightwig and Acid Breath were already out of the truck and she was trying to pull her out.
"Come on, brat," she said.
She got out and the three of them started to unload their cargo. Thumbskull and Zombozo pulled up a short time later.
Their boss stepped out and gave them an order, "Take the people to the Big Top and finish unloading the cargo." Thumbskull nodded and got started on the people, while the three of them finished unloading.
Before long, everyone and everything was out of both trucks. It was exhausting, but the other 'freaks' always told Enigma that it would all be worth it.
Sometime later, while moving some crates, the four of them heard something. It sounded like someone kicking or stepping on an aluminum can.
"Looks like we got someone who wants to see the show without buying a ticket," Frightwig said, pulling off Acid Breath's mask.
They looked at the crates in the direction where they thought the noise was coming from. Thumbskull started smashing them, Frightwig did a cartwheel and a twirl whilst in mid-air and shredded the wood with orbs in her hair, Acid Breath spewed his deadly saliva, and finally Enigma used her powers to turn the remaining wood into sharp points and stabbed the ground.
She was surprised to see nothing there, even with Acid Breath's acid there was usually something left. 'Why isn't there anything there?' she mentally questioned.
Suddenly, they heard a sound similar to the one they heard earlier, just before the canine creature appeared. They turned and saw a baseball launcher they stole at their last heist with some bizarre upgrades. It was black and white with green markings and spider legs.
"I don't know what you are, but I'm gonna tear you apart!" Thumbskull said.
"You wanna play hardball?" it asked, its voice sounded like the voice of a young boy. "Game on!"
He charged it and it fired several baseballs at him from its arsenal. He fell to the ground and went unconscious.
It started firing at Frightwig, but she was able to dodge them elegantly. It then shot one at her ankle, which caused her to roll her foot and get wrapped up in her own hair.
Acid Breath jumped on top of a crate like a wild cat and his corrosive saliva spewed out of his mouth like a fire hose. It was able to dodge by backing up.
"Didn't your Mom ever tell you to say it, not spray it!" it retorted.
"Who do you think taught me in the first place?" he shot.
He opened his mouth again, but it fired another ball into his mouth, preventing him from spitting out his acid. It fired more at him, knocking him off the crate and onto the ground.
"Strike three!" it shouted confidently.
It looked around for anyone else, but couldn't find anybody. That was because Enigma made the quick decision to lie and wait behind a crate.
She was about to come out, but then a black and white blob-like humanoid creature with green markings separated from the ball machine. Instead of fighting it like her fellow 'freaks', she decided to follow it.
It was about to walk into the Big Top and started talking to itself nervously, "Okay, you can do this. He's just a guy with a red rubber nose and big shoes. Nothing Upgrade can't handle!"
A beeping sound, almost like a timer, could be heard and there was a sudden red light. She covered her eyes and when she looked again, Upgrade was gone and the brown haired boy she saw next to the girl with the carrot-colored hair.
"Who's side are you on, anyway?!" he snapped at his... watch? She wasn't sure why he was yelling at his watch, but she had a feeling it had something to do with Upgrade and the canine creature.
She watched as he walked into the darkness of the large tent. She contemplated following him inside, but she had to figure that Zombozo might be waiting for him. He always seems to be ready for everything.
This presumption was confirmed when she heard the boy scream bloody murder and Zombozo laughing. His creepy laugh that would make anyone scream until they eventually die from fear. She often wondered how it seemed to make more people laugh than scream because it scared her out of her skin, but then again she was scared of him period.
Someone who's that scared of someone or something can't survive that kind of fear or stress for very long; nobody could laugh that long either. She could faintly hear the weak laughs of a young girl, but she couldn't hear any of the other people they brought with them for his 'snack'.
She knew she had to do something - she just had to - but if they found out she went in there, what would they do to her? Just thinking about what could happen gave her a stomach ache. With a moment's hesitation, she went inside the tent.
She walked through the darkness for what seemed like an eternity, then she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. She saw the boy trembling on the ground with his head covered and Zombozo hooked up to his machine, the Psyclown. She saw the girl from the circus unconscious in a corner, her laughing had long since ceased.
She used the darkness and objects in the room to her advantage as she stayed on the down low. She crouched down behind a couple of boxes as the boy suddenly stood up and started fiddling with his watch.
"Oh, you're funny, but I'm gonna get the last laugh!" he declared and hit his watch.
He was suddenly engulfed in a green light and another creature took his place. It was a white ghost-like being with black markings and a slight gaseous appearance and a single purple eye. Peeking out from underneath his skin was some kind of black and white hourglass shape. For some reason, she almost felt some kind of connection to him.
"Nice try, kid," Zombozo said, crossing his arms. "I sell the tricks, I don't buy them."
"I just figured out that there's something I'm even more afraid of than you," he spoke in a faint, whispery voice that was vaguely familiar to her somehow.
He punched him in the face, knocking his top hat off his head and wrapping him up in the cord of the Psyclown; it brought a small smile to her face. He untangled himself with an angry look on his face. He looked around for him, but he was gone.
"Losing my family to some goofball emotional vampire. In other words…" he reappeared and punched him in the nose before disappearing again, causing her to cover her mouth to prevent laughter from slipping out, "...you're going down, clown."
He looks around for him, but can't see him since he's invisible. Suddenly, a plank of wood smacks him in the face and sends him into his machine. The destruction to the machine caused light blue souls to rush out of it, they were the happiness of his victims.
"I'm warning you to back off!" he said in a shaky voice.
"You want to see something really scary?" he asked and pulled open his skin, revealing black and white striped tentacles.
He screamed at the top of his lungs and disconnected himself from his machine. He backed away like a scared little mouse, making her smile even wider.
"Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of old Ghostfreak?" he asked mockingly as he got closer to him.
"Please, no more!" Zombozo pleaded while trembling. It was quite a hilarious sight in her eyes.
He held out his hands as if they were claws, "Boo!" His face suddenly inflated and exploded into confetti. "Oh, that kind of even freaked me out."
The symbol peeking out suddenly flashed red and Ghostfreak was replaced with the boy from earlier. He went over the girl lying on the floor and Enigma left. She wasn't sure what was in store for her, but she had a feeling things were about to get interesting in the future.
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(A/N: Just so you know, this next part is not part of the actual chapter, but there is a reason why I'm adding it. I'm not really going to say why.)
Name: Unknown
Species: Unknown
Home World: Unknown
Residence: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Affiliations: Circus Freaks, Zombozo (formerly)
Occupation(s): Circus Performer, Thief
Alias: Enigma
Relatives: Unknown
Abilities: Matter Manipulation, Telekinesis, Quick Thinking, Stealth
Equipment: None
Appearance: She's a pale, young girl with jet black hair and purple eyes. She wears a black sweater with black and white striped sleeves that usually cover her hands. She does not wear shoes.
Personality: She's very timid and quiet. She's afraid of her fellow 'freaks' and former boss, Zombozo.
Powers and Abilities:
She can manipulate multiple states of matter and change them into another (ex. turning solids into liquid or gases into solid.)
She also possesses telekinetic powers that allow her to levitate different objects and materials. As seen with the broken concrete and wood, she can also shape them to make them more lethal.
Weaknesses:
Her main weakness is that she's afraid of the other Circus Freaks and Zombozo.
As demonstrated with Wildmutt, any solids she creates are shown to not be very durable.
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(A/N: So, what do you think so far? Is it good? Is it bad? I would really like to hear some feedback, even the smallest amount.
I'm sorry that it's not 100% accurate to the episode "Last Laugh", but I think I did a good job nevertheless. I know they don't have to be exact, but I can at least try. Right?
I'm working on the next chapter of "Against All Odds" (which is apparently my most popular story according to the high number of views it gets), but I'm gonna take my time with it. I think I'm gonna start a chapter for another story and give "Odds" a break for a little while.)