After the Shadow Hyde's disappearance, a sort of silence had fallen over the place, broken only by the distant murmurs of the evacuated public and the increasingly close sirens of the police.
Wednesday held the dagger high in her right hand, watching intently in the sunlight how the grayish substance covering it reacted.
Without another word, the Addams took her other hand to a hidden pocket in her jacket and extracted a thin glass cylinder, a small test tube. She pulled the plastic cap off with her teeth and, bringing the dagger closer, proceeded to deposit the remnants of the Shadow Hyde goo into the tube.
"Are you sure it's safe to touch that thing?" a voice asked from behind her.
Wednesday turned with a slight, almost imperceptible curve forming on her lips at the sight of Enid approaching her as she regained her human form. The Addams had to exercise iron control over her own instincts lest she begin to engage in a spectacle of indecent public affection when confronted with the glorious sight of a completely naked Enid Sinclair with her hair disheveled, her skin pearly with sweat, and breasts and abs splattered with the very remains of the defeated foe.
Oh, if only it were blood...
"I guess we can't be sure until we run some tests, mia lupa," Wednesday replied, "But you've got as much or more of that substance covering you and your claws."
"What?", Enid muttered before raising her arms and observing her hands covered in the same grayish goo, "Ugh!", she exclaimed, only to immediately realize her lack of clothes, "OMG! Why do I always forget this now when I return to my human form!!??"
Before she could panic even more, an article of clothing appeared in front of her eyes. Next to the she-wolf, Theo Addams had made an appearance offering his coat.
"Here," said the young man, "Father and Dora have the same problem from time to time. It is as if the nudity taboo takes a few minutes to restart."
Enid took the coat with a nervous and grateful smile, covering herself with it and holding it closed with her hands. It was long enough to cover her down to her knees.
"Thank you... though I think I'm going to get your coat smeared with the remnants of that thing," said Enid.
"Oh, don't worry, that trench coat has been splattered by much nastier stuff," Theo replied, with an uncharacteristically wolfish grin despite not being the twins' lycanthrope.
"I'd better not ask..."
"Hey!" interrupted Dora's voice from the other end of the shattered stage, "If you want more of that little gray crap I think this puddle was the monster's legs."
"Excellent," said Wednesday, pulling out another pair of glass tubes and striding over to where Pandora Addams was squatting watching a steaming pool of grayish ooze as she covered her nose.
Enid and Theo were about to follow her when a call reached their ears, "Enid!"
The Nightshades, with Yoko in the lead, approached the stage, followed closely by the Addams Family. A little further back, some of the other parents and students had again approached the seating area, watching curiously.
Yoko was the first to arrive, embracing the she-wolf without taking any notice of her particular garb and the remains that covered her.
"That was amazing!" the vampire exclaimed, "Are you okay? Did it manage to scratch you? What was that thing??"
"I'm fine Yoko,” said Enid, “And as for what that thing was... well, it looked like..."
"A Hyde," Wednesday interjected, rejoining the group with Dora behind her, "Made of shadows and partially intangible, but the creature's outline was that of a Hyde."
"What's a Hyde?" asked Theo.
"Like Jekyll and Hyde?" added Dora.
Wednesday glanced interestedly at the twins, "I see that the species of outcasts known as Hydes does not exist in your world, or if it does it must answer to another name," explained Wednesday, "They are monsters of great violence, switching between a human form and their monstrous form and are usually under the control of a master."
"That suggests that the creature that took our mother might be in service to someone," Theo noted. Beside him Dora growled, crossing her arms.
"But that wasn't a Hyde, was it?" said Kent.
"What do you mean?" asked Divina. Her twin brother wasn't the sharpest, but like Ajax from time to time he had odd moments of brilliance.
"I mean, I never saw Tyler transformed but from what you guys have told he was flesh and blood and that thing wasn't.”
"Believe me, Tyler was flesh and blood, I know that well," muttered Eugene.
"Whatever it was," said Wednesday, holding up one of the test tubes filled with the gray ooze, "This is the key to finding out."
"Hum," Xavier mused, watching the container closely.
"Do you have anything to say, Xavier?" asked Bianca.
"I'm not sure, but...," the psychic artist lifted his gaze and turned to Wednesday, " May I touch some of that stuff?"
Before the Addams could respond, Enid stepped forward and held out one of her hands still covered in traces of the gray goo before Xavier, "Help yourself."
"Eugh... thanks, I guess," the artist replied, taking a pinch of the substance with his fingers, "Yeah... the color isn't exactly the same, but the feel is very similar... Now, I'm no expert, but I'd swear this is ectoplasm."
"That thing was a ghost?" asked Ajax, startled. The concept of ghosts was something that always alarmed him considerably.
"No," said Wednesday, "I have previous experience with ghosts."
"Many reside in our mansion," intervened Morticia, "And that creature was not a spirit from the Great Beyond."
"But it was an almost intangible entity and composed purely of energy," added Theo, "It makes sense that its meager physical remains would be some kind of ectoplasm. And if their properties are similar..."
Wednesday nodded, instantly understanding what Friday's son was referring to.
"With the proper methods, I think it will serve us well to follow his trail."
Wednesday looked at the twins as she uttered those last words. Theo's face remained calm but his eyes gained a twinkle that wasn't there before. Dora seemed to lose the tension she had been building up the last few minutes and grabbed her brother by the shoulders, starting to shake him, "Oh, oh! So maybe we can find out where he took Mom!"
Wednesday fixed her gaze on Morticia, "Mother, the crystal ball should be with my luggage. Perhaps it would be a good idea for us to alert Grandmama of the situation so she can make preparations as promptly as possible. I would like to begin to resolve this as soon as we are back at the mansion."
"I'll get right on it, Wednesday darling," Morticia replied, "I'll call..."
"Can someone tell me what the hell has happened!?" a voice interrupted.
Barnabas Barker, the principal of Nevermore Academy, was almost running towards the group with a look halfway between anger and panic. He held his hat on his head with one of his hands, taking care not to let it fall off exposing his serpentine gorgon hair and causing an incident of accidental petrification.
"Miss Addams," he began, "Your last day at Nevermore and you still had to leave with a show, I suppose."
"I had nothing to do with this," Wednesday retorted, shooting a steely glare at the principal.
"At least not this time," Enid added, with a grin baring her teeth.
"As unfortunate as this incident is, I believe it does not concern Nevermore, Barnabas," said Morticia, stepping in front of the principal, "My daughter has been the victim of an attack and the assailant has been repelled by her paramour. All subsequent action is solely the concern of the Addams family, and I assure you that we will contribute generously to the repair of property damage and any problems on behalf of the rest of the public."
The smile the Addams matriarch offered Barnabas Barker after her words was cordial, kind, gentle and sharp as a scalpel. It left no room for discussion.
Before Barnabas could reply, Gomez planted himself at his side and draped his arm over the principal's shoulders, as if he were an old friend.
"Barnie, muchacho! What do you say we go back there and deal with the authorities and tell them how everything has been satisfactorily resolved, hmmm?" the Addams patriarch said throwing a wink at his wife. Morticia responded by blowing a kiss with her hand which Gomez pretended to catch in mid-air and drag to his chest as if he had received a bullet wound. Wednesday and Pugsley rolled their eyes, exasperated. Enid disguised a giggle.
Theo and Dora exchanged a look of familiarity. Finally, as Gomez walked away with the principal and Morticia went to pick up the crystal ball to communicate with Grandmama, Dora turned to Wednesday.
"So...we're going to Addams Manor, are we?" she asked, "We're going to...we're going to rescue our mother?"
Wednesday sighed, trying not to let the longing look on the twins' faces affect her too much. It was something she was failing miserably at, though outwardly her expression remained as firm and controlled as ever.
"I dread that one of my worst fears is coming true once again, mia lupa," she said, looking directly at Enid’s eyes.
"Which one?" asked the werewolf.
"I'm going to have to be a hero."
NOTES
The art of a partially transformed Enid in the collage comes from @thatwomanlovingpotatofromtwitter in Tumblr.
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