Paranatural: Chapter 7

Mr. Spender and the Activity Club
Description
Mr. Spender reflects on his own past and its intersection with the three remaining members of the Activity Club
Information
Start date:	4/3/2020
End date:	9/30/2022
Preceeded by:	Paranatural: Chapter 6
Followed by:	Paranatural: Chapter 8
Transcript:	Paranatural: Chapter 7/Transcript

The seventh chapter of Paranatural, titled Mr. Spender and the Activity Club, began on 4/3/2020 and ended on 9/30/2022. It was preceded by Stephen and the Suspension of Disbelief and followed by Mayview and the Dark Before Daybreak.

The chapter focuses on Richard Spender's past, both in dealing with his own battles as well as his relationships with the current members of the Activity Club (sans Maxwell Puckett).

Summary

The chapter opens on Spender being treated for the burn Forge gave him by Jean. They talk for a bit about the current situation in Mayview, before Jean leaves to resume his ongoing werewolf hunt, leaving Spender alone to think about the people from his past he can reach, and the ones he can't. Realizing he doesn't know who's which anymore, the chapter flashes back.

10 Years Ago

Agent Walker, Spender and Mina Zarei run through the Activity Consortium headquarters with an infant Ed. The door to where their parents disappeared has reopened, and Spender doesn't want them to miss their chance to meet. On the way inside, Mina notices a strange, monstrous, and massive locked door next to them but is forced to ignore it and keep moving. Boss Leader and Ed's mother, Gwen Burger, are inside and discussing her situation as the others enter. Her perception of time has been vastly warped by the properties of the place she's been trapped, as have her memories, as she refers to the town as Clayview. Gwen finally gets a chance to see Ed again, but the baby doesn't recognize her.

The reunion is cut short by a monstrous figure forming from the walls of the dream and attempting to attack, which is countered by Boss Leader and Walker's abilities. During the chaos, Mina takes the opportunity to quickly ask Gwen for information on her situation, learning that the creature attacking them is a Wight before Boss Leader cuts off the connection to protect the others. Afterwards, Boss Leader apologizes for calling the group, declaring that Gwen's dream door is too dangerous to enter again. Mina, unsatisfied with this, demands answers from BL, prompting her to reveal her wight, Sandman, explaining its nature as a wight and its ability to shape dreams. These revelations almost prompt Spender to open up about his secrets, but Mina cuts him off, accusing BL of trying to manipulate them at their most vulnerable to gather information. While Spender protests, finally having enough of the picture to know what to do, BL ends the dream and erases their memories of it. Mina scrambles to write down as much as she can before it fades, while Spender forgets it all moments after waking up.

6 years ago

Isabel trains alongside Spender at her Grandfather's dojo. She fails to copy the technique and hurts herself, and while she's crying, her Grandfather and her Mother get into an argument even though her mother isn't a Spectral and can't see him. After a remark about how Spender and Master Guerra should let her into their world, Spender invites Isabel on the camping trip he planned with Mina and Jean.

At the corner store, Mina shops for supplies, as she's planning on skipping town. She's harassed by a Consortium investigator, who wants information on how she tamed the Ghost Train. Mina refuses to provide it, secretly sending away Sockpuppy, the artificial spirit she created with the ability to control other spirits, to get the train for her dramatic departure. Said departure is interrupted by Spender coming to pick her up for the camping trip, as she hasn't told him she plans to leave Mayview. On the way to the campsite, Spender stops by his home to get his stuff during a campaign event, running into his sibling, and his father. They have an uncomfortable confrontation, before Spender leaves.

Once they're all at the camp, the group of Jean, Mina, Spender, and Isabel all have a fun day, though for Jean and Mina, the shadow of her looming departure hangs over the events. The group hang out at a campfire after dark and are joined by the Delinquent Trio, who goad them into trying to look for an alleged monster in the woods known as the West Hill Horror. To their surprise and horror, the creature turns out to be a very real werewolf that bears a striking resemblance to Jean's late mentor, Shrike, and remains transformed even when the moon isn't full. The Delinquent Trio were tasked with getting rid of the creature by Davy Jones and chose instead to manipulate Spender into defeating it. To protect Isabel, he performs a combo attack with the Ghost Train to knock the monster deeper into the forest.

The next morning, Mina tells Spender that she's leaving town, creating the rift between them that persists into the modern day. He brings Isabel to visit her father, who asks him to deliver her a gift on his behalf: Eightfold's possessed book. Following the conclusion of his trip, Spender decides to finally sever ties with his family, packing up all his things and using his shadow powers to steal a giant golden statue of his father, which he will later use to help finance a lavish lifestyle on his own. His sibling watches him go.

2 years ago

Mayview is besieged by a storm, caused by King Catnine raging against the town's bubble shield. Spender takes the Activity Club, back then consisting of Ed, Isabel, and Dimitri, out to examine the situation, and meets up with a group of Consortium agents, including Agent Day. The agents all discuss what to do, but before any of them can make a substantial move, Spender uses spirit fusion to confront Catnine himself. The confrontation ends quickly, as Spender uses Lucifer's power to redirect one of Catnine's lightning bolts back at him, defeating the spirit in a single move. Though this ends the fight, he neglects to destroy Catnine's escaping wisp, which floats down and possesses a passing Isaac to get inside the barrier.

A few weeks later, Catnine's power awakens in Isaac, causing him to uncontrollably create storms around himself and attracting the attention of the Activity Club. After a chase through town, the group corner Isaac in a tunnel and Spender offers him reassurance and a place in the club, promising to help him control his powers. This arrangement lasts only a few weeks. Following an accident on Isaac's first mission where Catnine took control for a moment and shot a bolt of lightning at Dimitri, both young spectrals are taken to Consortium Headquarters. Spender tries to reassure Dimitri about the incident, but can't figure out what to say, prompting Dimitri to leave both the meeting and the club.

Meanwhile, Boss Leader meets with Isaac in his dreams, also trying to reassure him about the incident. However, Catnine's spirit wisp shares the dream and his powerful nose sniffs out a disturbing truth: Boss Leader isn't human. Catnine attacks but is easily fended off by her power, the power of a Wight. Sandman isn't her spirit, she is Sandman, using a puppet to communicate. She prepares to destroy the weaker spirit because he knows too much, but is stopped by Isaac. He knows he wouldn't be able to handle the guilt of Catnine's destruction, he already resents himself and wants to at least pretend to be good. Boss Leader empathizes too much with his plight to ignore his request, and despite the risk, wipes both Isaac and Catnine's memory of her secret. If he remembers, Catnine will too, with him as a hostage. She tells Spender she revoked Isaac's security clearance and bars him from learning about the Consortium until his possession ends.

Back in the Present

Spender finishes recounting these stories to Agent Day, who unnerves him by accurately summarizing what they reveal about both his students' and his own mentalities. The subject then turns to their shared mentor, the late Agent Summers, where Day accidentally provides a shocking revelation by saying the agent's last name: Agent Summers is June Puckett.

Trivia

• The chapter cover depicts the following:
  • A clock face, divided into three parts by both the minute and second hand and a crack in the face that leaks both sand and shadowy goo. Each of the three segments depicts one of the three flashback stories in the chapter.
  • A hill and some surrounding woods of Mayview on a stormy night, with some of the woods wrapping around the side of the clock face.
  • King Catnine and a small figure representing Richard Spender on top of the Mayview Hill half of the clock face, with King Catnine firing a burst of lightning.
  • The Activity Consortium's main floor, with the distant figures of a younger Mina, Richard Spender, and Boss Leader as well as a looming Sandman.
  • A dark reflection of Mayview's lake (as well as some lights both from stars and yellow balls) with a silhouette of Isabel hugging Richard Spender after the battle with the West Hill Horror. Mr. Spender's eyes are glowing.
• This chapter marks a switch from full comic pages to illustrated prose.