Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

FRI(END)S
V

Power Trip
J.Cole

How Deep Is Your Love?
Bee Gees

I'm That Chick
Mariah Carey

Someone To Call My Lover
Janet Jackson

Trouble 
Frank Ocean

There Goes My Baby
D4vd

Cariño
The Marías

Burning Blue
Mariah the Scientist 

Latch
Disclosure, Sam Smith

Savior
Sombr

Don't Look Back
From Rick and Morty

Mi Meta Contigo
Los Sebatianes 

Let Me Love You
Mario

She Will Be Loved
Maroon 5

Real Man
Beabadoobee

Good Intentions
Disclosure, Miguel

All I Want Is You
Miguel Ft. J.Cole

Quiero
Walter Esaú, Las Nieves De Enero

Ojitos Soñados
Ramona

Make It Right
BTS, Lauv

My Universe
BTS, Coldplay

XO
Beyoncé

Chapter Text

Looking up as Lunella steps foot into school she left when she was thirteen, Lunella never thought to think that a lot has changed ever since she left the L.E.S for SHIELD.

And I mean a LOT.

(My precious!) "Mi precioso!" Casey and Lunella lock eyes; they tried SO HARD to resist the tears, but they couldn't help it. Lunella chased her down to giver a big hug.

"LUNELLA!! Oh, my girl is BACK!" She squeal's. "And back for good I hope?!" 

"Oh, you know it!" Lunella chuckles, giving her a nudge to the arm. Two years without her but video calls was HELL, even for Devil.

"And you have missed SO much, let me tell you! Your fam and my dads are basically besties now & my page has been SOARING with the G.W.W! Oh! And Me and Devil have a LOT of lost time to make up for! We're settled for our girls weekend, right?!"

"Girl, you know we are!" The girls are ecstatic exchanging their handshake, Lunella then ends it off by kick opening her locker. "Now that my hours of M.G has cut short, I think I'm up for anything!"

"And last but not least! - the L.E.S has missed you so much that they've formed a fan club for you! AND I DIDN'T EVEN MANAGE IT!" She squeal's again, now shoving her phone to my face.

"FOR REAL?!" Lunella squealed back. Shewas so excited about it she grabbed her phone to take a look. 

"It's a whole app!! It's like Instagram, Twitter, all in one! But it's a WHOLE app dedicated to you and Devil! 'M.G.D!' Honey!" Casey explains, snapping her fingers in a sassy manner. 

"'M.G.D???'" In its own column there were videos and posts of each citizen dedicated to MoonGirl and how much they miss her. Some girl is even making plushies of devil and once a month they host a M.G.D day, making a whole day of it where all they can talk about -  is her.

Lunella couldn't believe it, she didn't know doing just this much - protecting the L.E.S would leave an impact on how much she could have affect on people.

Her home.

She couldn't hold it in anymore, Lunella chokes up whilst she wipes her tears away. 

"Awe, Lu..!" Casey sighs.

She kept scrolling and clicking each tab on the website trying to find some answers. "Who started all of this anyway???"

"Take a wild guess~~!" She whispers, she turns Lunella's cheek & her eyes immediately lock on Eduardo at his locker.

"You're kidding..." She said monotonously, Lunella couldn't take her seriously when she nods with that smug face of hers.  I mean – Eduardo..?

EDUARDO?!

"Since WHEN was he able to know how to program apps?! I need answers!" I'm panicking - why am I panicking?! And over THIS?!

"Well he- kind of asked me if I knew any if that junk too! And one thing led to another... I suggested he'd go to Mimi for that! Heh-" Casey shrugs. "Did I forget to say he's been hanging out with her a lot lately since then, too~?" She adds frantically. 

"WHAT?!"

"Oh, give him a break! He has actually gotten more mature ever since you left! .. Really!"

"Really...???" Lunella couldn't believe her eyes - watching him walk to class in that blue sweater instead of that hoodie he always had. Is Edwierdo really no longer part of him anymore??

"Really!!" Casey chirps, she shakes her head then sighs,  "Damn, he is so down bad for you... er- for MoonGirl, I mean!" She makes that smug face again, continuing to tease Lunella. Lunella gives her a cringe look showing that she doesn't miss that teasing at all.

"Caseyyyy!!!" Lunella growls. As a response Casey shrugs without a care. They were then suddenly interrupted when principal Nelson comes by.

"Miss Lafayette.." 

"Oh- Principal Nelson!" Lunella exclaims. "Good to be back! Heh!"

"Young lady, where do you think you're going?"

Huh..??? Both of the girls at each other confused & back to him with the same expression.

"Uh... Going to class? ... Going to Physics? Heh!" She chuckled, trying to break out the tension. 

Principal Nelsol chuckles back, shaking his finger to her face "Oh no sweetheart –Physics is for tenth graders, you will be going to Chemistry!" 

"Butttt Chemistry is for eighth graders! And I'm in tenth! Sooo I should get going!" Lunella quickly grabs Casey's hand & try to get to Physics but Principal Nelson stopped their tracks. At that moment Lunellq couldn't believe that he was trying to ruin her attendance record.

"I don't think you're starting to understand so let me break it down for you! Fun fact: YOU have never attended eighth & ninth grade, so YOU aren't a tenth grader!" He gasps sarcastically, cupping his cheeks.

WHAT?! The girls were in shock, Lunella couldn't understand what was happening once Principal Nelson pulls Casey away from her, Casey tried to fight it but he leads Lunella with him to Chemistry. 

Now she has a reason to panic –

"NO! I can't be held back!! P-P-Principal Nelson please be reasonable! I - I was-!"

Lunella tried to reason with him- until she stumbled upon her words when she finally realized why...

*REMEMBER YOUR LIEEE!!!*

"I - I was at CalTech for crying out loud! They needed me! I couldn't pass that up!!"  She frantically explained. 

SHIELD needed me... I couldn't pass up that opportunity!

"Your education needed you! CalTech was YEARS away waiting for you..." He explained.

"B- but- but...-" They were finally at the door to Chemistry class.

This CANNOT be real...

"Should've thought about that before thinking you could do anything you want..." The bell rings, he then opens the door for Lunella to get to class. 

"Have a good day, Miss Lafayette..."

Today cannot be real...

Finally- lunch was here... Not even the first week and today was already going down to the tubes. Lunella couldn't even talk to Casey, matter of fact, or even anyone. all she wanted to do was tune out and eat her lunch, muttering to her music in anger while she eats as she pleases.

 Eduardo looks up from his phone & feels concerned for Lunella to why she was stabbing her food. Casey was too. But Lunella continued to ignore them, she didn't care- all of their voices are heard into white noise over Kendrick Lamar blasting in her ears. 

"Yo, what's up with Lu...??" Eduardo asks Casey.

"Lu..." Casey tries to get Lunella's attention by shaking her shoulder but she couldn't even pay attention while muttering over to Kendricks lyrics  & stabbing her pasta.

"Step on p- principal Nelson's & get blood on your Nike checks..." Lunella mutters angrily.

"Damn, Girl!" Eduardo exclaims in shock.

Casey couldn't hear the end of it anymore and took out the left speaker from her ear. "LUNELLA!" 

"What?!" Kendrick was still blasting when she took her headphones off.

"Eduardo's asking whats wrong!" She smiles sympathetically, signaling her to Eduardo.

She wanted to tell them all about it, but Lunella couldn't even look at them in the eye. 

"Just because I... spent my time at CalTech, I've been held back to eighth grade.."

The other two couldn't believe what they were hearing, gasping in unison.

"Deadass?!" Eduardo exclaims.

"FOR REAL?!" Casey adds.

"Yep..."

"Oh no- Lu! There's gotta be something we could do–"

Lunella was getting irritated, she takes out her anger by slamming her hands on the table. "There's nothing we CAN do!!" She interrupts. "For crying out loud- I- I'm the smartest kid in school! I tried to reason with him but it's been finalized!... It's over..." 

She sighed & pulled her headphones back on, she was sooo over it, and even wondering how she could explain this to her family.

"Lu!" Eduardo tries to get her attention but he couldn't. He gives it another shot by flicking a blueberry at her from his spoon like a slingshot... "LUNELLY!"

"WHAT?!" She shouts. 

"You know there are other ways you can negotiate with him!" Eduardo suggests, raising his eyebrows cockily.

"Likeee...???" 

He raises a brow with a smug face. "Likeeee- psh- I don't know... Somethin' with Physicsss... Model rocketsss... the tenth grade Altitude contest..."

Lunella is still not getting it, but Casey suddenly gasps, bursting from excitement. "LIGHTBULB! MAKE A BET WITH HIM!! If your rocket wins the altitude contest–!"

She finally gets it now - "I COULD FINISH EIGTGH AND NINTH GRADE AND BE A SOPHOMORE AGAIN!" Lunella gasps. 

"But– but it's only for Physics students though... And tenth graders.."

"Um- Hello? I'm in Physics class!" Eduardo adds. "And HELLO~?! In tenth grade~!"

Lunella gasp in excitement, standing up from her seat. "EDUARDO, YOU GENIUS!" She exclaimes. "I'M GOING OVER TO PRINCIPAL NELSON RIGHT NOW! I'll come back soon with the deets!”

•••

Principal Nelson was trying to think straight, repeating what he just had heard from Lunella in his head. "So you're telling me - that winning an altitude rocket contest is worth more than finishing two extra years of school..??"

"Well... Yes!!" Lunella chirps, nodding proudly.

"Lunella Latifa Lafayette, how could this in ANYWAY be beneficial for the both of us?! The school... Your education—"

"Education-Shmation! Blah-blah! - Actually - perfect timing bringing that up by the way! Because you see - you are familiar with the PSAT'S and SAT'S, correct?"

Principal Nelson is intrigued, but he's not falling into her tricks just yet. "Correct..."

"And how low would you say the chances are of anyone in this school getting the perfect score?!" Lunella asks.

"I don't see how—" Before he could ask Lunella how this could affect her, Principal Nelson finally understood where she was going with this, but Lunella is still waiting for him to answer her question. "N- it has never happened before actually..." 

"NOT until me! Not to brag- but as the smartest girl and student here you'd be CRAZY to hold a student back like me!" 

At this point Lunella was losing his attention. "Get to the point, Lafayette."

"I can make you look good~!" She cockily continues. "And matter of fact- the whole school! Colleges would want me in a snap! The PSAT-SAT'S are just the beginning! But firstly- I CHALLENGE YOU!"

"Challenge me...?"

"Let me partner up with Eduardo for the physics altitude rocket contest! And if I win you'll allow me to enroll back into tenth grade!" 

"And if you lose?" 

Lunella snorts and lets out a giggle. "Brother, please! With my black girl magic–?! I-" She looks back up at Principal Nelson and can see he's not playing games. He is so serious about this. She fixes up her posture to finish what she started. "I'll finish eighth and ninth grade like you said!"

Principal Nelson stares down at Lunella who is ready to shake his hand. He was thinking long and hard about this bet.

"I hope you know what you're risking, Lafayette.."

"Oh, I have never been so sure about anything!" Lunella confidently sneers back.

Principal Nelson finally gives in and firmly shakes her hand. "Deal!" 

And I hope YOU KNOW what you're risking, Principal Nelson!

•••

"Ya hear that? I'm a genius~" Eduardo says cockily to Casey as he runs his fingers through his hair.

As she has her folded hands rested on her chin, Casey gives him a not-so-impressed look. "Mhm-yeah - you're not fooling me, hon!" 

"W-what? I don't-" Eduardo clears his throat & pretends to act confused, since he can't hide into his hoodie no more he tries to hide in his sweater. "Psshh-  oh, c'mon! I don't know... What you're talking about!"

"Ugh- you, c'mon! Casey tsked. "You and I BOTH know what you're trying to do here!"

"Damn! Okay, and?! I haven't seen Lunella in two years! Let me have this!" 

"And in those two years you have been working with her fam at her rink!" Casey points out. "Have you even told her that yet?"

"I'm sure she already knows by now...! Trust me, I'm so over her!" He scoffs cooly. "You know I'm moving on!"

Casey gives Eduardo a unsatisfied look, she raised a brow & there was a moment of silence for a brief moment. "Boy, be so deadass – when I stumbled upon your MoonGirl-Lunella love triangle fics, you know that I know that that is not true..." 

"I told you to never utter a word of that ever again!" Eduardo whispered frantically, his ears were now noticeably turning red out of embarrassment.

"At least I have blackmail on you now~!" Casey proudly adds. "But seriously! You have got to be real about this! Like me, you're basically a part of Lunella's life at this point! Are you sure you know what you're doing? You have moved on, right??" 

"I..." Eduardo sighs, scrolling on M.G.D he stops to stare at a picture of MoonGirl. For the amount of times he has spent with her family at the rink it has definitely increased his feelings with Lunella, but with MoonGirl on the other hand that has definitely decreased along with it. Kind of. It was a childish crush back then anyway.

"I don't know..."

Eduardo hears squeals coming from Lunella, he quickly turns off his phone & puts it away as soon as she comes over tapping drum rolls on the table.

"THE. DEAL. IS AWN BABY!!" Lunella squeals to Casey. "We have until the 28th to build our rocket for the altitude contest! But that's gonna take up all of our weekends this month though!" She pouts.

"Don't worry about it, girl! Weeknights can be our night!" Casey assures.

Lunella then sits backwards next to Eduardo, she was so excited that she wanted to hug him. "Thanks to you Eduardo, my life is FINALLY gonna be back on track!" Lunella squeals. "My place after school?!"

"Huh? Oh! Um- yep! Y'know it!" Eduardo's pink cheeks were now turning red. Saved by the bell Lunella gives him a fist bump as they head out to class.

"See you at five! Bread n' butter back in action, baby!!" Lunella chuckles.

•••

After school hours Eduardo & Lunella are now at her place getting started on the project. As they chill in her room Lunella's on her bed writing out blueprints while Eduardo on the other hand is on the floor & coloring rocket designs.

Never in her life Lunella thought she would be in this slump of science-block. If Principal Nelson wouldn't have held me back, I would've known what I'm doing! Lunella groans & pokes her temple out of frustration with her pen and crumbles up her third blueprint rocket test.

She hasn't done rockets since she was nine, how could she have lost her groove just like that? 

She thinks about her time back at S.H.I.E.L.D, her time with the Avengers and all the talks she had with Miles.

"Forget what the Hulk is telling you, Lu-Girl! You're doing better than me when I was your age. All he got is brawn's and what we have is brains. You can put that mind of yours into anything if you just find your rhythm."

Her phone dings and it's a text from Casey - a picture of her & Devil, and it looks like they're having fun catching up.

𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐘 👯‍♀️: 

Come down when you can !!! )^o^(  

Devil is waiting for hugs <3 !!  ~ 

I wonder how Casey & Devil are doing down at the lab...

And currently down in the lab, Lunella's dad was just supposed to only drop off snacks but ended up in a karaoke duet with Casey; and he is screeching on what's supposed to be high notes to We Belong Together by Mariah Carey.

"IT'S STILL SO HARD TO BELIEVEEE!! COME BACK, BABY PLEASE CAUSE - WE BELONG TOGETHERRRRRR~!!!" 

"Mm-hm, sing it, James! I hear you!" Casey says as she sways her feet with Devil.

"Shush, girl! I'm in the zone!!" James shoots back. 

LU 💜: 

  I can hear Mariah Carey through the floors

 >:( !!! KEEP IT DOWN! 

Lunella groans and clicks on her pen repeatedly, instead of starting on her fourth attempt she checks up on Eduardo, staring down at his sketches. "At least you're cooking up some ideas."

"Huh? Oh Yeah, girl - check this out! At first I thought of a minion rocket, but why not Bullet Bill?" He was very excited to show her what else he came up with.

"Whattt??" Lunella giggles and continues to brows around his other ideas. "You know what, I kinda dig Bullet Bill! How bout we get started on our first experiment tomorrow–?"

Eduardo & Lunella were suddenly interrupted once they heard soft knocks coming from the door. "Lunella~~" It was Adria. 

"Y'all doing alright in here?" She asks whilst leaning against the door.

"Mommmm, we're fineee!! Go! Please!" Lunella replies back.

"Okay, baby! I'm going~!" Before Adria left she forgot what she even came to her room for. "Oh! By the way Eduardo, I'm laying you off with your shifts this month since y'all got that project, I hope that's alright!" 

"Sweet! Thanks!" Eduardo smiles.

Lunella was confused. Since when? "Since when do you work at my rink??"

"Since- for two years now??" Eduardo chuckles nervously whilst scratching his neck. "D-did they not - tell you..?"

"They've told me what I missed but it looks like they missed that." She rolled her eyes away from him & wanted to change the subject, she looks at her laptop screen and sees a tab open for M.G.D.

"So — 'M.G.D,' huh?" Lunella grins.

"Oh, c'mon- that's nothin'!" Eduardo's cheeks were light pink as he chuckled.

"Oh, you c'mon! How'd you whip that up?!" She teased.

"You know how!" Eduardo laughs. "Forget it- it's stupid.."

"It's not stupid! I think it's cool how you and Mimi even managed to do that! Would've taken longer if you went to Coach Hbrek!" Lunella jokes.

"Exactly!" Eduardo & Lunella then laugh at the same time, once they've caught their breath they couldn't find anything else to talk about.

"So — do you just wanna get started on modeling–?" Eduardo starts to break the silence, but then Lunella's MoonGirl Hotline rings. 

Lunella quickly turns her ringer off before he could hear the full ringtone & heads to the door. "Sure - totally! W-why don't you get started on that? I'm gonna head out for a bit!" 

"Oh- do you want me to head out or–?"

Before she left she closes the door on herself halfway open. "I'll be quick, I promise!" Lunella says frantically before she shuts her door. 

Before Lunella could call Casey, she notices her mom standing her - standing by her with a glass in hand. "Mom... Were you snooping?" Lunella sneered.

"Noooo...???" Adria replied slowly.

"Ugh- Mom!"

"What? This?!" She asks whilst pointing at her glass. "I- I was about to get a drink and then you-"

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever!" Lunella ignores her mom's horrible attempt to lie once she dials Casey. "Casey! What is it?"

"There's been a robbery on Yancy street!"Casey shouts.

"Dang, this street can't give this girl a break! Ugh, never mind, I'm on it!" She then grabs her backpack & rushes to the door.

"Don't be out too late!" Adria shouts.

"I know the drill!"

Chapter Text

It was Lunella's third hour of night patrol on Yancy street with Devil after the bank robbery, and hopefully it could be her last. "YOU AGAIN?!We've REALLY gotta stop running into each other like this!" She has successfully program to hack herself into the tv that the two guys were about to slide in the truck with the other stolen tech, the same two guys she couldn't catch last week. 

Once it caught their attention, her punching glove stretched out HARD to the guys back, making him fall onto his partner in crime. They're frightened once Devil picks them both up by the feet and swings them around in the air. 

Lunella fly's up at them upside down to properly take a good look at their faces as she takes off their skii masks. 

"Instead of ruining my night, stealing these just to sell online - how about y'all GET A JOB?!"

She looks down the street once she hears police sirens were on the way along with the news truck.

"You win! J-just tell your freaky lizard to let us go!!" Devil growls and wiggles them roughly, his attitude and flings the both of them in the air.

Before they fell to their deaths, Lunella catches them just in time, she tied them up together by their feet and left them hanging down from a street pole.

"Wha?! That 'freak-ish-lizard' is my dino!" Lunella corrects. instead of a boop she gives him a flick to the nose. "And you're lucky he spared you~!" 

"MoonGirl!" The news anchor rushes out the car with her mic, Lunella takes notice and flies down to greet them.

"Spared me?! SPARED ME?! THAT LITTLE SHIT ALMOST KILLED ME! The robber squabbled.

"Ohh, shut up, Larry!!" His partner squabbled back.

"MoonGirl! This is your fourth capture tonight! What d'ya have to say to the high crime rates of Yancy street?" She asks Lunella.

"Well - after these two, I hope Devil D has taught them a valuable lesson if anyone dares to keep this streak up!!" Lunella answers, pointing to the camera.

"That's your daily 9:30 piece of advice for tonight, folks! Mess with Yancy street: you are now Devil's meal of the day!"

Lunella's brows jumps in a panic once she heard the time. "WAIT! It's nine?! Shit- Eduardo!" She whispers to herself.

She starts to giggle nervously & fidgets her feet to steps backwards to get to Devil. "Ahhh- would love to talk more but I've got a bed to catch! Hehe- M.G, OUT!" As Lunella bounces up, she ignites her jetpack  and flies home. 

Fifteen minutes later, Lunella has finally made it home, she quietly slides open her window and rolls onto her bed. 

She struggles to take off her skates but once she got them off it made a loud thump to the floor. Lunella flinches when she hears someone mumbling. It was Eduardo. Sleeping on the floor & turning sides as he used her Devil D plush like a pillow.

Lunella kept twisting & turning wondering why he still stayed & waited. She then turned over again, staring at the markers & cardboard on the floor, then at him once he turned over as well. Before she knew it she drifted to sleep.

"LUNELLAAAA??!" Adria shouts. The next morning both Lunella & Eduardo have slept through her two alarms. "GIRL, IF YOU THINK YOU TWO CAN SLEEP THROUGH THE DAY, THINK AGAIN!"

"I'M UP! I'M UP-! OOF-" Lunella grunts. Well - that woke her up, woke her wide awake that she literally roll & fell out of bed in a panic and almost landing on Eduardo. 

"OW! Girl, wh-?!" Before Eduardo could even process what was happening, Lunella pulls him up by the arm, he only had seconds to grab his backpack & skateboard.

"Get up! We're gonna be late! Hurry!!" Lunella panics, rushing & pulling out the door.

"You're never gonna make it!!" Adria calls out.

"How dare you doubt me, mom!"

Eduardo could barely balance on his skateboard, all he could do was hold onto Lunella's wrist as she leads the way. "So – when did you get back last night??" He winces when Lunella makes a hard turn.

"Right when you knocked out!" She quickly admits. "Look- I'm sorry for bailing but being tardy is what's all on my mind right now!"

Lunella drops him off to his class on her way to hers at the end of the hall, he kicks-up his skateboard & grips onto the door handle wide open which grabs his classmates' attention.

Before Lunella rolls straight into her classroom, she harshly pulls herself into class when she grips into the wall in between the door to hold her brakes. And here comes the last bell. "I WAS IN! I WAS IN!!"

The class giggles at Lunella's entrance. "Lunella, has entered the room." Coach Hbrek narrates nonchalantly. "Now sit your butt down unless you want that tardy!" 

Eighth grade science didn't matter to Lunella. Physics is where she should be. Coach Hbrek's struggles to light the bunsen burner is white noise to her ears while she screws on the first test of her mini raptor engine under her desk. Which she screwed into her empty soda can.

"Ah-HAH!" After eight tries, Coach Hbrek finally lit up the bunsen burner. "Now THAT'S combustion!"

"Combustion!!!" The whole class repeats except for Lunella. 

Lunella turns her soda can engine faced up & flicks the cap open, but she didn't realize it would make the ignition ignite a spark. Lunella winces to the engine reaction & grips it before it shoots in the air out of her hands. 

She looks to her left when she hears a tap on the window. It was Eduardo, pointing at their BulletBill rocket. Lunella waves him off, hinting she'll be there in a minute.

"LUNELLA!" Coach Hbrek calls out, startling Lunella.

"HahhHAH – um-" Lunella harshly clears her throat to make her high pitched voice go away. "May I be excused for physics??!"

"Not until you tell me what causes a substance to burn or "oxidize" when heat is applied."

"Phlogiston." She answers straightforwardly. "Can I go now???"

Coach Hbrek blinks at her surprised, wondering if that was an actual answer. "Fine- beat it!" He shooed off.

For physics class any student who has finished modeling their test rocket would meet in the field, and everyone was at least ten feet apart.

"¡Hola, amigos!" Casey greets.

Eduardo sighs dramatically. "Shouldn't you be over there with Zoe and your rocket??"

"What? I can't catch a break?" Casey counters back. "While you two are going over the top, our sugar rocket is ready - to goooo~" she says, snapping her fingers with sass.

"What?! First try?! Nuh-uh!" Eduardo doubts.

"Yeah-huh!" She grins, swaying her shoulders.

Lunella interrupts their bickering, and was finished setting BulletBill into place ready for lift off. "Okay! Ready to go!" She takes a step back, taking out her phone to document it. "First test of "E' and Lu'" in three... two..."

Eduardo presses the button to launch. Their rocket teases and ignites a small spark, it then flies up to forty-five feet high up in the sky and it catches their class & Mrs. Dominguez's attention, Lunella's eyes light up with hope until she noticed that something was wrong..

In the middle of the air, BulletBill turns over & launches straight down.

"Oh, crap–" Lunella was still. Eyes widened.

BulletBill is in full speed and out of control, swinging down in twirls. Eduardo, Lunella, and Casey duck for cover when it comes straight for them. 

It was able to swerve to the left, crashing into Casey & Zoe's rocket, knocking them both out. Zoe gasps in disbelief. Casey was in shock as well, twitching an eye. 

"Ughhhhh..." Lunella sulks, burying her face in the fake grass.

"You know, if we went with just the tin can, I feel like it would have done less damage." Eduardo points out. 

"Ohh, I doubt that."

•••

For the next two and a half weeks it has been a blur of rockets, engines, and wires. They've been doing nothing but just that. At this point Eduardo could smell nothing but cardboard.

After school they spent hours above Lunella's apartment building with Casey & Zoe, Eduardo & Lunella were exhausted. Lunella underestimated how much time she'd take on this. Considering she is the smartest girl in New York, this should've been a breeze.  She was wondering how she could end up SO wrong. Wondering how could this have been so difficult for her.

But you're the smartest girl in New York, you've gotta at least face some challenges.

"This... Is test rocket number... Ten.. Of- 'E and Lu'..." Lunella murmurs, rubbing her nose bridge. Eduardo rests his cheek on his pillow that was tapped to his body.

Considering their first, second, third, and... More attempts that went haywire, with many different engine styles, they weren't taking any chances if this one knocks one of them out cold. So duck-tapping pillows to their bodies were a solution. 

And while they were on their tenth attempt, Casey and Zoe were on their fifth attempt at their sugar rocket redemption.

"Lunella... It's only 7:30pm..." Zoe echoes with concern. "When was the last time you've slept–?"

"SH-ShH!" Lunella waves off, pinching her fingers. "Design: Devil Dino... RS-25... PLEASE!" Lunella yawns, growling to herself. 

She been hoping & praying this engine will be the one. As its one of the most efficient engines, Lunella had to go to Princeton University to visit a friend to get the material she needed to make this mini baby.

Miles hears frantic knocks on his door. He opens it to reveal its Lunella. She looked out of breath and with Moon Girl helmet in hand, it looked like she rushed to put on her normal clothes over her supersuit. 

"Lunella!" Miles exclaimed. "What brings you by?" 

Miles daps her up and Lunella daps back. "I – I need help! A- and only Princeton can solve my problems!" Lunella explains in between breaths. "I need a rocket engine!"

"Wow- you really want the 'moon' in MoonGirl to happen, huh?" Miles jokes.

"It's not about MoonGirl, it's about LUNELLA!" Lunella huffed, folding her arms.

Miles chuckles, waves her off to cool it and grabs his backpack and student keycard. "Aight, let's go to the PPPL.."  The PPPL was Princeton's Plasma Physics Laboratory, and it was home to their Princeton's Rocketry Club. There's no shame in getting a little extra help, and Principal Nelson never said it was against the rules. This Altitude contest was always and only about whoever's rocket would last the highest.

Lunella yawns, and presses the button to launch. Casey & Zoe launches their rocket as well. Lunella reaches to rub her eye until she knocked down their rocket. "Oh, no!" Lunella gasps.

Before she or Eduardo could reach for it, it was too late. It was already set for take off, Lunella & Eduardo fell to the floor from the high winds of its launch and its starts to fly sideways.

"If it smashes into a window, we're dead!" Eduardo says to Lunella.

"Wait, look!" Lunella points at their rocket finally going straight forward & up in the air. They eye up Casey & Zoe's rocket and it only went up to 3,200 feet, Lunella and Eduardo's on the other hand surpassed them and went up to 5,780. 

Comparing to last year's Altitude contest winners Brooklyn and Tai, their rocket went up to 5,640. 

The parachute releases when its in mid air, the engine starts to buffer again like their first and gently glides down to the ground.

"WAAAH! THAT WAS IT! THAT WAS IT! YES!" Lunella cheered. She sighs and rests her head on Eduardo's lap. "I mean, it didn't reach to earth's stratosphere like I expected it to, but troposphere is good enough! Look at this data! Look at it!" She smiles, raising her laptop over her head.

"I see it, Lu!" Eduardo chuckles.

She giggles mischievously at her laptop. "Take THAT, Principal Nelson! Just needs a few more tweaks and we're home free!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Casey calls out. "Tonight - you sleep! And tomorrow - we relaxxxx~"

"Wha? But Caseee!" Lunella pouts.

"We have until next Friday for this baby! And it's the weekend! Will it kill you to chill??" Casey didn't mean to come off so strongly, but she really needed it. And so did Eduardo.

Lunella gives in, and she groans heavily & dramatically. "Ugh, fine! We can hang! I'll call in pizza."

Eduardo's sigh of relief was almost comical once he ripped the pillow armor off his chest. "Thank god, cause I'm ready to knock out." 

"I want pizza!!" Lunella gets startled over the unfamiliar voice of the little girl on the fire escape, she was waving enthusiastically to the girls with another hand holding onto the rail.

"Tessa!" Eduardo calls out, he walks over to help her up. "Don't- dangle on the fire escape like that!"

"But I want pizza." Tessa chirps obliviously. 

Eduardo sighs at her careless response. "What do you want?"

"Cheese."

"No–" He rolls is eyes & sighs again. And Casey and Zoe giggle at her remarks.

Tessa recognizes Casey and Zoe, but she is unfamiliar with Lunella. Once they met eye contact, Lunella gives her a small wave. Tessa's brows perks up from finally recognizing her from remembering his seventh grade pictures with her in his room.

"Ahh!" Tessa gasps. "¡¿Es esta la novia?!" She asks Eduardo, pointing to Lunella.

 - (Is this the girlfriend?!)

"Shut up!!" Eduardo hushes through his teeth.

"¡¿Novia?!" Casey couldn't hold it in and snorts out a laugh. 

"Hah, hah, hahhh.." Eduardo drawls, rolling his eyes once again. He then turns Tessa around to climb back down the fire escape. "You. Out." He says as he follows her down.

"I didn't hear a nooooo~!" Tessa teases in sing-song, referring to the girlfriend question. Casey starts to laugh even more after she points it out.

"W-we'll just hang tomorrow so just text me, okay?" Eduardo waves off to Lunella. He then continues to climb down after Tessa. 

"I swear to god, you are dead when we get home!" He angrily whispers to Tessa.

"Worth it." Tessa giggles deviously.

Chapter Text

Tessa didn't want to go home until she got her pizza. So Eduardo did just that so she would shut up. Only the light from the tv avoids the pitch black darkness in the room once their mom hears them coming in.

"¿Cómo ha ido?" She asks Eduardo.

- (How did it go?)

"He fumbled it." Tessa mumbles through a mouthful of pizza. She gives a smirk to Eduardo a she puts her feet up on the coffee table.

Eduardo slides the pizza box on the coffee table & lays face flat on his mom's lap. "Don't listen to her, the rocket's fine now."

"He also has a date with Lunella tomorrow." Tessa adds.

"¿Una cita?" Carmen grins, ruffling his hair.

- (A date?)

Eduardo gently shoo's her hand off his hair and sits back up. "It's not a date and you know it!!! Casey and Zoe'll be with us." He says whilst folding his arms to his chest.

Tessa continues on teasing. "Soooo a double date? Third wheel? Fourth wheel?? Plus me~???"

He throws a pillow towards her but Tessa dodges it, she sticks her tongue out at him in response.

Before Eduardo could repay once he grabbed the remote, Carmen grabs it just in time and puts her hand over Tessa's face, pushing her away to give both of them space.

"Aye, quit it!" She snaps. "Eduardo... How're you going to get to this date, anyway?" Carmen asks.

"Again, not a date!" He corrects. "We're just going to the rink! And besides, I'll use my board!" Eduardo shrugs.

"Wowww, what a gentleman..." Tessa drawls out.

"Better than your training wheels."

"At least I have wheels!" She fires back.

Carmen sighs & pinches her nose bridge. "Oh, sweet Christ- your skateboard? Really??"

"What, Ma?! Like I got the money for a car."

"Tell us something we don't know." Tessa grins.

"Tessa!" Carmen zips her lips at her, making it her final warning. "Your board is too dangerous for you at night."

"But we're home aren't we?" Eduardo waves a hand up in exasperation. He was ready to head to his room, so he stands up to flip up his skateboard right into his hand. "Night."

She couldn't argue there. But it could've ended worse so - her point still stands on it.

"So, you don't want this then?" Carmen echoes.

Spinning around to face his mom, Eduardo drops his skateboard once he locks eyes to the keys hooked to his mom's finger.

"Mom, you didn't.." He trails off, still staring at the keys from afar.

"FAN-TESSA MOBILE!!" Tessa blurts out.

"It's right outside...~"

"THAT CAR WAS MINE?!" Eduardo grabs the keys and looks out the window, pressing his face against the glass and so does Tessa.

"Ooohh, funky car!!" Tessa cooed. "IT HAS THE BLINKY LIGHTS!" She gasps.

It was a 1983 Toyota Celica Supra, Eduardo kept his eye on it for a long time. Ever since he laid eyes on it back in Mexico, his cousin was able to hold onto it as much as she could until he had enough saved up.

"I thought Isa couldn't–"

"I chipped in, picked up hours.. So you're good to go, baby!" Carmen chuckles, tossing the keys to Eduardo.

"FAN-TESSA MOBILE!!" She grabs the keys from Eduardo's hands, grabs her pink Fan-Tessa zip-up on the coat rack and rushes out the door.

She starts the ignition and grips her palms on the stirring wheel. "Which way to Doctor Doom?!!"

Eduardo pushes her out of the drivers seat aggressively & turns off the car. "Don't even think about it."

"Better than letting that permit go to waste, right?" Carmen smiles. "I know it's nothing fancy, but for now you–"

Still in the drivers seat, Eduardo immediately hugs her by the waist. "It's perfect mom."

The next night, Eduardo didn't take the car & still used his skateboard. They finally met up at the rink and it's no coincidence that around this time at the end of the month, the Moon-Girl fanclub met up here.

And it was BUSY.

"Woahhhh-kay... Crowded!" Lunella chirps, scanning the room.

"Right- the M.G.D... Forgot about that!" Eduardo chuckles, scratching his head.

"I know the rink is sometimes packed, but I've never seen it THIS PACKED!" Zoe points out

"I'm sure we can still have some fun!" Casey assures whilst texting on her phone.

And suddenly, Lunella's dad slides over to them in a panic. "LUNELLA!"

"Hey, dad!" She smiles.

"Hey, babyyy..." James smiles nervously. "The nacho machine is busted again."

"Again??" Lunella echoes.

"YES, AGAIN! POP'S EVEN RAN OUT OF DUCT TAPE! Ohhh GOD! How could he have run out of duct tape?! THE PEOPLE DEMAND CHEESE LU-LU! AND I NEED CHEESE!" James says, digging his nails through his hair.

Tessa twirls over past James to interrupt. "Hey, BROOO! Look what I found in your stupid closet!" She smirks, pointing to the hoodie.

"Ugh, you went through my closet?!" Eduardo groans.

"Um- hello?" James mutters, trying to grab Lunella's attention.

"Yeah, yeah- besides that- check the drip~!" Tessa smirks, she turns around & points to the back of the hoodie.

"Oh no."  Eduardo sighs.

Lunella gasps once she recognizes the teal hoodie. "El Dinosaurio!!"

"El Dino-who???" James asks.

"I haven't seen you rocked this since we were nine!" She giggles mischievously.

"But I rock it better right~?" Tessa asks whilst striking a pose.

"Oooh! Get it chica!" Casey hypes up.

"No way you still have this.." Zoe snorts to Eduardo.

"I thought I burned it."  He says through his teeth. "And take that off! You look stupid!"

Casey gasps & jokingly covers Tessa's ears. "Oh, no he d-idn't!"

"Oh, yes he d-id!" Lunella gasps back.

"No way! You don't even fit this anymore! Plus, I stained my Fan-Tessa hoodie last night.." Tessa admits.

"Fan-Tessa??" Lunella asks.

"SHORT for - The Fantastic-Tessa, IN HONOR of The Fantastic Four, thank you for asking~!" She proudly explained.

"I see you still have my comics??" Lunella teases Eduardo.

"Duh?? They're collectibles!" He shrugs, turning pink.

James grabs Lunella before they waste more of his time. "TICK-TOCK! CHEESE IS AT STAKE!!"

With Pops' tool box, it only took Lunella less than ten minutes to get it back up and running. "There she goes!" She says as she pats the machine.

James being the drama queen he is, hugs the nacho machine. "Thanks, Lu-Lu! Sorry for interrupting your date."

"It's no problem, dad!" Lunella waves off. "Wait-"

"LUNELLA!" Lunella turns her head to see who's calling her, & it was Brooklyn, her little brother TJ, and the volleyball crew.

"Oh, yo!!" Lunella waves, she gives herself a push and skates over. "Hey, Miss N.Y.U~!" She greets to Brooklyn.

"Hey, Miss Cal-TECH~!" Brooklyn teases back. "When did you get back?"

Lunella laughs, twirling around TJ. "Just a month ago, why're you here?"

"Hello?? The M.G.D?!" Tai chimes in. "The co-presidents gotta show up after all."

"LU-LUNELLAAH~!" Casey calls her in sing-song as she skates over with Eduardo whilst locking arms, and as a non-skater he was holding on for deae life until he caught balance with the railing.

"You're gonna LOVE ME!!" Casey squeals whilst shaking her. "While you two are busy with your rocket junk, I was busy with the A.S.B, and since homecoming was a literal wreck during M.G's comeback - IT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO V-DAYYY!" She raises her arms in excitement

"Oh, grea-!" Lunella was excited, until she got flashbacks of when she fast-forward to the future, remembering how she went to the dance with Eduardo. "Greaaaat..." She drawls.

"Wait- what about prom?" Fawzia asks.

"Pfft- hell if I know, Ese no es mi problema." She shrugs, going back to her phone. Because it really wasn't, she's only part of Sophomore's ASB & that's the Juniors & Seniors problem.

- (That's not my problem.)

"AND WE'RE HOSTING IT AT THE AQUARIUM! Perfect for our theme: Under the Sea - of Loveeeee~!!" Casey sings.

"Oooh, I love that!" Zoe claps.

"Speaking of homecoming, remember when Moon-Girl kicked ass with Squid-Kid?!" Geri reminisces as she punches the air reenacting the fight.

"How could I forget..." Lunella mumbles. She covers her face & shakes her head.

Eduardo gets excited about it & exaggerates the fight. "YEAHH!! And then she punted him into the second gym by crashing him into that wall like- BAH-BAP!!- oh-" Everyone laughs at him once he slips & falls after he tried to punch and kick the air.

"Boy, you so crazy!" Brooklyn cackles.

"I did not mean to do that.." Eduardo croaks whilst Zoe pulls him up.

"This was not my best comeback..." Lunella says to herself, shaking her head.

Casey pulls her away from the group to talk. "What do you mean?! You kicked that Squid-Kid's butt!!" Casey whispers.

"And I wrecked the gym along with it, Case!!" She whispers back. "I mean, who reunites with the L.E.S by Hulk smashing it?! Moon Girl needs to do better than that & she needs to do it now! She needs her redemption!"

Casey then snaps her fingers at her face. "Hey! None of that! That's the last thing you should be thinking of right now!" She turns Lunella around to push her back to the group. "And the last thing we don't need tonight is Moon-Girling!"

"But Moon-Girling is the last thing that I need right now!!" Lunella groans to herself.

Going back to the group, Eduardo, Zoe, Geri & Fawzia continue on to talk about last homecoming & the fight and it brought Lunella's mood down to an all-time low. Just looking back at it just reminds herself of what she did wrong that night.

"Okay, can we skate now?" Casey asks the group.

Lunella scoffs & scans the rink, watching the traffic clear out after Mariah Carey fades out of the speakers as her mom makes an announcement on the mic.

"Alright, M.G.D, is throwback night pumping you up or what?!!" Adria shouts. Everyone shouts back in excitement which makes Adria giggle. "I know! I know! I'm amazing~! So let's keep it going!!" She grins to herself as she plays My Boo by Ghost Town DJs.

Lunella shrugs whilst she snorts. "Fine, fine! Let's go!"

Casey grabs Zoe as Lunella follows, but Eduardo's stomach was crawling of embarrassment as his horrible balance makes him fall behind.

"Wait- hold up! — shhh-shit." He grabs onto the railing as he goes.

He was finally in the rink – barely.

Eduardo was in the rink but he had his right hand against the wall for support.

"This is why skateboarding is superior..." Eduardo sighs to himself.

Lunella notices him struggling. Her smile is in a thin line as she shakes her head & makes a U-turn towards him.

Her chuckle was short-lived. "How do you work here and not know how to skate?!" She asks Eduardo whilst skating backwards.

🎵 Everynight I pray I can call you my man, yeah, yeah, yeah...

"Shut up!" Eduardo shoots back in defense. "Don't need to when I'm at the snack b-" His legs stretch out once the wall was gone and he quickly grips onto the railing.

Lunella couldn't help but laugh.

"Not funny!" He glares back.

"Alright, alright. I gotchu! Here–!" Without hesitation, Lunella gives him a push which catches him off guard.

🎵 So I'm going out - every weekend, just to see my boo again...

"See, look." It hasn't processed in his mind that she has now locked arms with him & he had her hand held onto her wrist. "Zig-zag your feet- left, right-"

Eduardo nods & follows her lead. "Left.. Right.."

"Yeah! You got it!" Lunella exclaims.

"Doesn't change the fact that skateboards are better, though."

"Don't even go there!" She defends, raising a brow.

"I'm gonna!" He insists.

"How dare you on my turf?!" Lunella jokingly argues back.

As they pass by Adria, she rests her hand on her cheek and couldn't help but smile & stare. And admire how cute they were being.

🎵 These feelings I have for you – they go deeper if you can come..

That was until James came over the DJ booth, facing her laptop to his direction to put on a different song.

"Erm, what do you think you're doing?!" Adria asks, turning her laptop back to her.

"Trust me baby, I got this one." He smirks, raising his brows.

As the light setting changes, so does the mood, in the middle of the song James skips it to play How Deep Is Your Love by Bee Gees.

Lunella shakes her head & raises her brows in shock of the unexpected change. 

She scans the rink, blushing whilst looking at the couple's merging to skate. Lunella couldn't manage to look at Eduardo's way because they were still hand in hand but she was able to give her parents a dirty look.

James smiles mischievously as he gives her a wave.

"Told you I got it!" James nudges Adria. She smiles a thin line again & rolls her eyes inresponse.

🎵 How deep is your love? How deep is your love? I really mean to learn... 

It didn't take a while for Eduardo to connect the dots and get on the same page either.

"So -" Eduardo coughs before the tension arises. "The dance! A- are you–"

"Ehhh - too early to even think about that, don't you think??" Lunella squeaks out, scratching her head.

"I mean - is it???" He asks, raising a brow.

"No- yeah! I know! But like, I'm just sayinnnn'.. I–"

Lunella & Eduardo jump over the loud bang from the open doors, they quickly turn their heads to see it's Squid-Kid coming in among the frozen crowd of the M.G.D.

"Wow! Great turnout! Seriously, y'all have outdone yourselves!" Squid-Kid announces.

Everyone scattered once he stretched out a tentacle across the rink, Eduardo slides down on his feet but Lunella catches his fall by grabbing him under his arms.

James & Adria duck when Squid-Kid grabs Adria's big tower speaker which he throws across to the snack bar, wrecking the nacho machine. Almost knocking out Mimi & Pops.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!" James shouts.

Lunella quickly locks arms with Eduardo and speeds through to get off the rink. "Get off the rink! Get off the rink! Get off the- AH!"

As Squid-Kid lifts the speaker out of the snack bar, it flies right over Lunella & Eduardo as he barricades the door.

"NO ONE AIN'T GOING NO WHERE!" Squid-Kid growls.

"Not so psyched for Moon-Girling now, huh?!" Casey asks Lunella.

"Oh, can-it, Case!!" She quietly shouts back.

"Wait- where's Tessa?!!" Eduardo asks, looking around.

Zoe tugs on his sleeve, pointing to the other side of the room. "Over there! She's with Brooklyn and TJ!"

"Uhh..heh – time for you gear up now..!" Casey mutters to Lunella.

"On it!" Lunella nods, she then disappears into the panicked crowd.

Eduardo notices. "LU!"

Casey quickly drags Eduardo & Zoe to Brooklyn before he could follow her. "Trust me, it's better this way!!!" She frantically assures.

Lunella quickly flew in into MoonGirl mode, grabbing Squid-Kid by his ankles & throws him across the room. Tessa & TJ's jaws were dropped as they watched.

She takes out her upgraded ice blaster that was given to her by S.H.I.E.L.D, she begins to create an ice force field around the rink from top to bottom. "Just so you don't get any ideas!"

"Not my fault that you were wreck-less LAST TIME!" With two of his robotic tentacles grabbing both of Lunella's wrists, Squid-kid repays the same energy throwing Lunella across the rink.

Eduardo, Casey, TJ, & Tessa stepped back from the force field once Lunella grabs a hold of herself against it before getting body slammed, she then stands horizontally. "That - Was all – YOU!!" She snaps, launching herself back to him. "And it's all you now!!"

"CAN I PLEASE SAY A SWEAR WORD?!" Tessa asks Eduardo.

"No." He answers bluntly.

"Right! Not the moment yet." Tessa nods back, misunderstanding the memo.

"Can I?!" TJ smirks, asking Brooklyn.

"Boy, I don't care." Brooklyn sighs.

"No fair!!!" She complains.

"Hah. Deal with it, chica." Eduardo laughs.

Tessa trips him over by kicking the back of his calf in response. She was certainly not gonna deal with it.

Back to the fight, Lunella repeatedly throws dozens of her power gloves left and right. Each hitting him in the face, his gut – but the main thing right where she wants him is his robotic appendages.

Squid-Kid catches three of her power gloves and flings them towards her like a slingshot. As it misses Lunella once she goes under, it breaks through her ice force field - Tessa catches one while the other two hit TJ.

"YES! Thank you, God!!" Tessa exclaims, hugging the glove.

Since it worked last time - Lunella takes out her ice blaster once again, but out of the blue Squid-Kid takes it and throws it across the rink.

Lunella's vision goggles expresses her fuming anger."Ugh, STEP OFF!"

"Stop cheating!" He scoffs, hovering around her.

"UH-! Says the one with robotic tentacles!" She argued back.

Lunella slides under him, she turns invisible as she dashes away. "Are you k- SHOW YOURSELF!" Now Squid-Kid looks nuts swinging his appendages in the air like crazy, hoping one of them knocks her out.

"Heh, fool!" Lunella snickers. "Now I need to find a way to keep him in one place! But I need to do that without him messing up my game! How can I do that without repeating my mistakes like last time??"

Lunella looks around, eyeing up her ice forcefield & back at Squid-Kids harnesses going in circles, & looks back at how she defeated him from before.

Remembering the last time she defeated him, her bubble blaster didn't work out – she had to go through the bleachers to get his harnesses tangled up and that's how she was able to freeze him in one place.

This time, he needs to have his eyes on her in order for her plan to work. "Alright, let's rock this bitch!"

Lunella's invisibility glitches as she picks up her speed while heading for the edge of the rink; and thanks to her jetpack she was able to skate around on the ice forcefield, leaving cracks as she goes.

Squid-Kid tries to be secure of himself in the center of the rink with every glitter bomb Lunella throws.

"YO, SQUID-KID!" She then throws one more, "Want that round two or what?!" And he was met with a kick in the face.

Turning his head, he sneered. "YOU'RE ON!"

Throwing some kicks and punches here & there

gets the work done - sure, but all Lunella needs to do is tangle him up in a game with cat and mouse.

Lunella heads for the forcefield again, two of Squid-Kid's appendages leaves cracks and scratches as he tries to reach for her.

"Um- should we be worried about that?" Pop's asks Mimi, pointing out the cracks.

"Whatever happens tonight, I ain't mopping all that." Mimi insisted.

🎵 Boy I got you caught up inside of my haze... And you're gonna be gone for days-

She flips over him, "Behind you!" & kicks him hard at his back. He doesn't notice that two of his arms come into a knot once she glitter bombs his face. "Think fast!"

Two down, four to go.

"QUIT IT!" He scowled.

"Awe, but this is fair play, isn't it~?!" Lunella pouts, her voice was sickly sweet. She then shoots out two power gloves to the side of his head, and manages to grab a hold of  his arms. "Unless you finally wanna do things my way.." Swinging him around, she releases him to a slam onto the forcefield.

Squid-Kid gets up like that was nothing to him. He reaches for her, then suddenly – Lunella bubble blasts his left foot, trips him over with the other making him fall on his face.

He picks himself up going straight for her, and then she swerves. "On your left!" And misses, "On your right!" again, "Pfft, c'mon, man." And again.

🎵 I do's it naturally, Hypnotize like Biggie, but you ain't having dreams. I'm that chick you like!

Just like she wanted, his eyes are still on her, he trips on a small bubble she made on the floor - and he's not even realizing he's coming in close to knots. "Ugh, enough of this foolishness!"

That's my line! "Keep up, dude!" Lunella smirks.

Taking off, Lunella bumps against him hard at his left shoulder which makes him spin around, then again at the other.

One last time One last time Lunella ignites small flames from her jet pack to dash on the walls of its ice forcefield, and for about three laps and counting it was at its breaking point.

Squid-Kid was fed up, making his way to grab her he throws her across the rink, and Lunella ends up getting her head slammed against the forcefield - right behind Casey, Zoe, Eduardo & Tessa who steps back.

"C'mon, MoonGirl! Tumble his ass!!" Tessa shouts.

But she has him where she wants him, it looks like it's time to wrap it up. "Aight, this is getting boring." Lunella croaks, cracking her neck.

🎵 There ain't no rules it's up to you!

It's time!

Seeing him coming after her, she makes a sharp stride turn & ends him off with her Vortex-Elerator - he gets caught in the rest of his appendages whilst he gets blown away.

🎵 Could party all night, through the night!

"Aye, instead of watching the show, how about help me move my baby?!" Adria shouts whilst trying to lift her giant speaker. James, Pop's, Mimi, Casey, Zoe, and Eduardo gather up to help her push it away from the door.

"I'm getting too old for this!" Pop's croaks.

With the flames from her jetpack, the forcefield was at its breaking point. Lunella goes after him, bumping him hard shoulder to shoulder again and dashes right at him to kick him down in the middle of the rink to finally knock him out. The forcefield shatters into tiny flakes of ice from the pressure of the tumble.

🎵 I'm that chick you like! Uh-huh!

S.H.I.E.L.D's officers has arrived to pick up Squid-Kid, Everyone in the rink erupts into cheers in MoonGirls victory.

MoonGirl Comeback Redemption: Achieved!

"OHHH YEAH! AND STAY DOWN!" Lunella gloats to Squid-Kid whilst stepping her foot on his head. "THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!" She shouts, throwing up peace signs to the M.G.D.

"WOOH! THAT'S MY GIRL!" James realizes what he has shouted, "I mean- she-she's not actually my baby, but y-y'all know what I mean.. Right??" He mumbles whilst shrinking down in hiding hoping no one heard him.

Tessa runs up to MoonGirl with the boxing gloves she caught, hoping she'll sign it. "I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! You kicked ASS!" Tessa squealed.

"And mine..." TJ groans, hugging his stomach.

Lunella giggles whilst she signs both gloves & brings her in close for a selfie. "All thanks to you, boo!"

"You hear that?! All thanks to me~!" She grins cockily to Eduardo as she presses her palm to her chest.

"Yeah, I find that hard to believe." Eduardo deadpans.

"Says the M.G.D Pres'." Tessa says, giving him a disdainful look which turns to a mischievous smirk.

"Ohhh, is that so..???" Lunella grins sheepishly, folding her arms.

"Er- well - that really wasn't up to me.." Eduardo was embarrassed how she outed him like that. He quickly gave Tessa a dirty look & was DEFINITELY going to kill her later.

Casey & Zoe come in between Tessa, With glints in their eyes & their hands covering their mouths, they're really enjoying what's going down here.

"Seems like you have made a name out of yourself around here, though."

"You're one to talk, M.G." Pop's deadpans with his hands on his hips. Lunella freezes & smiles sheepishly. "That's the last time we're gonna host the M.G.D. here."

Eduardo puts his hands up in defense. "Aye, don't look at me! I didn't schedule it!"

"Then who did?!" Mimi asks.

Casey's eyes widened, she completely forgot she stepped up to schedule the M.G.D events for a while. Hoping that no one notices her, she takes a step back away. "OH, oy, vey! Has anyone seen Lunella?!!" She shouts from a distance, changing the subject.

"Wait, where is Lunella??" Eduardo asks.

Lunella coughs exaggeratedly. Time to go. "OH- erm- HAH- is that Agent Hill calling me?!" Once she leaves it didn't take her long to change out of her super suit. "Phew! That was one hell of a fight, huh?!" She exhales.

"And hopefully the last!" Mimi remarks. She then claps her hands in the air to grab attention of the M.G.D. "Alright, let's get outta here y'all! Calling it a night!"

"Good call, momma!" James sighs, stretching his arms. "While we're at it, why don't we clean up a bit to make it easier for us tomorrow??"

The whole family agreed, but to Lunella & Eduardo's wide eyed reactions to each other said a different answer. So they both had the same idea. They make a run for it, following Casey & Zoe whilst being the last ones out the door.

"Aight, you two, who got dibs on the rink- hey, where'd they go??!"

Tessa & TJ had the amazing idea to steal two shopping carts, they begged & promised Eduardo they'd return them. So at the skate park the two went wild on it with Casey and Zoe while Lunella and Eduardo use his skateboard to sit on as they stargaze over Bobby the Myth plays through her speaker.

"So are they pretty peeved that we ditched?" Eduardo chuckles to Lunella.

"Yeah, but they're letting it slide tonight!" Lunella waves off. "Pretty sure they've saved something more gruesome for us."

"Ohhh, don't say that." He bleats.

Lunella giggles, scrolling back to the M.G.D app on her phone, Her eyes glance up at an unexpected email from the school. It was about the Altitude Contest. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Eduardo takes a peek at the email on her phone."What?"

"Ugh, they moved the Altitude biz to Saturday." Lunella groans. "Apparently 'sharing the field' with the track team Friday was not working out after all- can you believe that crap?!"

"Well- if you think about it Lu, that just screams a Final Destination disaster waiting to happen." Zoe shrugs before diving herself & Tessa down the bowl.

"Psh- yeah, whatever." Lunella muttered, folding her arms. "I just want to get this over with!" And this was the second time a project she & Eduardo had to do depended on her life, first the fate of the universe - now, it's the fate of her academic outcome. This time, she can't blame The Beyonder.

"But- y'know if it weren't you, I wouldn't even have this second chance." She admits to Eduardo.

Eduardo's heart rate jolts. A fluttering sensation rises in his chest at her words. "Y-yeah?"

"Yeah!" She shoves playfully. "You're really saving my butt here, Eduardo. After this I'll totally owe you."

And spending time with him has totally changed her perspective on things. Hanging out with him has made her feel like she wasn't missing out on being a normal teen. Sure she had Casey, & even Marvin. But it was nice drumming up more into her circle. Balancing out science, MoonGirl & friendship with others was turning out better than she'd expected. All it took was for the goof to balance out the nerd.

A charge of silence crackled between them. Hearing her pull that card, Eduardo took the chance to cash it in. "Well in that case, do-"

But he was interrupted by Tessa, who was climbing out of the bowl with her MoonGirl gloves on, she decided to take a break which gave Casey & Zoe a chance to do their thing. Once she's finally out, she lays flat on her back against the concrete. "Oof! Once we get home, imma turn these babies into my own gadgets!" Tessa huffs, bumping her fists.

Lunella raises a curious brow. "Whaaat??"

"Don't be fooled." Eduardo clarifies. "She thinks she's got the M.G. brains for it but all she's doing is making a mess." He says, flicking Tessa's forehead.

"Am not!! What d'ya call my BB-glitter-smoker then?!" She asks, folding her arms. Her BB-glitter-gun was basically like a paintball gun, but her glitter ammo spread wider than a normal paintball on a person.

"A mess." Eduardo deadpans.

"Hm, BB-Glitter-smoker???" Lunella thinks quietly to herself, it sounds less affective than my Goo-Pistol.

"But it kept the eighth graders away from TJ!" She smiles proudly. "My sparkler crossbow!"

"Almost burned down the house."

"You're what??!" Lunella chuckles to Tessa.

"My jaw breaker knock-out launcher."

"Broke through the screen door."

"HAMBONIIIING!!!" Tessa beams, raising her fists in the air. Lunella couldn't hold it anymore & burst out of laughter.

"USELESS!!"

"If it can save Skips it can save MoonGirl!!" She says in defense, folding her arms.

Lunella turns away to cover her snort. Well I don't know about that..

Eduardo rolls his eyes. "You've gotta stop adding Regular Show to your daily life."

"Speaking of Hamboning-" And unexpectedly, Tessa stands behind Eduardo & repeatedly gives him punches behind his back and on top of his head.

"Quit-QUIT IT!" Eduardo seethed, trying to swat her away.

"Not so useless now, huh?!" Tessa grins.

"Still useless AND annoying!" He says through his gritted teeth.

Lunella giggles softly, and was very amused at their relationship. "Girl, you're all kinds of chaos!" She sighs to Tessa.

"That's what Fan-Tessa brings to the table!" She smiles proudly. She then gives Eduardo an elbow punch to the back & whispers in his ear. "¡Es una guardiana!"

– (She's a keeper!)

Chapter Text

Lunella's head was spinning. But her & Eduardo were doing so well, it was too good enough to lose. So that Friday night when they finished up, she couldn't help but do some extra tweaks on her own.

And as the day came around, she was late - she was knocked out on her desk down at her lab, snuggling with her screwdriver.

She jolts up from the alarm buzzing from her security cameras, it was Eduardo banging constantly at her front door. "LUNELLA, LUNELLA, LUNELLA!!"

Lunella was all over the place as she rushed gathering her things. "Devil!! Why didn't you wake me?!"

"Roo??!" Devil growls.

"Don't 'roo' me! You know damn well what today is!" Lunella mocks. She hops as she puts on her heelys. Grabbing her bag, she grips it by her mouth whilst she shoves in her mini emergency tool kit. She jumps once her phone rings, seeing it's Casey, Lunella quickly picks up the call. "Oh- hey, girl!" She squeaks to Casey.

"Where the heck are you guys?! This is really not like you to be late!!"

"My spam texts to Eduardo aren't workinggg!!" Zoe shouts to Casey.

"I know, I know!" Lunella stammers, trying to style her Fulani braids into pigtails. "I was making some tweaks, & I am halfway there! Just- stall for me, 'kay?!"

Once she hangs up, her still gaze is at her Iron Heart figure, then at the engine. She realizes that she didn't screw it back in. "Nooo! Are you kidding me???!" Lunella whines to the engine.

Lunella flinches at the sudden buzzing from her phone again, and this time it was Eduardo. With a distressed look on her face, she contemplates back in forth to her phone, & back at the engine & Iron Heart. "We'll do it on the way!" She assured herself, running to her elevator. "Don't wait up, DD!"

"LUNELLA!" After opening her window, Eduardo rolls onto her bed, realizing she's not here.

The thud coming from Lunella falling out of her closet catches his attention. "Were you sleeping in your closet??"

"Questions can wait! We gotta go!" And they wasted no time getting out of the house, "Okay, if we skate there no red lights attached, we might just get to I.S in under seven minutes!"

"How about four?!" Eduardo shouts, unlocking his car. After leaving the passenger door open, he hops over the hood to get to the drivers seat.

Once Lunella looks up, she's surprised, "Since when do you drive??!"

"Just get innnn!!" He drawls, starting the car. Like she said, questions could wait - Lunella shakes it off & immediately gets in the car.

Principal Nelson scoffs, staring at his watch, "For a student like Lunella, I assumed she'd take this seriously.." He remarks to Mrs. Dominguez & Coach Hbrek.

"Oi, cut the kid some slack, Nelson!" Coach Hbrek nudges back.

Casey quickly turns after overhearing him. "Please- five more minutes! They're coming!"

The loud scratches of tires catches everyone’s attention as Eduardo makes a wide turn, making them swerve left & right like crazy.

After a sharp drift when he parallel parks, the car tilts up three inches before landing roughly on the pavement. Lunella & Eduardo sigh in relief and rush out of the car.

"Heyyy! Nice ride!!" Coach Hbrek cooed.

"Do you wanna get this over with or talk about the car?!" Lunella frantically asks.

Coach Hbrek & Mrs. Dominguez drop their clipboards in shock. Eduardo's car alarm reacts over the loud explosion after Cecilia & Anand's rocket blows up into a purple-pink firework.

Zoe's expression is frozen in shock, pointing to their rocket up in the sky. "Did their rocket just–"

"ANAND! A FIREWORK rocket?! Seriously?!! THAT was the 'secret weapon?!!'" Cecilia air quotes to Anand.

"Aye, if it isn't a graded assignment, I'm not putting in the effort!" Anand shrugs.

"But this is still considered and disqualified for cheating.." Principal Nelson says whilst crossing their names out.

"Anand lighting up their 'engine' with a lighter didn't cross your mind??" Jurnee asked Principal Nelson.

"And the fact that their rocket launched right before everyone else..?" Eli also asks.

Anand folds his arms & gives Eli & Jurnee a glare. "Traitors."

"I'll also be confiscating that." Principal Nelson says to Anand, taking his lighter.

Cecilia turns away from them, pinches her nose bridge & sighs, "I knew I should've taken charge of the engine."

And it's a good thing they were disqualified, because even though their altitude went over six thousand feet, the same altitude where Lunella & Eduardo's altitude gotten to last testing, they would've lost thanks to Anand.

Tasha & Devinder's went up to 833 ft. Eli and Jurnee's - 1,833 ft. Casey & Zoe's on the other hand, went up 3,112 ft. Trying to catch up to Lunella & Eduardo which was going over five thousand.

"She's still going- SHE'S STILL GOING!!" Lunella squeals, shaking Eduardo's arm.

And just like that, after going up 7,200 ft. Iron Heart was coming down for a landing, Casey and Zoe were only able to catch up to 4,415 ft.

"YESSSS!!! WINNNNN!!" Lunella exclaims, spinning herself & Eduardo in circles.

Principal Nelson was just lost for words. But he was not gonna express how impressed he was. "What- how-"

"WOOH! It's called black girl magic, son!!" Lunella grins, moonwalking over his way.

She then twirls to face him. "I mean- sir." Lunella corrects. "And I believe we had a deal involved~??"

Unexpectedly, Principal Nelson rewards her & Eduardo each a $100 boba gift card. "Welcome back, Lafayette." He smiles, patting her shoulder.

"Noice!" Eduardo exclaims.

"Oh-" Lunella was confused at the gift card, because she was never informed with a reward involved. But she shrugs it off. "Not what I meant, but alright!"

Mrs. Dominguez gives her a high five as everyone leaves the field.

"Thanks again for coming in clutch for me." Lunella smiles, giving Eduardo a playful punch to his arm.

"Pshh- girl, y'know I gotchu!" He couldn't help but cringe to himself & slap his face with the gift card; cause for a second there he sounded like Anand.

With a scheming glint in Casey's eyes, she comes in between them & pushes Eduardo away. "Okay, now that hell-month is over - this calls for celebration Breakfast Sammy's! And quesito's on meeee~!" Casey announces in sing-song, pointing to herself.

"YES! Nothing tastes better than free food!!" Zoe cheered. Casey hops on her heels as she claps to herself whilst she watches over Lunella & Zoe heading to Eduardo's car.

Now that they're gone, she finally has a chance to talk to Eduardo. "Did you ask her to the d-!"

Eduardo cuts her off with his hand over her mouth, he looks over to Lunella & Zoe hoping they didn't hear her. They were sitting on top of the hood of his car talking.

"I kinda did . . . Not."

"Okay- first of all, put your hand on me again, I swear to god I'll gut-punch you. Second of all, QUE-QUE?! You LITERALLY have a deadline! Which I didn't GIVEEE-UH!"

"Yeah! Two weeks!" He reasoned, pushing her away.

Casey takes a deep breath, wiggling her fingers. "¡Vale. . . Está bien. . . I was born for this, I have a binder full of BIG Hoco/Promposals for a reason! It worked out with my primos!"

– (Okay. . . This is fine. . .)

As Eduardo scratches his neck, he thinks about it. Going big and being the center of attention really doesn't sound like her. "I. . . Don't think that's her thing. Look, I tried twice in one night and she curve-balled me both times. I'll. . . I'll just wait for her to ask me!" He shrugs off.

"And this has nothing to do with the fact that you still have feelings for Lunella?" Casey asks.

Eduardo quickly shakes his head. "Nope!" He smiles confidently.

Then his eyes widened. He just realized what he admitted to. "NO! I mean-!"

Got 'em. "AHAH!" Casey points.

"DAMN IT! Damn your reverse pshychiatry!"

My what?! Oh- He meant to say reverse psychology.

Let's try this again. "Eduardo Joseph Inez Gonzalez. . ." Casey presses her fingers together against her pursed lips. "Do you still have feelings for Lunella??"

"Nooo!!" Eduardo protested. Casey's silence as she squinted deep into his soul wasn't helping.

"No- She see's me as a friend right now! And that's how it's gonna be~ plus, we're good where we at! So..."

Since she already got what she wanted, Casey finally relented. "All true. But not what I asked! It's okay- I heard enough!" She smiles smugly, patting his shoulder.

Huh?! "Wait- hold up, what did I say?? Was that reverse psychiatry again??"

•••

"Sooo, the night is still young! One more round of donuts?!" Lunella asks Eduardo over his shoulder.

"You?? Really?"

"As much as I enjoy them, please no!" Zoe begged. "This is considered punishment for me."

"Hah, And that's what makes it fun, girl!" Eduardo teased.

"I hate how you enjoy my misery.."

"And it's been what? Fourteen years of that??" He grinned back.

"We gotta dip anyway, Lu!" Casey waves off to Lunella. "We had to push back that thing we had to do!!" And that thing was meeting up with Miles at the lab to do some combat training.

"OH! Oh yeah! So the rink then?" Lunella smiles sheepishly.

"That I can do!" Eduardo was about to put the car in drive until Casey stops him.

"Hey, ain't that Anand and Jason?" Casey asks Eduardo.

"Ugh, he had a thing with him tonight, but I didn't expect it to be here.." He murmurs, gripping on the wheel. The gut-feeling Eduardo had about Jason was a bunch of red flags. But he & Anand weren't that close, not close-close like Lunella & Casey. They were just - around for each other and its stayed like that.

"And was that thing a not-so love paradise? Cause that's how it looks! And a bit dressed up for Pizza-Casa, eh??" Casey asked. She and Lunella crack open their window, they couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"WHY DID YOU AMBUSH ME TO YOUR FAMILY LIKE THAT?! I told you I wasn't ready!" Anand shouts. He tried to wipe away his tears away, but he was too focused on trying not to face him.

"I- I know! I know! But after this good week we've had and how it's been great between you and my sis, I thought it was time! Y'know?? Since eighth grade it's been amazing with you, I kinda had too." Jason winced.

"Oh, NO he DI-N'T!" Casey pursed to herself.

"I'm not even completely out to my whole family yet! Dad met you, mom is. . . . Quietly accepting about it. And that was enough! There's this thing called boundaries, Jason! And you crossed it too many times."

Lunella tugs on Eduardo's shoulder. "Yo, E. Offer Anand a ride!"

Eduardo tries to slide down his seat, hiding into the wheel. "This- this isn't my business!"

"UH- this situation kinda has MADE IT our business!" Casey argued.

"And he ain't for the streets! He has proved that in stem club actually." Lunella nods.

"No duh! And with me one too many times! Have you seen him on my board?!" Eduardo fired back. How could things go from zero to a hundred real quick in one night? And where is MoonGirl when you need her?

"Please make this stop, make this stop, I am not for the streets either.." Zoe repeats to Lunella whilst she hides her face into her arm.

"Shit this is gonna come back to me if I don't do this, huh.." Eduardo murmurs to himself. He finally caved in and half of his body was out the window. "YO ANAND! Eh- need a safety ride??"

Anand smiles at Eduardo, it fades when he turns back to Jason. "We're done by the way."

Jason tries to reach for his hand, but he evades it as he goes."Anand!"

"YES!" Casey cheered. "Y'know I love- love, but I also love DRAMA!" And this is just a scene repeating from her telenovela right before her very eyes.

Once Anand gets in the back with Lunella and Zoe he immediately hugs Eduardo in a head lock. "Thank you, thank you! I owe you big time!"

"Okay, cool it with the hugging- you're choking me." Eduardo exhaled.

"You can chill at my rink if that's cool." Lunella assured Anand.

"I'll take it. I'd rather be anywhere but here." They were suddenly blocked by Jason in front of the car. "DUDE, MOVE!" Anand shouts out of the sun roof.

Emotion has thickened in Jason's head. "I'll move if you get out and talk to me!!" He demanded calmly.

"PISS OFF!" Anand snaps, honking the car.

"DUDE!" Eduardo's eyes widened & swats his hand away.

"¡Yeah! And he said move! PENDEJO!" Casey honked back.

"CASEY!" Lunella shouts.

"OH MY GOD! What is my life right now?!" Eduardo asked himself. "Casey, get MoonGirl!"

"She's not gonna waste her time with this fool!" Lunella insisted.

"Yeah! Just run him over! Put the hurt on him!" Anand suggested.

Zoe jolts up from hiding into her knees. "NO! Don't put the hurt on him!!" She tells Eduardo.

"So what? I don't care 'bout him anymore!"

Eduardo groans in annoyance, he was so over it. "Fine! I will!" Before he steps his foot on the pedal everyone recoiled back in panic. "Ay, make up your mind!!"

Lunella reminded him it was clear to back it up, and so he did; and chaos was over.

Chapter Text

After ending it off with an emotionally exhausted night, Lunella didn't really want to bail on Miles on combat training. And honestly, she was glad she didn't because it was just what she needed after today.

And it gave her a chance to test a few of Tessa's gadgets that she tweaked out with vibranium.

"Ohhh, you should've seen it Spidey, it went - whoosh - whoosh - BOOM! PSHHH!" Lunella gushed, falling to the floor after throwing two of her power gloves, and shooting out glitter bullets from her BB-Glitter-Smoker from her other free hand.

Miles flips to dodge them with ease, grabbing a power glove to throw across the room with his web. "Oh, I can imagine." Miles laughs. 

Before he could swing to her, a glitter bullet hits him right at his ankle which makes him fall over & stain half of his suit with purple glitter.

"SHEESH! I think I may have found my mini-me! M'kay Tessa, I see you!" Lunella cackles to herself whilst she spins the glitter shooter around her finger. But no way is she going to give her the vibranium upgrades. She made dupes for a reason & would rather not give Tessa this much chaos at the palm of her fingers.  "Casey! What's my time on this round?!"

"This was fifteen minutes aaand- five wins outta three!" Casey smiles.

"Suck-a!" Lunella gloats to Miles. 

Lunella was caught off guard when Miles grabs the Glitter Smoker with his web. "So this - Tessa girl.. Is she like, you smart?" Miles asks whilst examining the gun.

"Ehhh, I wanna say so but I don't think so. Y'know what I mean?? TJ on the other hand, is the one that's kinda me-smart, but compared to their gadgets with mine, these are really less advanced! Check it!!"

With Tessa's upgraded Sparkler-Crossbow, Lunella can now shoot dozens at him at once instead of manually lighting them in. 

It stings on Miles' feet from avoiding them step by step. He pulls himself up from the concrete floor & hangs from his web. 

"Okay, life ain't fair right now.." Miles deadpanned, aiming the glitter smoker at Lunella.

Lunella ducks & rolls to avoid getting glitter bombed, she shoots a spark at Miles' web and before he falls back on the ground, Devil catches him by the trail and swings him over his head. "Trade you a guys night for a helping hand!" Miles grinned to Devil, who's growl giggles back in a 'yeah, right' tone. ". . . Is that giggle a no or..??"

Casey giggles whilst she fidgets with her feet. "Sooo, on the subject of Tessa which is now on Eduardo- you're asking him to hoco right?!" She asks Lunella frantically as she grips on her phone. "Since I'm for sure going with Zoe so I figured-"

And then, there it was, that damned flashback of Eduardo coming to her mind again. Should it freak her out when homecoming is always mentioned? No. It shouldn't right? Statistically speaking, it could be from any other timeline, any other dance. But how can she know for sure it could or won't be this homecoming?

"Uh-heh-ummm.. Nooo??" Lunella chuckled nervously, while noticing Miles swinging straight to her she shoots out the gotcha glove at him.

"WHAT?!" Casey shouts. She covers her mouth not realizing how loud she was.

"Yeah, what??" Miles also asked whilst squeezing out of the gotcha glove.

"And what do you mean by 'for sure?' Did you even ask Zoe or has she-?" 

"Hey, hey, hey! DON'T pin this on me!" Casey interrupted. "A-and what do you mean no?! I also heard he tried to ask you twice last weekend! What's holding you back?? I-Is it the dating? Cause we can just switch this around to a group thing!"

Damn it, Eduardo. Of course she would talk to him too. Thanks to the Good Word Program, she honestly has plenty of time to date, a lot of free normal teen plans to have on her hands. And it's not like she's against dating in general, she would want too, it's just that - 

MoonGirl was the problem.

And if things got serious?

She honestly can't imagine coming to that. Or thinking about how that would go down at all.

Miles takes his mask off above his mouth and shakes his head in sympathy for Eduardo. "Damn, two dodges in one night. Kinda harsh for my man." 

"SHOVE IT, ARACHNID-MAN!" When Lunella bubble blasts Miles, Devil plays with him like he's a toy ball. 

Lunella then turns over to Casey. "Look, I ain't against or not ready for the dating biz, I'm down with it now! It's just-"

"But I don't get it then. Since you're chill, he's chill, and he wants you – Get your man~!" Miles' cooed voice echoed through the bubble as he floated over.

"And I thought I told you to zip it!" Lunella deadpans as she punts him to Devil. 

When Devil catches him by the mouth, Miles gagged and it was helpless scramming his way out. "Ohhh, dude!! I can see deep into his throat!" 

Lunella ignored the two & continued on with Casey. "It's just that when I asked him to the eighth grade dance, he had a date and I just wanted to die right then & there." She admits as she shrinks down & cringes to herself.

"But that was then and this is now!" Casey reasoned.

"EXACTLY!" Miles agreed.

"ONE MORE OUTTA YOU AND YOU'RE IN FOR IT!" Lunella warned Miles.

"I did not dip out of Jersey for this disrespect tonight.." Miles muttered to himself. As he looked down Devil's throat feeling the rumble in his mouth as he laughed - Miles winces, floats a step back & hugged his knees against his chest. He never thought he'd be inside a dinosaur either.

"I just don't want to repeat that again!" Her thin smile was tight, showing how anxious she was about it.

"And it won't!" Casey assured. "You shouldn't hold this back over one rejection he gave you when we were thirteen!"

"I'm not!" Lies.

"Besides-" When Miles swings out as he breaks free, he bounces off to Casey when Lunella bubble blasts him again. 

"I'll prove to you I'm not because with my way I have a strategy!" 

Casey raises a brow & pops Miles' bubble out with a thumbtack. "And what's that?"

Lunella shrugged as her smile was thin. "Instead of asking him I'll just wait until he asks me!" 

Oh, man. Was Casey hearing things? Did she hear that right?

Casey gives herself a facepalm by her phone & Miles raises a brow at her concerned.

She didn't want to, she didn't think she was supposed to, or if it was her place to do anything. But she has to.

It's time for Casey to add some Calderon Magic.

•••

"How many spam texts to Zoe is enough for me to stop?" Casey asks Lunella.

Lunella raises a brow, "And this is coming from the girl who almost sent me four hundred when I went to Wakanda because??"

"For just that one time!! Still not over how I could've gone with you by the way." 

"Devil was in trouble Casey, on the moon! Captain Marvel specifically asked me!" Lunella explained.

- This was M.G.A.D.D: The Avengers & MoonGirl Issue #1!!! - 

"Anyway, depends.. How many we talkin' right now?"

"Like. . . Over fifty-five but it's been back n forth, she sent me forty-two last night after combat training so I'm just making it even!" Casey snickered as she waved her phone.

Wow, Zoe has got it easy. "Yeah, don't go over your limit girl, I think that's enough." Her lips curve into a sly smile as she playfully rolls her eyes. 

"Speaking of last night, Anand REALLY got down on those wings that my dad had to cut him off & put him on Eduardo's tab! How can a scrawny boy like him be able to do that??!" And it's a good thing Anand kept James busy; otherwise James would've been bothering Miles begging him to sign two hundred items of his Spider-Man collection. 

Casey elbows Lunella once her attention went elsewhere. "Erm- speaking of Anand, situation at two o'clock." It was Eduardo and Anand at the end of the hall.

"DUDE! You don't need me to go to your locker! He's not even there!!" Eduardo assured Anand.

"But you're my buffer when he will be!!!" Anand wined, cradling on his arm tightly.

Lunella & Casey come in before they brought more attention to themselves. "¡Um- shalom! Hola! What's going on??" Casey asked Anand and Eduardo.

"Eduardo won't walk with me to my locker." Anand frowned.

Eduardo finally was able to let his arm go from Anand's grasp. "And he can't cause he thought it was a 'great idea!' To be locker neighbors with his ex." He chirped mockingly. "I told you it was a bad idea but nooo!"

"Is that purple glitter on your jawline??" Lunella suddenly asked Eduardo.

Eduardo aggressively wipes it off the said jawline. "BB-Glitter-Smoker." He bluntly answered with a deadpan.

With those three words, Lunella flinched. Did Tessa tell him? She smiled sheepishly back at him and put her arm around Anand. "ANAND! How 'bout I go with you instead?! D'ya know we're doing Titrations today?!"

"Oh, yippee.. I can't wait to get a solid C in that.." Anand cheered sarcastically.

"Not with me you are!"

Casey couldn't in anymore, her quiet mischievous giggles could be heard over Eduardo's shoulders as she snuck up on him. "Ugh, What?" Eduardo sighed to Casey.

"You - are - going to - love meeeee! Hehehe!" Casey says whilst poking him repeatedly at his arm.

"What?"

"As the match maker & wing-gal I am, Lu told me she's waiting on YOU to ask her. Ha-HAH!" 

"Oh. Yay.." Eduardo grinds out, forcing his lips to curve into a smile.

"Now I took your words to heart and I figured they were preferences so I have many ideas that we could make this private yet low-key romantic at the same time!" Casey snorts. "So I was thinkin'-"

As he squeezes his backpack straps to his chest, Eduardo's thoughts blurred out his attention from Casey. 

Because did he really want this? Want her? More than anything. But he couldn't help but have his insecurities flow into his head. To Lunella she was Edweirdo - at least he thinks so. And all he thinks of is how he could just be a waste of space to her. A waste of space to her family - who he couldn't help but wonder why they'd let him in with such open arms when back then he was just a thirteen year old fanboy who wanted to do much more for MoonGirl. He didn't think that they would take such a silly thing he was so passionate of so seriously.

Eduardo raises a brow when Casey points behind two students in a middle of a homecoming proposal, his eyes widened when thousands of roses have fell out of her locker. His stomach was now in knots.

Now back to earth. "But honestly, however you wanna do this, I'm game - either - way!!" Casey's giggles were lighthearted as she tosses her phone back in forth in the opposite hand.

"And how 'bout we – put a - pin on it..??" Eduardo wanted to get out of this. Casey was just being too much. And he wanted to figure this out on his own first. 

So the best way to get out of this conversation was to awkwardly moonwalk away.

"And it better be anytime next week so- NO! Don't - DON'T!" 

Eduardo purses his lips as he glides back. "Don't what? I'm just heading to class!"

"Don't moonwalk away from me! We aren't done here!!" Casey frantically waves over.

"Can't! It's already in motion!"

"Well, put it out of motion!!"

"I gotta go! I gotta go!" He flinches after bumping against the lockers and quickly walks to class. "¡Hasta luego!" 

– (See you later!)

"Wuss!!" Casey stomps.

Eduardo couldn't believe he was saying this, but the rink was the last place where he wanted to be right now. Who knew working at the rink without Lunella would backfire to working with her.

And of all days it's gotta be Lafayette cleaning day. 

He may not be a Lafayette by blood, but according to James' words if Casey can do it so could he. After working with them for almost three years, he's gotta know the drill by now.

"Aight, y'all! Whose turn is it to clean my kettle pot?!" Mimi calls out.

Lunella stops what's she's screwing in the middle of her Nacho Machine 3.0. "NOT IT!"

"NOT IT!" James shouts in unison with Lunella.

Eduardo jolts up out of his thoughts but he was seconds too late. "NOT I- damn!" He groans as he banged his forehead on the counter.

"HAH!" Lunella snorts, pointing her screw driver at him.

"Actually it's a two person job this time cause someone thought it was a good idea to make Cotton. Candy. Kettle." Mimi glared at James.

"Uh– I gotta meet Brooke & Tai at NYU with Casey after I finish this thing!" Lunella quickly reminded Mimi.

"Don't worry Lu, you're good to go this time." Mimi waved off. Lunella lets out a sigh of relief in response. "James please go and help out Eduardo and for the love of god quit digging your nose on the Jones's!"

"BUT BOBBY JUST POSTED HIS NEW BABY BOY!" James gushed whilst he waves his phone up in the air, "Where's my son, honey?! I want a son too!!"

"Shop's closed." Adria deadpanned.

"Way to drop the ball on your only daughter, dad." Lunella glared.

"Boo, you know I'm just foolin'!" James chuckles, nudging her with his elbow. "Besides, I got my man right here!"

Hearing James say those words made Eduardo flick his drumstick across the table, almost choking on his water. "Say what?"

"Dad!!" Lunella whispered aggressively through her teeth.

There attention has shifted when the doors opened wide. It was Carmen with a box of Mexican pastries and birria pizza. "¡¡¡Hola, fam!!!" 

Even though Eduardo was confused, that didn't stop him from hugging her back. "Mom??! What're you - doing here??"

"Can't I take a visit n' see my favorite girl?" Carmen grinned. She could see Lunella drumming the table with her fingers, excited for the pizza and slides it over to her.

Who? That was still not enough answers for him. "Um. . . Lu??" He hesitates, still confused.

Carmen hits him on the head with his drumstick. "No, fool! I mean, she is, but-"

"Carmen!! Where have you been, mama's?!" Adria squealed with open arms. Carmen embraces her in a fleeting hug as their giggles filled the room.

"When did you get that blow out? And without me?" Adria giggled, flicking Carmen's curls.

"Ay, I had too! The station was wearing me down big time. But y'know I like the hustle." She smirked, nudging Adria's arm.

"We still good for nails today though, right?"

"'Course, that's why I traded for night shift!"

"Since when are y'all friends??" Eduardo asked them. "Did you know about this?" He asked, turning to Lunella.

Lunella denies it, shaking her head with her birria pizza still held to her mouth. It was all new to her too. James tries to grab a slice but Lunella slaps his hand away.

"Since wh-?! Since ALWAYS!" Carmen says as she placed her hands on her hips.

"She's my V.P to my P at the PTA!" Adria says, shaking Carmen's arm.

"Five years and counting!" They mimic Will and Jazz's handshake from the Fresh Prince with their own combination of their hatcha-hatcha dance with hair flips.

Lunella and Eduardo were on the same page, still confused as hell. "Any chance I can come along to NYU?" Eduardo asks Lunella.

"Depends. You down for karaoke?" Lunella smirked.

Eduardo thinks about it for a moment and honestly, he heard enough of singing today after Carmen blasted Selena Quintanilla-Pérez all morning. 

And no way in hell is he singing.

He claps his hands together and quickly leaves to find James. "I'm out." 

Chapter Text

God, this is gonna be so fucking embarrassing.

He's totally gonna find out.

But there's no harm in asking. 

After all of that cleaning at the rink - since Mimi and Pop's had a date night and Adria and his mom were out and Lunella & Casey were at NYU, Eduardo decided to keep James company for the evening.

It was just him and James in the living room watching Rick and Morty while he helped him build his USC Star Wars ginormous Lego Millennium Falcon. Two things they had in common! 

Star Wars? No. Rick and Morty and Legos.

Until Eduardo, James normally watched it alone because Mimi didn't care for it and Lunella thinks it's an insult to science. She tries to watch it for his sake for father-daughter time, it's good for some laughs but she can't help but hate it. And she couldn't help but challenge herself to build whatever the show throws at her.

For fucks sake, get on with it! In his hands, Eduardo fidgets with tiny Chewbacca, and scans the wall of the Lafayette's family portraits. Especially the ones of James and Adria.

". . . So Mr. Lafaye-"

"Eduardo, how many times have I told you that you could call me James?" James smiled as he finished up the foundation of the falcon.

"One too many times."

"And how long have you been under my roof?"

Eduardo laughs it off, trying to move on from the sudden interrogation. "Yeah, yeah. I get it." 

"So what's up?"

"You met Miss– er- Adria in highschool, right?" Eduardo asks, rubbing on Chewbacca's head.

"Pfft- oh no, no, it was like- after college! I wish though!" James chuckled as he pressed a flat lego surface onto another. 

"So then– when you like- started dating or before... What kind of casual gifts did you do?"

James raised a brow. "Define casual."

"Like- y'know that aren't too much?" Preferably gifts that don't send out the wrong message. The type that won't scare her or level up the status of their friendship to something unexpectedly. Is what Eduardo wished he could've clarified.

"Like - 'Casey' too much?"

"God, yes." Eduardo exhaled.

James laughs, but Eduardo couldn't tell if it was to him or to Morty asking Rick if he was dying of dementia. 

He places the legos down & taps Eduardo's knee as he got up from the couch. "C'mon, lemme show you somethin'." James exhaled.

Eduardo fidgeted with his drawstrings of his hoodie while James rummaged through the bedroom closet. "I don't know what 'casual' means to you but this is what I did." 

Eduardo lays down on the floor when James slides the small box to him, he opens it, and it was filled with a dozen cases of cds. And of each case of 'em, the cd cover had a picture of him & Adria throughout the years they've been together.

James then sits down across from him as he continues to look in the box. "I even did these before we even started dating, we did this back to back. It's how we talk."

James says when you listen to it in order, each song was a conversation. "This is dope, but- we just do this with our phones now." Or my iPod Classic.

"Holy uncultured.." James sighed, shaking his head. The new way these kids date was such a let down to him. "This way it's personal! Your girl is gonna see how important she is to ya! Y'know?"

With each case, Eduardo turns them over to look at the tracks, and see's the song he and Lunella skated to that night. "I see you got taste!"

This might actually help me out. 

"I'm a Lafayette, of course I got taste." James pursed. "Also any particular reason why you asked me such a thing?" He asked as he raised his brow twice.

Oh, he fucking knows. Eduardo pats himself down to look for his phone, trying to find an excuse to get out of the question. "Uuuuuhhh-OH- that's Brooke! She wants me to bring some pop so I'm going to NYU after all- peace!" Eduardo says frantically after every step he took to the door.

Instead of lying about it, Eduardo sucked it up and decided to go to NYU after all. 

Please for the love of god, have Casey steal all of the attention from me.

And he was two blocks away from campus & from Brooke & Tai's dorm. As he passes through Broadway, what a hell of a coincidence it was that their dorm is on Lafayette street.

His full attention was to his iPod classic & making the playlist. 

But halfway through the crosswalk Eduardo stops himself. He shuts his eyes as he snarled at the playlist and deletes it. Tucking his hands deeper in his pockets along with his iPod and turns around to go back to his car.

"Why bother even trying–"

"WATCH OUT!"

Eduardo's life flashed before his eyes the moment MoonGirl flew him back across to where he was supposed to be. 

When they both tumble down on the sidewalk he flushed at the touch of MoonGirl's hand on his chest before she picks herself up in the air.

"THAT WAS A RED LIGHT, RUDY! RED LIGHT!" Lunella spat out to Rockin' Rudy.

"FIND SOMEONE WHO GIVES A FUUUUHHHHH~!!" Rockin' Rudy belts whilst he flees away.

With Lunella's sun blaster she shoots out a beam right for him but Rockin' Rudy was already too far away for it to catch up. "DAMN IT!" 

Eduardo felt the earth rumbling with every stomp, it was Devil coming their way.

"YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO D!" Lunella says to Devil, pointing to Rockin' Rudy's direction. 

Who cares if Rudy can repair his car in a snap, he was going to pay for that.

Lunella completely forgot about the pedestrian. Once she recognized it was Eduardo, She quickly flies down to help him up. Don't tell me dad scared him off. "Aw geez, you okay?"

"Always thanks to you, M.G." Eduardo chucked tiredly as he stretched his back.

Before they could fully stand up, they both slipped on liquid that was never there before, and it was.. Snickering??

It was Vincente. In his liquid state he floats up in the air and transforms into his solid form, in his right hand he flicks liquid at the two - making them bump their heads against the concrete. 

"You have something that I want, MoonGirl." He evaporates into gas to scurry up to her then back in his solid form, picking her up by her wrist. "So how 'bout we do this the easy way?!"

The gadget on Lunella's wrists were what he wants. He unlocks the one on her left wrist, before he could take it, Lunella kicks him to the stomach across the street. "NO WAY!" Lunella shouts, flying towards him.

Eduardo sees the gadget on the ground and takes it. He puts it on his left wrist, he was confused on what it could do - but the buttons on the screen were filled with boxes of letters he kind of recognized.

It was the periodic table. 

Eduardo looks up across at MoonGirl and Vincente fighting in the air, he noticed she had a second pair on in her right wrist too - shooting out compounds of chemicals right at him.

"How 'bout stick to what you know, Vincente?! Three's never a crowd!" When Lunella flies under Vincente she was right behind him, shooting solidified foam at the back of his head. 

He evaporates into gas again to dodge it, and back into his solid form. The foam hardens when it hits a mailbox. "Being three states of matter is getting boring lately." He says as he shoots gas & liquid at her. "But with your periodic blasters-"

Lunella shoots out of her freeze-ray to calm his molecules down but misses - he was all over the place. "I can be invincible!" 

"Thanks for the ego boost! Not like I need it!" Lunella snorts.

Vincente rolls his eyes, turning into liquid as he lays flat on the side walk to make Lunella slip. He sees Eduardo across the street with the other periodic blaster on his left wrist. "YOU!"

"OH, SHIT!" Eduardo winced.

Vincente evaporates into gas, coming straight for him. "GIMME THAT GADGET!"

"NO- EDUARDO, JUST THROW IT TO ME!" Lunella shouts, waving her arms in the air.

"I GOT IT! I GOT IT! Lemme just-!" Eduardo aimed the periodic blaster to the ground, he in fact did not got it- he was just pressing random elements. "Okay! Just like the crafting table! What did Lu say?! Um- um- okay- what did Honey Lemon do??"

Eduardo was frantically combining the wrong elements. The data loads up when he kept on swiping the screen.

"Oxygen/ Mercury - Mercuric oxide: forming" 

"Huh?!" Eduardo gasped.

– 2HgO: activated –

– Catalyst Speed Lock: Engaged – 100% ✓

– Repeat Lock: Engaged – 100% ✓

"MoonGirl Magic: Engaged in three, two-"

The periodic blaster Eduardo had activating alerts Lunellas which hasn't been synced. "He did not just-?!" She gasped at her periodic blaster.

Oh shit. Eduardo frantically slaps the screen, hoping it could change the data somehow. "NO! UNDO! UNDO! THAT'S NOT WHAT I-" Before he knew it he was being launched into the air going in circles over a hundred mph & heading straight to Washington Square as Vincente chases him down. "OHHH SHIT-!"

"Ah, shit." Lunella sighed. 

When Eduardo flies over Washington Squares fountain, everyone scatters out - he bumps hard against a tree and slides down in between the bushes. "That was nothing like the crafting table!" Eduardo coughed.

"One down! One to go! Thanks for making this easy for me!" Vincente cackled maliciously. 

"Blast! Blast! Blast!! What?!" The periodic blaster wasn't working. Eduardo doesn't know that MoonGirl has synced it up with hers to shut it down. His mom should be working by now, she would be in the Chelsea area up-state tonight. So he whips out his phone to call his mom. 

Eduardo then dropped his phone after he flinches, seeing Vincente now frozen in an icy block glitching in his molecule states. "NOOO!! NOT AGAIN!!" Vincente whined.

"PLEASE tell me you weren't gonna blast mercuric oxide - to GAS?" Lunella asked Eduardo rhetorically.

Eduardo opens his mouth to respond but he swallows it back down. His adrenaline & heart was still racing after blasting himself five blocks away from Lunella & Casey.

"Combining oxygen and mercury produces heat. That would just juice up Vincente in his gas state." Lunella explains whilst she pulls Eduardo up with both hands. "Study the periodic table for the next time I save your butt." She teased, barely holding in her grin.

"Hey, I'm not tryna make this a re-occurring thing!" Eduardo says defensively. Tossing her the other periodic blaster.

"Oh- OKAY, and this is like- hm- the FOURTH time now?" She retorts.

"Keeping tabs on me now?"

"Y'know what? I just might if this is going to be a re-occurring thing." Lunella's visors visibly showed her squint when her teasing smile returns.

Eduardo scoffed, tilting his head to the side as he rolled his eyes. "Just like my friend Lunella.." Always never letting it go.

Just by those words it made Lunella choke up & completely lose her cool. "Wha-HAH! WHO?! In whAt way-" She quickly cleared her throat to deepen her voice, "Imagine that–"

"Please. End this." Vincente sighed.

Saved by Devil, he marched up towards them in a panic with Rockin' Rudy in his mouth; turning his head back & forth asking Lunella where the next bad guy was.

"Don't worry about it Dev', we got 'em!" Lunella smiled to Devil. 

Suddenly- her phone buzzed from an unexpected message from Casey, she whips it out to text S.H.I.E.L.D first. "Oof- Case!" She gasps under her breath, "Dev', do me this solid while I bounce?" Devil nods & gives her a salute below his chin.

"Let's not do this again, 'kay?!" Lunella says to Eduardo before she fleets into the air. 

And just like that, she was gone before he could wave goodbye. He just stood there as he slowly waved.

"Won't count on it.."

Chapter Text

Eduardo never made it to Brooklyn & Tai's. Nah, he went straight back home.

And after the sudden two on one with Vincente, it wouldn't hurt for Lunella, Casey & Devil to do a quick night patrol.

"Sooo, five days away from v-day!" Casey began, "Hoco! The Hoco where we get low-oh! The cra-!"

"Is this getting somewhere?" Lunella murmured.

"Eh, I was just trying to hype up the mood. I was out of material anyway, thank god you stopped me." Casey snickered.

"But speaking of, did he-?"

"No.. not yet." Lunella sighed.

"Well, any texts after y'alls 'partner n' crime mashup~??'" She pursed teasingly whilst she shimmied her hands in a dance. "You two have been having a lot of that lately!"

"Nah-uh! Don't even!" The last thing Lunella wants is Eduardo in danger. It's the reason why she kept her circle so small. When it happened with Casey, even to her family –

She promised herself to never get anyone roped into that again.

So maybe it's a good thing that neither of them should ask them to homecoming after all.

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nah-uh- WOAH! What the?!" Lunella & Casey looked over Devil's head to see a dozen police cars, gun-shots were shot, and the cars that the police were charging to were following Stiletto flying ahead.

"POLICE CHASE!" Lunella squealed.

"POLICE CHASE!" Casey repeated.

"You game?!"

"Are you?!!" Casey grinned. Lunella eagerly pats on Devils head in order for him to chase them down. "Hold on tight, Tim & Lucy! Backup is COMIN'!" Casey squealed.

"Any chance y'all can hurry it up?!!" Stiletto sneered.

"Uh- we got some company up ahead!" One of her sidemen shouts from the sunroof. As Devil was charging in, he released one of his big roars.

Stiletto rolls her eyes, "Oh, screw this!" She stretches out her leg, when it hits the concrete the car with her sidemen crashes into it along with two police cars. She has decided to leave them behind once she grabbed the rest of the Prada bags in the car. "Once again, the woman does everything!"

"One thing we can agree on!" Lunella shouts whilst she shoots her power glove at her.

All of Stiletto's stolen Prada heels have flung out of her hands, she wobbles but she controls herself to stand her ground. "Ohhh, welcome back! Missed my - KICKS?!" She grinned widley, stretching her leg.

"Really?? Is that the best you could D-!" Before Lunella could fire one of her stirring comments, she was met with a stab to the gut by her heel.

A few police officers scatter out of the car to get her sidemen's, but when Carmen gets out of hers, she stood and watched MoonGirl.

"MoonGirl??" Carmen asked herself under her breath.

"S-Sergeant Gonzalez!!" Lunella yelped when Stiletto threw her into a glass window, the censored alarms from the store were alerted in the process.

"¡YOU GOT THIS BEBÉ! WHOOP IT! WHOOP IT!" Casey cheered as she filmed.

Carmen overhears her & looks over her shoulder. "Wha- Casey?!"

"Tita Carmen! Uh-!" Casey immediately ducked & gripped on Devil when she slid down to his neck. "N-no! Just your boy, Devil! RAAH!" She calls out in between mimicked growls. Devil tries to play along by moving his mouth as she talked but Carmen wasn't buying it.

While she's not technically her aunt-aunt by blood, considering that her dads are friends with her - it's very customary & out of respect in some families to call them by aunt or uncle.

"Get outta here!"

"We got this!" Lunella assured, "I- I got this!! FU-!" Stiletto was swinging Lunella around to get her off of her leg, to do so she pinned her to a brick wall but Lunella kept her grip strong.

"Not you, her!" Carmen clarified, cocking her head to Casey & Devil. "And you'll be doing the papers for that!" She says to MoonGirl.

"Heh- no offense Tita, but- that's not our papers to do.." Casey scoffed, hiding behind Devil's arm.

"Yeah, we're with S.H.I.E.L.D. Not N.Y.P.D." Lunella adds.

Stiletto finally kicked Lunella off & when she did, Lunella banged her head on the hood of Carmen's police car & left a small dent.

"Well tonight you are." Carmen deadpanned, folding her arms. 

With Lunella's periodic blasters on her wrists, she was able to juice it up & add a few of her & Tessa's gadgets in with the help of Matsuye & Merle. It was very convenient for less gadgets she could carry.

She bubble blasts at each heel & Devil whacks his tail behind Stiletto's back making her fall face down & traps her with nets. Carmen finally ends it off with tasing her legs.

"Was that necessary?" Lunella asked Carmen.

"Oh totally, you need to tire them legs out." Carmen nodded. "She can go to S.H.I.E.L.D. But tomorrow I expect you to do papers at the station." She smirks, nudging MoonGirl shoulder to shoulder.

"Ehh- I don't have to come right??" Casey asked Carmen. "Cause I got dress shopping.. OH- is there a size five here I could keep?!"

"Ugh, Case.." Lunella tsked.

"A reward should be granted!!"

"5pm tomorrow?" Carmen suggested after handing MoonGirl her card.

"You got it!" Lunella hops on her heels as she takes it & swerves backwards towards Casey & Devil.

"Sergeant! Heh-" When she gives Carmen a two finger salute she falls backwards, the embarrassment crawls up to her when she immediately picks herself up in the air. "I'm fine!"

•••

Eduardo did everything he could hiding under his hood as he walked through the halls - because why did everyone give him their full attention all of a sudden?

Why was everyone laughing?

Why was he getting called a weirdo under their breaths? Again?!

Eduardo chokes when he gets pulled by his backpack handle by Tessa. "You have OFFICIALLY ruined my social life!!" She whispered fiercely.

Eduardo rolled his eyes. "Erm- no. That started when u kept hanging around with TJ."

"Check again, you DOPE!" She held her phone right at his face. He immediately grabs it to come and find out he was trending on the M.G.D.

Mother fucker.

The caption was titled 'Partner n' FAIL 😭' and the clip was in the middle of him & MoonGirl's fight with Vincente when he had his hands on the periodic blaster, blasting himself in the air. "THAT WAS EDUARDO GONZALEZ YEETING HIMSELF TO WASHINGTON SQUARE! HAHAH!! GET 'EM, MOON GIRL!!" The male voice cackled in the video.

- Likes: 793.8k -

- Comments: 15.20k -

iluvmoongirl Isn't this the dude that made this app?

camcammagic MR. PRESIDENT TF ARE YOU DOING?

O.M.G.Olivia Earth is so strange..

CaseyCaseyCasey ✓ Guys trust, this was all part of the plan..

Zariah.zzz ⁷ The way he zip zap zopped to oblivion bye-

Xoxo.Devil.ily Wait but I love this duo tho

TwiSetzone MoonGirl looks so over it 😭

Its.Anand idk this man btw

"I would normally make fun of you for this like everyone else - BUT I'M IN THE MOOD - TO KILL YOU!" Tessa stomped. "My chances of working with MoonGirl are done.. DONEEE!!"

Listen - Eduardo isn't proud of it either. All he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and die. And that's what he did when he slid down to the ground against the locker.

"Eduardo, what're you doing?" Zoe asked Eduardo.

"Trying to curl up into a pillbug indefinitely." He states. "Is it working?"

"Oh, you n' your Rick and Morty bullshit- get up!" Lunella scoffed, kicking his ankle.

"So what if you're trending on all platforms-!" Zoe says, flicking her wrist.

"ALL PLATFORMS?!"

"No." Zoe quickly backtracks, shaking her head. "M.G.D. . . M.G.D. is what I said-! Hey! Let's move on to homecoming! Lu- help-" She stammers whilst she nudges.

"Uhhh, we ran into a hoco-K-Pop flash mob this morning-" Lunella shrugged.

"It's all platforms." Tessa cuts in whilst she scrolled on her phone. "You're dead. Done for. To juvie we go~!!"

"Damn it, Tessa!" Zoe flinched & grabbed her phone. "NO ONE is going to juvie!"

"Not with that attitude." Tessa snorts. "With his kind of record, Mami can send him there like that! If she wanted to!" She says as she snapped her fingers.

"Y'know you're halfway there." Eduardo glared.

"Yeah, well– I'm not the one on the news!"

"I'm not the one with the M.G.-Wannabe tech!"

"OH, you WANT some?!" Tessa threatened, pulling out her BB-glitter-smoker under her jacket,  "Cause I'm carrying right now-!!"

"TESS-!" Zoe pulled Tessa's arm down with the said BB-glitter-smoker in hand immediately, & she accidentally made her pull the trigger doing so - releasing blue glitter on the floor along with it reaching to their ankles, staining their shoes, and half of the lockers.

"Okay, that one is on you." Tessa said to Zoe matter-of-factly.

A group of popular girls laugh out loud as they walked by, "Weirdo and weirdette's, strikes again..!"  One of the girls snickered to her clique.

"Oh, you better walk off! You want what we got on?!" Lunella calls out.

Tessa's temper changed, and felt unsecured of herself after that comment. On the other hand Zoe was boiling, gripping onto Tessa's glitter gun and ready to aim until Eduardo grabbed it out of her hands and did it for her.

Both groups were in shock & still of what just happened - so was everyone else in the hallway. But between them one was freaking out about their hairs & highlights.

MoonGirl was no coward, we've been knowing that. But Lunella was, and she was a coward of the confrontation that she didn't expect to happen.

And she did what any sixteen year old of bad social cues could do, take the glitter gun and run away from the problem.

When they were three halls down, they slouch under the stairs to take a breather.

"Not so M.G.-Wannabe now huh?" Tessa smirked wide to Eduardo. "Saved your ass."

"YOUR ASS got us into this in the first place!" Eduardo shoved.

"And who pulled the trigger?!"

"Look- forget it! — ugh." Zoe says in disgust whilst she tried to wipe the glitter off her pants.

"YO, TESS— woah." TJ paused & eyed up and down at all of them. "Awesome." He smirked.

"I won't hesitate to use this too, y'know." Lunella warned as she waved the glitter gun. "What d'ya want?"

"That's her business to know." TJ says, pointing to Tessa.

"Good!" Eduardo then pushed Tessa to TJ. "You can take her to the lost & found and find herself some new pants."

"NOOO!" Tessa whined.

"You did this to yourself."

"Fine. Let's go." TJ relented & looped his arm through hers to forcefully drag her.

"BUT IT'S GROSS HAND-ME-DOWNS AND I DON'T WANNAAA!!"

"Now we got that out of the way-" Zoe exhaled, resting her arm on Eduardo's shoulder. "Me n' Case' are going dress shopping after school! Wanna get that tux?"

Eduardo then glanced at Lunella. "Just you and Casey?" He echoed to Zoe.

"I–" Lunella paused when she unzipped her bag under her arm. "Kinda have a thing to do after school."

"But it's on a sale! And there aren't gonna be any foxy dresses left for youuu!!" Zoe pouted.

"Don't say foxy." Eduardo says, pinching his nose bridge.

"Oh- hard pass on that, girl! Casey's got that covered!" Lunella chuckled light heartedly. And then her tone went low. "Anyway, I better put this in my locker before Tess pulls a WWE on me before lunch. Later."

Zoe then gives Eduardo a look after reading Lunella's body language as she left. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"THAT!" Zoe shoved, waving her arm out to the empty hall. "Lu was quiet all morning since we saw that flash mob. You have asked her right?"

"I kinda. . ." Eduardo hesitated to answer the moment Zoe stared him down. ". . . Haven't gotten the-"

"WHAT?!!" They were cut off & scared to death by Casey hanging upside down from the stairs.

"SWEET FUCKING CHRIST- you need a bell!!" Eduardo glared over to Casey who was rushing down the stairs. Believe it or not her heels tapping as she went down were louder than her shriek.

"Oh, don't give me that!" Casey spat. "I just kicked Jason in the groin for saying 'Coach is for broke's' to my new hobo bag! So imagine - what I'm gonna do - if you KEEP. STRINGING. OUR LU. ALONG!!" She continued whilst she shook him.

He has to remember to ask her a video of that later.

One thing Eduardo knows about Casey, is that she doesn't bluff. She's the definition of fuck around & find out. Hell she has even fought alongside with MoonGirl for crying out loud, not to mention she has punched him once over a damn scrunchie comment. So if Casey can punch him once, she'll do it again.

"Okay- chill." Eduardo says, leveling his hand down, "What I was GOING to say was that I'm working on it."

"Oh, yay!!" Casey clapped. "What d'ya mean by that?"

"It means that this doesn't need your big romance junk ruining it for me!"

Casey then stared down at her hoco/promposal binder that she had in her hands & closes it shut. "I TOTALLY get the memo! Been knowing it, and know that you want it low-key! I have that chapter actually-"

"Casey."

"Hm?"

"No schemes, no plots, no bullshit, 'kay?" He says as he takes a step to the stairs.

"M'kayyyyy. . ." Casey trailed off, watching him leave.

And one thing she also knows is knowing how to read people. "Yeah, he's not doing jack-shit." Casey sighed to Zoe.

It's a good thing she's right about that, because with all the playlists he made, none has summed up his feelings for her right.

"I don't know Case', I think he's got it under control." Zoe shrugged.

"¡Mi Todo, this is the same man who has always counted on doing things the last minute! You can't do this when it comes to love!" Casey reasoned.

"M'kay, but he said-"

A twinkle of mischief were in Casey's eyes when she leaned onto Zoe's shoulder. "He didn't SAY any surprises~! Since Lunella is busy for the evening, tonight is the PERFECT NIGHT to do this!" She says, pressing their cheeks together.

"It's perfect how?" Zoe asked.

"It's got some R&R to it, thats how!" She countered, "All I need is some warm lights, rose petals, candles, and your Beats speaker!"

Chapter Text

For once, TJ was coming in clutch for tonight and he didn't even know it. Three blocks down he and Tessa were at his place up the roof when he excitedly told her that his cousin gave him a bunch of fireworks he wanted to give away.

Meanwhile at Lunella's at her rooftop, Casey was doing everything. Candles on the balcony, rose petals scattered on the blanket, the snap candy and the warm fairy lights hanging were just the perfect finishing touch.

"Almost doneeee.." Casey says in sing-song. She hummed to Selena Gomez that was blasting through Zoe's beats speaker as she took a step back to take it all in. "Just like Monica and Chandler's proposal! But not all the way though, I couldn't get that much candles." Otherwise Eduardo would kill her. 

"I even found the most PERFECT song just for this moment!"

Zoe looks up from her phone when Casey scattered more rose petals on the blanket she was laying on, some even lands on her. "So is this a hoco proposal – or a marriage proposal??" She smirks, raising a brow.

"Hey, this is the best low-key I could do!" Casey blushed whilst she hanged the last string of lights.  "Did you text him what he's got 'under control' by the way? I texted Lu to come up and see our dresses 'under the moonlight!' HAH!" She snorts with her air quotes.

"Yeah, he's got it. Bringing it. Told you he had it under control." Zoe smirked.

"Bleh-bleh." Casey puppets with her free hand, "So what is it?! Tell me!!"

"It's gonna ruin the surprise if I tell you." Her smirked continues whilst she was in the middle of her 8-Ball game with Eduardo on her phone. "Can we lose the picnic basket for us though? Snap candy is all they need."

"Ooo, good call!" Casey says as she hopped off the stool.

"And the pillows." Zoe continued.

"Why–"

"And the blanket."

"Zo-"

"And a fewww less candles." Zoe lastly points.

"Okay, are you just gonna veto everything here?!" Casey groaned, spreading her arms out.

"You gotta admit this is a lot, Case'." She smiled wry.

Casey sighs & lays down next to Zoe on the blanket, leaning her shoulder against hers. "Yeah, okay- so maybe this 'push' is more of a 'shove to the cliff' but we got four days till this baby! And I'm just doing my part making sure that they're locked in!"

"There's always doing it casually." Zoe suggested.

"Ugh, me and casual don't mix, you know that." She says with disgust. Let alone proposal signs.

"You literally asked me when we watched 10 Things when-"

"When I serenaded along with Patrick when he serenaded Kat I know!" Casey giggled as she rests her cheek against her palm. But that wasn't casual, she literally put on a show just like Patrick but more of around her whole apartment as her field.

"So-" Zoe then paused the music, gently grabbed both of her hands & picked themselves up from the blanket, "Maybe going casual isn't so awful? Just this second time."

"Fine." Casey acquiesced , looping the picnic basket into her left arm. "Commence, operation: casual–"

Then- the sound of the creaking door swinging open & the announced male voice makes them both flinch still. "Aight, bo-Zo, I got it–" 

Casey scurried & pulled Zoe's arm to hide behind the huge green electrical box by the door, there was no time to grab the blanket and pillows. "Operation: casual has gone fifty-fifty!!" She whisper-yelled to Zoe.

"But why are we–?" Eduardo blinked, & couldn't believe his surroundings. He walked slowly to the balcony to where the folded note was for him and quietly read it aloud to himself.

Stay cool, you didn't say no surprises ;3

"Dammit, Casey!"

Eduardo flinched behind his back when he hears the door creak open. "Aight, Case', these dresses better wow me.." Lunella groaned, sounding exhausted. 

"Otherwise I'm not- oh!" Lunella stood still, and equally had the same exact reaction as Eduardo when he walked in. And her bun looked like its soul had drained from the three hours of MoonGirl papers she had to do at the station.

Eduardo's breath hitched when he turned to face her. "Hey." Eduardo flinched.

"Now! Play it now!" Zoe rushed Casey.

"I'm finding it! I'm– got it!" Casey quietly squealed, she shook her heels in excitement before she played There Goes My Baby by D4vd to Zoe's speaker.  

🎵 There goes my baby. . . Out of my reach. . .

Eduardo couldn't help but glance up at the sudden music. The silence was as loud as ever when Lunella awkwardly approached him, & the redness in his cheeks spread to his ears when he squeezed on the cd case.

🎵 Why won't you take me? It's so hard to breathe. . . 

"So..." Lunella giggled light heartedly, "Whatcha got there?" She asked, leaning in at the cd.

He quickly hid it with his one hand behind his back before she took a closer look. "Oh- before that– I- this.." he awkwardly gestured around, making it aware that he didn't do this, "Wasn't what I had in mind."

"Told you." Zoe whispers to Casey.

Lunella's smile fades when she steps past him to lean on the balcony. "Heh, Yeah, you had a lot of time to think that through." 

🎵 There goes my baby. .  . Why did you leave?

A tint of guilt washed over him when he rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah. Yeah, I deserve that."  

"Told youuu." Casey mocked back to Zoe.

"At first it was because I was waiting on you." Eduardo continued.

"You were?" Lunella turned, "because I was waiting on you."

When Eduardo walked up beside her, he crosses his arms on the balcony. "Yeah, I figured."

"Casey?" Lunella guessed.

"Y'know it." They exchanged small laughs, then the silence was back when their shoulders dropped.

🎵 Still, I've got to feel, something so hard to find. . . 

"Yesss! I'm part of this!!" Casey quietly squealed, pressing her cheeks. 

🎵 There goes my baby. . . Out of my reach. . .

"So what was the hold up?" Lunella asked.

"Well– y'know you dodged my question twice right?" Eduardo says with a tiny smile.

"Hey, correction- the second time wasn't my fault!" Lunella says in defense. Because it was really an accidental dodge - Tessa interrupted them.

"Lu.."

"Sorry, had to say it."

"Look, I didn't mean for to wait it out this long." Eduardo admits, "It's just- it got weird every time I tried and.. It got weird every time this was.. Thrown at my face." He gestured, throwing out his hands.

🎵 How could you fall short? You were taller than me. . .

Lunella hesitated to ask, but she couldn't help but wonder - "And, was it 'weird' cause– cause it was me?" 

Eduardo shakes his head & scoffs dismissively, "No way Lu, you serious?"

She couldn't help but feel relieved. When Lunella gazes down at the traffic down the road, she hears what he passed down to her.

Lunella blinks at it when she sees he burned a cd for her. When she took it, The front & back of the case was covered with lined paper, over it was a polaroid of them at Brooke & Tai's college party that she doesn't remember taking. When she flipped it to the back it was their filmstrip by his hand written track list, consisting with twelve songs.

🎵 You were bored, and I was alone. . . Feels like somebody's taking my life.

"It was never weird when it came to you." He says, tone softening. "I just didn't wanna mess this up again."

Again?

Oh.

Oh, yeah.

Back when we were thirteen.

She might just ruin that someday, but maybe not now. Not yet.

This time, the next silence was more comforting & assuring than tense & awkward like earlier; it's like she got used to him being around.

Then- a few blocks down, fireworks broke their silence. They get startled at the sudden appearance but then they took it all in.

"Case, what did I just say?!" Zoe sighed to Casey.

"I swear on my Abuela, this one wasn't me." Casey quickly says whilst putting her hands up in defense. "Happy coincidence??" She shrugged.

Casey then peeked her head out, she realized they didn't hear an answer. "¿¡AY! GOOGLY EYES IS NOT AN ANSWER! WHAT IS IT, CHICA?!" 

"Geez, Casey.." Lunella muttered, covering her flustered face. "It's a yes!! Happy?!!" She exasperatedly shouts back.

She then finally comes out jumping excitedly, "YES! YES! YES! I DID THAT! IN YO FACE!" Casey air punches to Zoe. "CALDERON MAGIC - ONCE AGAIN!! PEAK CINEMA! NO NOTES!"

•••

The night of the following Homecoming dance, Lunella's thoughts were in knots. And she has honestly been debating on telling Eduardo if she's MoonGirl or not. Her skipster flashback torturing her hasn't been helping her at all.

But for the last four days, she hasn't gotten signs that this was the skipster night, or that they would eventually become serious.

But overall?

He was already a part of her life, and she really, really, was okay with that.

And it would honestly be so cool if he was in more of it.

But then she thinks of the bad things that could happen to him if he was a part of that.

The bad things that could happen if she did.

Mimi normally did her hair for these fancy functions, Lunella glanced up at her in the mirror who was tying her fro in a half up ponytail, she fidgets with the crescent moon charm that was holding in the two of her braid strands in front of her face.  

"Hey, Mimi?" Lunella began. 

"I barely tightened this!" Mimi quickly protested.

"No, no! It's not that!" She chuckled dismissively. "Um— it was hard when you came out to Pop's about the M.G. Stuff, right?"

"Oh, remind me-!" Pop's interjects when he sits at the corner of Lunella's bed. "We talking about how I was insecure & made a fool of myself in the after math or how I held the grudge against your double life?" 

"We can start off with the first part & make fun of you if you keep this up." Mimi deadpanned at Pop's whilst she adjusted Lunella's hair. "As you can see, boo, he hasn't let it go yet."

"I'm getting there!" Pop's reasoned.

"We had our ups and downs on both ends but, yeah- it's still healing. It may get bouncy along the way but-"

"But we worked through it by communicating with each other!" Pops interrupted, giving Mimi a soft reassuring gaze at her mirror reflection.

"What if it doesn't work out like how I expected it to?" Lunella deflected.

"That part is up to you, Lu." Mimi says, facing Lunella towards her by her chin. "You can either move forward, or take a step back. Both ways can work out either way. You see what I'm saying, Lu?"

"We're talking about telling Eduardo that you're MoonGirl, right?" Pop's asked Lunella. 

Mimi dropped her comb & cups Lunella's face, "Hold up, what?!"

Pop's raised a brow. "You didn't catch on?" 

Mimi gives him a darting deadpan & turns back to Lunella. "Lu, you sure you can do it??"

"I mean– I've been thinking about it.." Lunella hesitated.

"Well, I think she should!" James chimed in, buttoning up his maroon shirt as he leaned on Lunella's door. "One thing we need is another man in the house! I think he needs that more than I do."

"I think she shouldn't." Adria cuts in, wearing a slim long sleeve red dress. "Remember how protective I got? Last thing she needs is a protective boyfriend."

Lunella flinched at the label, gripping onto the purple tulle fabric, the stars on the tulle gave her dress some sparkle. Boyfriend?! Now how did we get to that?!

Pop's clears his throat, "Well, I think-"

"I THINK YOU'VE FORGOTTEN ITS MY DECISION HERE!" Lunella blurts out. 

There was a short tension of silence, her parents & grandparents didn't realize they were thinking for her again. "What do you think now, Lu?" Adria asked Lunella, breaking the silence.

"I don't know now!! Now that y'all have dropped these 'what-if's' on me!!" Lunella retorts.

"I hear you Lu." Casey says, coming in between James & Adria at the door holding two different shades of pink cami dresses, "This hot pink ruched says 'look at how hot I am,' but THIS baby pink is like, 'look at this princess!' As if I'm not gonna serve both ways when I win Homecoming queen."

"You and I both know you really want the hot pink." Lunella sighed.

"Thanks girl, I just needed to hear it from someone else!" Casey smiled sheepishly before she rushed back to the bathroom.

Maybe Lunella needs that right now too.

"OKAY, MISS-THING IS READY TO PARTY~!!" Casey sing-songs, sashaying back into the room. "Gloria Pritchett, you've taught your daughter well~"

Everyone blinks after hearing the doorbell ring, and Lunella was freaked out about it more. "QUICK! Hands up if I should tell him!" Lunella frantically announced.

Mimi, Pop's, James, & Casey raised their hands for yes.

"Hands up for no!"

Mimi, Pop's, & Casey raised their hands up again, they were clearly unsure unlike Adria when she raised hers.

"CASEY THE TIE IS NOT HELPING!" Lunella shouts.

"YOU KNOW I CAN'T MAKE CHOICES UNDER PRESSURE!"

"While y'all work that out..." James trailed, giving a sheepish smile, "IMMA GO GET THE DOOR!"

"No way! I call dibs this time!" Adria shouts whilst she chases after him. 

"I'll go get the camera then.." Mimi exhaled, leaving Lunella's room with Pop's.

Casey sighed when she heads towards Lunella. "Why has this topic came up so soon anyway?" 

How the hell do you tell your best friend that you're basing your whole friendship with Eduardo over Skipster? Exactly that?

Yeah.

Just right out that door was her answer.

"Forget Skipster, even if you've saw your fate back then, you can change it!" Casey's smile was sincere when she held her hand.

"You sure, Case?'"

"The Beyonder made it possible." Casey shrugged, "Just say the word and I'll punch him! I'll do it! I gave him a warning!"

"Okay, you need to tone that temper down!" Lunella laughs.

Casey heads to the door & kept her hand held on the knob, "As long as it's smooth sails tonight, backup party is off to Brooke & Tais~!! And you're going to be surrounded by marine life all night, I expected you to at least show some excitement about that."

Lunella braced herself, tapped her black flats, & followed Casey right out when she left for the living room.

And when he turned, giving her that smile - in the same purple vest and tie that's been on her mind for weeks, all of her concerns came crawling back.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Every concern & doubt Lunella had about tonight came crawling back.

It was nearly seven-thirty by the time they got to the aquarium, the school was only able to book the Reef deck & tunnel for pictures. When they couldn't find parking, Lunella went in with Casey & Zoe - trying to avoid being alone with Eduardo. The car ride was awkward enough when she blasted music for the distraction.

Everyone was already partying like it was 1999 to TLC. Lunella kept her eyes on the open reef, folding her arms on the balcony. "Case', this is so dope!" Lunella gasped.

"And very metaphorical." Zoe scoffed, "Literally, babe- it's like a slap to the face." She'll jokes, pointing to the reef.

"'Speaking of.." Anand sighed, sipping his punch.

"Anand! You're here!" Zoe smiles.

"Duh, I'm not letting twenty bucks go to waste." Anand shrugs.

"Well– sorry about the Jason stuff." She shrugs back.

"I don't care about that anymore. We ran him over, remember?" Anand smirks.

"No we didn't!"

"Oh- the second time me & Eduardo did it without you guys." He corrects, nudging his elbow.

"Then c'mon! Go mingle! Find your mannn~! No scrub's!" Zoe says, referencing the song that's playing whilst she shimmied her shoulders against Anand. "You can finally find your Tim Bradford."

Anand was not amused & held up his hand at her. "Pass."

"I'll ask Casey to set you up if you don't try."

Casey grinned, with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Ohh-ho! Wayyy ahead of you–"

"Fine, whatever." He relents, pointing his thumb to the door. "Whoever comes through that door, is 'my man' tonight."

Anand, Casey, & Zoe stare at the open doors, skipping past the ocean of couples - reveals Eduardo.

Zoe hunched back laughing over Anand clenching his cup in disgust, "I'm— I'm gonna go get drunk now..Mhm, yeah." Anand muttered, pointing to his departure.

“But why do I kinda see it..??” Casey murmurs.

“Casey, I won’t hesitate to pummel you.”

"Finally found parking.." Eduardo says to Zoe, glancing at Anand, "What's his deal?"

"You showed up." Zoe smirks.

Eduardo was confused, but a snarky glare should still be deserved, her teasing smirk doesn't fade when she bumps his hip and twirls to Casey. Her lilac halter split dress dragged to the floor as she left.

He catches his eyes to Lunella, tapping to the music and still staring down at the open reef.

He walked up & crossed his arms on the balcony.

"Y'know, we could just ditch to the beach and see the real thing if you want."

That nudge got a giggle out of her. "And let forty bucks go to waste?"

Lunella glanced at the beat of Love on Top by Beyoncé playing. Gently - Eduardo pulls on her wrist to the dance floor. His laughter filled the air.

The deja vu hits her just as she glances down at their held hands, feeling the same thumb rub she felt three years ago.

Strike two.

And needless to say the night was so far eventful, besides the smooth avoidances she's been making for the first three slow dances to the bathroom. Even during Casey & Zoe's homecoming queen dance.

She didn't mean to, really, she wanted to. But deep down Lunella couldn't help but think that once it got to that point, her gut would tell her to do it.

Her gut made her feel like she would collapse at any moment if she didn't.

And She really wished she never made Skip-ster, none of this would've occurred a new weight onto her shoulders if she hadn't.

It wouldn't have.

You're overthinking again.

Lunella couldn't help but argue with herself. Hey, this time the statistics are facts!

But to be honest, she honestly didn't know that he would make this much of an impact in her life.

So she sucked it up. We're doin' this.

"Hey—!" Lunella shouted through the music, & she notices Fifth Harmony fading out, fading out really low.

Another slow song was coming up. Burning Blue by Mariah the Scientist began to play.

Strike three.

She tensed up when Eduardo spun to her before she could reach for his hand over the majestic orchestra introduction, So handsome. Kill me. "Dance?" Eduardo shouts.

🎵 I got that blue fever. . . Cold as ice 'till you came near. . .

Their voices over the music were inaudible to each other."What?" Lunella shouted back.

The intensity heated when he leaned into her ear. "You were going to owe me one eventually."

🎵 It's true you can make me melt. . .

Lunella contemplated for a moment when he shrugged a shoulder in response.

She finally obliged by taking his out stretched hand to the dance floor.

🎵 But don't forget it if the person you fell for ever do freezes. . .

They were just a few feet away from Casey and Zoe.

nonetheless, her fingers softly folded around his neck to get comfortable while his was on her waist. Their soft gazes shifting back to back made her relaxed even more, she nuzzled into his neck & wrapped around it tightly once more. Just

being with him made her feel secured.

🎵 I don't care as long as you're here. . .

Lunella squeezed her eyes shut as she rested on his chest. The lyrics hit her like an asteroid. And at that point - she regretted wasting those last moments with avoidance for the little time that she had.

🎵 I'm all in. I couldn't care less as long as you're here. . .

She finally accepted it with a shaken sigh. Lunella finally pulled back as she dragged her fingers down his arms. "We actually need to talk. . ."

The moonlight overtakes them & the dark blue ocean as they walked on the trail of the beach, away from the lights of Luna Park from afar. The silence wasn't long, they didn't walk far, but it was enough to finally find a bench.

His undivided attention was in hers when she burried her face in an exhale. "Okay, before I start. I wanna get this out of the way. . ."

"Okay. . ." Eduardo echoed back.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, really - I'm tired of it." She hoped that her voice didn't come off as shaky as it did to her own ears.

Something wasn't clicking. "And not gonna lie, you're scaring me." Eduardo chuckled nervously.

Her voice came back to him frazzled & high pitched like she was about to burst. "I'm afraid if I instinctively say the wrong thing to you it will mess this up! And I don't want that to happen! I don't want to lose you!"

Eduardo notice her face sank, now he was extremely worried. "I don't wanna lose you too!"

"And whatever I'm gonna say is gonna change that. So if this is too much for you, I understand. Be my guest & call this off! I just–" Lunella blinked. Blinked when he caressed her cheek, only to pull her in & shut her up for a moment with a kiss.

Eduardo was half expecting her to beat him up. Instead she kissed right back & ran her hands up then pulled onto his sleeves.

Holy shit.

🎵 I'm all in. I couldn't care less as long as you're here. . .

"I'm not going anywhere." Eduardo exhaled as he lowered her chin. "Now tell me what's on that damn mind!"

"Okay. . ." Lunella's breath hitched when she tried to relax & collect herself before risking it all.

"I'm. . . I'm-" One glance up to the sky, she immediately pushes the both of them off the bench after spotting a plasma blast fall hard from the sky.

"LUNELLA LAFAYETTE~ YOUR RIDE, OLIVIA HAS ARRIVED~!!" The female announced, hovering down.

"Say what??" Lunella did a quick five-second assessment of the girl and her tech when she picked herself & Eduardo off the sand.

She had a blonde ponytail on, blue skin, green & white kree armor-suit, white & blue limb enhancers attached to her arms, and supported herself on a green-white hover board that looked exactly like Mel-Varr's. By that tech, Lunella guessed she was from the Kree Empire.

And Lunella didn't recognize her at all.

Casey and Zoe came down running after hearing the loud bang.

"LU!" Casey calls out, "We saw the blast and– who the HELL?!" As scared as she was, that didn't stop her from taking a picture.

"Ooo, perfect! An audience!" Olivia clapped. "And it's O.M.G-Olivia, thank you for asking~! I was getting to that."

With her right hand, she points with her limb enhancers in a cardinal direction to charge up another plasma cannon. "Anyway– Lunella Lafayette, In the name of the Kree Empire, you've got two choices - Come to Hala with me, or perish & die."

"I'd rather die !" Lunella seethed.

"She- She doesn't mean that!" Eduardo says, frantically shaking his head.

"I'll take her word for it." Olivia scoffed. Repeated plasma cannons scattered to the sand tracing right to them, so as big glass shards forming up the surface with each blast. Casey and Zoe immediately hid under them as a shield in hopes that they were indestructible.

Lunella frantically pressed on her Devil communicator. Olivia continued on terrorizing, but she had enough of it and gone on with summoning two stasis sphere cells.

But this one was nothing like Mel-Varr's. When Eduardo got captured in after pushing Lunella out of the way, he was bubbled. But he was also stilled & paralyzed when he was carried up in the air with  her zero-point energy beams.

"Eduardo, no!" Lunella reached out. She slid her feet on the sand & left to go change.

"Ugh. You're not the one I want." Olivia groans, folding her chest. Wait - lightbulb. Olivia grinned viciously at her new idea. "This can work, too!Let's take this to Hala!"

"Oh, hell no." Eduardo panicked. "NO! NO! NO-! I. AM LOCKED IN!"

Lunella flees into MoonGirl & shoots an energy blast to her holo-screen. "HEY! Get your own date!"

"I got him!" Olivia smiled tightly, kicking her feet. "Where's yours~??"

"YOU'VE got him!" Lunella snapped, shooting a plasma blast.

A malicious grin curled up to Olivia. "Well ain't - this - sweet."

Now it clicked. He figured it out. "LU?!!" Eduardo shouted in shock.

"Did I hear that right?!" Zoe shouts to Casey.

"Eduardo!! I–!" Lunella avoids the explosions of her power gloves, Olivia's traced energy blasts hit them one by one while trying to get to her. It was not one guided energy blast, it was multiple. And when it got her power gloves, well - you know how it reacted.

"This is what I was trying to tell you before! I—!" With Olivia's free hand, she reached for her bubble blaster & it was thrown across the ocean.

"LOOK, WHAT'S YOUR DEAL?!" Lunella shouts to Olivia.

"MY DEAL WITH YOU IS THAT YOU TOOK WHAT WAS MINE!" Olivia roared.

"What?!" She was growing more confused by the minute.

"SHE'S TALKING CRAZY!" Eduardo shouted to Lunella.

"Not you, you dope!!" Olivia spat to Eduardo. Shaking his bubble. She aims her left arm & forms limb enhancers in a cardinal direction to charge up a plasma cannon. "I'm talking about - my Melvie!"

"Mel-Varr—??!" Lunella rolled over & almost fell to the sand until she quickly flew herself back up, she didn't have her periodic blasters with her this time - so on her weapon strap she had ropes from Zekiyah & lassoed three to the sphere.

Devil, where are you?!

Olivia swung her around, her tech was too strong. Lunella feet were either dragging in the sand or up in the air. Casey and Zoe ran to help, but Eduardo could see that Lunella were struggling to pull him out. And they were both at thought of the possibility that they might lose each other.

But Lunella was not accepting that.

But he was.

"Lu-"

"Devil's on his way!" Lunella grunts, pulling back hard.

He sounded calm, she might've imagined it but it looked like he blinked away the ache behind his eyes. "Lunella, it's okay-"

"DON'T - say that! Don't you dare! I got you!" Lunella snapped.

"Lunella. You know what to do."

Her face faltered. There was no way she was accepting it, but she knew.

She knew the only way to still have Eduardo & to get him back was to go to Hala.

The ropes started to rip out of the three girls' hands. The spheres reaction from the impact made a dissolving glitch to the paralyzing plasma, Eduardo knocked out when Olivia made a hard turn. "Tell Mel-Varr this was a warning. May this be one for you too." Was all she said.

And just like that, she was into the galaxy.

He was gone.

Her breath, her heart. Everything in Zoe stopped. "Who– L-Lu! WHO was that?!"

Lunella wasted no time. "Lab. Now. We gotta talk to Marvin."

"MARVIN?!" Zoe squeaked, following Lunella.

•••

Lunella's what-ifs were confirmed.

The girls left with fear carrying on their shoulders. If it could happen to Casey, it could happen to anyone repeats into Lunella's head like a tortured mantra as they head to the lab. It's what she gets for thinking things could be any different. She got too close, and look where that got her.

Things can never change when it comes to MoonGirl.

When Devil came late, they wasted no time to get to the lab. The went the alley route so they didn't draw any attention to the family.

Casey & Zoe slid down Devil's tail when they made it, but Zoe was still appalled as she browsed around wide-eyed of her surroundings, she couldn't believe what was happening right now.

One of her favorite super heroes, was one of her closest friends.

"Lu, are you sure she's from Hala??" Casey asked Lunella.

"You saw her get-up n' tech! It's The Kree Empire written all over it!" Lunella says, slamming her MoonGirl helmet on the table. She rips out the six tubes that were injecting her separated gadgets into her periodic blasters, & immediately locks them into both of her wrists. While wrapping her gadget strap around her waist, she had strapped in her plasma gadgets & Tessa's 'glitter-bombs' that she made with recycled Buzz-balls. The secret weapon was the fireworks. One touch to the ground it explodes in an instant.

Lunella aggressively dials on her Kree phone to Mel-Varr, slapping it on her desk & awaits for him to answer.

Zoe pursed & gazed up at the blue holo projector exposing Mel-Varr's presence, he was in a black t-shirt & his buzz-cut was growing in tapered.

"Hey! Happy V–!" Mel-Varr immediately winced at Lunella's darting scowl. "You don't look happy.. What did I do..??"

"I should be asking YOU THAT!" Lunella points directly.

"And don't even try acting so clueless buddy!" Casey scowled, stepping beside Lunella. "I've just about HAD IT with you Kree people tonight, & if I have to knock the information outta you–!"

"Casey. Corner." Lunella demanded, pointing to the chill lounge.

"Copy that."

"Wait- back up, what is she talking about?" Mel-Varr asked Lunella.

"This- girl, she-" Lunella paced in circles, trying to gather up what just happened. "Her tech is unreal, Mel-Varr. She had different Kree get-up and she ambushed me directly, and–"

Zoe's cuts her off in an outburst to explain faster, "SHE WAS ABOUT TO TAKE LUNELLA BUT EDUARDO SAVED HER IN THE MOMENT!"

"Zoe!!" Lunella gasped.

Zoe ignored her & continued, "Then she tried to kill me, Casey, exposed her M.G. Identity to us! Took Eduardo possibly for RANSOM! And that ransom, IS YOU!"

"Huh??" Mel-Varr was confused. Concerned, but confused.

"Okay, he is no help to us at all!" Zoe says to Lunella. "Can't we just get Eduardo's mom over here?? File a report??"

"No way! Are you kidding?!" Lunella hopes it could never come to this option. As MoonGirl, she hasn't made a bad rep to the N.Y.P.D. like Spider-Man. But this could start it off. Start it off with them and Carmen. "She could turn me in for this! Get me on papers! And move him back to Philly!! I mean- have you ever been to Camden? CAUSE I HAVE-!"

"None of that is happening!" Casey assured. She gets on her phone, & turned to Mel-Varr. "Lemme paint you a picture- or at least- show you one. Blonde, calls herself 'O.M.G Olivia,' I think?" Then she retorts a scoff under her breath, "More like B.I.T.C-"

"Case.'" Lunella lets out an aggravative sigh, pinching her nosebridge.

"It's true! She made one hell of an introduction!" Casey clicks on the picture she took of Olivia & shows him, "Anyway, here she is."

Mel-Varr froze still, his wide-eyed reaction says it all that he knew her. "Okay, you're gonna get reaaally mad when I tell you this.."

Mel-Varr said back on Hala, her family fell into disgrace of her grandparents project making humans inhumane, failed. Terminated. Their family line was casted into shame.

But with Mel-Varr's reputation. Her first plan of redemption was into an arranged relationship. A view that could make her look good. When their relationship went further, Pad-Varr turned her plans down when he found out what she had more in store.

"Oh my god, Eduardo's gonna be a redeemed inhuman experiment isn't he..??" Zoe states, freaking out. "Lu, you gotta go!"

"Earth isn't in an alliance with Hala! And S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't benefit me with space travels!" Lunella turns, & bites her thumb anxiously, "Mel-Varr could pick me up but- but that could take hours, won't it?"

"Well how is your M.G. Mobile to your so called, 'Space-Cruiser' transformation going?" Mel-Varr air quotes.

"Still in progress.." Lunella says, pointing to her unsuccessful mobile transformation. If she can recreate plasma tech from Rick and Morty, who's to say she can't make her own space-cruiser?

"OH! Actually—" Suddenly, Mel-Varr hanged up, was his idea bailing?

Lunella doesn't notice a portal of blue-green plasma hues was beside her, half of Mel-Varr's body was out when he came through in his Kid-Kree suit. "We can do it this way!!"

"WAHH!" Lunella jumps at his sudden close up appearance, swatting her arms once she fell. Casey & Zoey on the other hand had their jaws dropped.

"Cool, right?!" Mel-Varr says, tossing her the planet-pistol, "My dad figured out portal travel!"

"Remarkable!" Lunella exclaimed, examining the planet-pistol.

"My dad only made two for me & him so it doesn't go in hands of disaster. With the slide of the dial, you can go to any planet you can imagine!”

Lunella quickly puts on her MoonGirl helmet. "Great, let's jet!"

"Wait!" Casey halts, squeezing Zoe's hand. "I'm coming with you this time!"

Lunella drags out a sigh, "Casey, no-"

"That planet-pistol just screams Rick & Morty bullshit." Casey scoffed, "if anything can happen like earlier, I want to be there!"

"And it's gonna get worse if you come!!" Argued, tossing Casey Eduardo's car keys in her hands, "Just stay here, 'kay? I've put you guys in enough danger already."

Devil reacted with a whimper to the sudden shouting. It was very rare of Lunella and Casey to fight.

Casey let out a shaken scoff, "Dimension hopping is one thing but a whole other planet? How do you know for sure it's not gonna be like last time?'"

Casey opens her eyes to Lunella's Kree-phone in her hands. "This time, I won't be alone." Lunella leaves half of her leg out of the Kree-portal before she left; the last reassurance Casey needed was their special pinky-promise, their bonded handshake. Lunella released the palms dragging on eachothers wrist once she had to go.

Lunella was now at Hala. The Kree Empire. 

The night sky was very.. Different compared to earth. Very cold too. She let her eyes drift to overlook the city.

"Alright, let's get movin'! I wanna be in & outta here." Lunella says, following Mel-Varr who was leading the way.

Mel-Varr huffed out a small laugh. Not even minutes in, he gets a text from Casey. "Aaand Casey, right on cue."

Lunella let out a sigh, taking his phone. Classic Casey. On mission trips like these, specifically long distance. She needs to be kept updated.

"Also– before I forget, it's the time of season here so- watch out for mantis-mists." Mel-Varr informed.

She couldn't help but snort, sounds cute. Because if mantis's were anything like on earth–

Lunella was dead wrong right then & there. She froze still. Cause an eight inch mantis-mist flew onto her face & sprayed her.

"WAAAHHH! WHAT IN THE AUSTRALIA-?!!" Lunella screamed. She blasts it with her energy blasts & drags her face onto the ground.

Mel-Varr's eyes widen at the sudden screams & spun around. "I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU!"

He ran up to Lunella who was now lying on the ground. "You good?"

"I think I got it." Lunella pants, giving him a lazy thumbs up. "Please tell me they aren't endangered here. Poisonous?" She exhaled.

"Not endangered. Not exactly poisonous." Mel- says as he scratches his jaw. "The spray might give you hallucinations. So we need to get you some lily juice right away. It'll wear that off."

"So poisonous." Lunella retorts. She then cocks her head, it seemed like her visions were already getting crazy. "Hey, why are there three of you now?"

"Lily juice. Now."