*******I don't own any of this except for the kids and their mischief. Somebody else owns the rest of the bunch and can keep them. I just borrow them every once in a while*********
"Come on, guys. We have to come up with something better than what the motor pool pulled last year," Jamie Barney stated. She and the other 'infirmarats', the teenagers that worked in the infirmary, were sitting around the med-bay's lounge, trying to come up with something to keep their bosses on their toes. It was the beginning of October and they were bored- NOT a good situation.
Jamie, the daughter of Grand Slam, James Barney, and Spitfyre, Cadence Templeton Barney- was third in seniority of the infirmarats and was the first person that the medics came after when mischief was afoot.
She was seated across from Ritchie Provost, who was Chuckles' son. He was currently occupied with trying to steal a kiss from AJ Steen, Lifeline's daughter. Her twin brother, EJ, was doodling on a napkin. Ace's daughter, Serena, was over on the sofa, reading. Over at the counter, Wendy Talltree, Airborne's daughter, was trying to pour a cup of coffee, and Carson Sikorski, Lift Ticket's son, had just come back from the bathroom.
"Well, Lifeline does call us infirma-rats, right?" Wendy asked.
Jamie looked up over at her. "I think you just gave me the idea. Stretcher is supposed to be trying for a tomcat, right? I know Lifeline is doing the tiger thing. Being a rat would be so perfect to play off of theirs."
"That's perfect!" AJ laughed. "They won't be expecting that from us."
The girls spent the month gathering the supplies and making the costumes over at Ace's house. He found out what was going on and was ready to laugh at the reactions when the kids unveiled their Halloween costumes.
Lifeline, Stretcher, and Spitfyre were looking over their shoulders, knowing that the kids were up to something, but not sure what it was. They were all gathered in Lifeline's office just days before Halloween.
"What are those kids up to?" Lifeline mused. "They're being way too well-behaved for normal."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Jamie's been too sweet lately," Spitfyre stated. "She hasn't pulled anything in a while."
"I thought she was recovering from that punishment for gluing Lifeline's boots to the floor," Stretcher said.
"When has Jamie ever stopped the mischief because of punishment?" Spitfyre asked.
"This is true," Lifeline declared. "It's starting to make me jumpy. Even the twins are starting to creep me out because of this."
"I think that whatever they have planned, it's going to happen on Halloween. The timing is just too coincidental to be ignored," Stretcher griped.
"I think you're right," Lifeline agreed. "We'll have to really watch out that day."
"Agreed," Spitfyre sighed.
It was just hours before the kids were supposed to pull their stunt. They were all over at Ace's and were getting dressed. Ace grabbed his camera and snapped a few pictures.
"You guys are so cute!" he gushed, earning him a growl from Jamie.
"We're not supposed to be cute," she replied grumpily.
The medics were waiting with bated breath when it happened. They had all agreed to meet at the med-bay and then go over to the party in the rec hall. That way, they could find and fix any mistakes that they had. Jamie, Serena, Wendy and AJ had volunteered to watch Stretcher's son, David, for the night.
The kids got dressed and were sitting in the lounge by the time the adults got there.
Spitfyre got there first and burst out laughing as she almost immediately figured out what the kids had done. Stretcher was the second one to get there, and he was still trying to figure it out when Lifeline got there.
"So what is Mister David supposed to be?" Serena asked.
"Well, you can't have a single tomcat without having a single tomkitten, right?" Stretcher asked.
They all laughed as David 'pounced' on Carson's tail.
Lifeline timidly stuck his head in the door to the lounge as he heard the laughter and music blasting from the stereo. He looked over at Spitfyre as she turned her head, having heard the door open.
"What are they doing?" he mouthed.
"Believe it or not, behaving," she replied, laughing. "It's safe. Come on in."
He slipped in the door and started laughing as Jamie turned around and Stretcher slapped her tail as it moved.
"Okay, I'll bite. What are you guys supposed to be?" he asked.
"Duh. We're the infirmarats, boss," Ritchie told him.
Lifeline's head hit the table. "I should have seen that one coming," he laughed.
They were all just sitting around and talking before they left, the girls taking care of any mishaps that they found.
"Hey, I've got an idea," Lifeline exclaimed suddenly. He gets the whole group gathered around the table and softly tells them what he'd thought of.
"I like it!" Jamie stated. If there was a chance to pull something over on someone, she was all for it.
"Yeah, let's do it," the others agreed.
Stretcher got up and went to the storage room, grabbing a couple of rolls of gauze. He and Lifeline used it to 'tie' the kids' hands, and to link them together in a chain gang. He hoisted David onto his shoulder and the whole group marched out of the infirmary towards the rec hall.
They passed Snake Eyes and Scarlett as they walked. It was funny enough when they passed, and when Snake Eyes saw what the adults had done he almost fell over laughing. It made the whole exercise worthwhile for the whole gang.
They had almost made it to the building when Stretcher got an idea. He transferred David over onto Jamie's shoulders, getting him to hang onto Jamie like he was attacking her.
Spitfyre dashed ahead and warned Ace and the rest of the gang in charge that they were about to make their appearance.
Dial Tone tossed on a CD of Halloween music, and the first song fit the scene perfectly as Sparks dimmed the lights.
Lifeline led the way in, the chained infirmarats behind him, and Stretcher bringing up the rear.
When the lights came up and everybody saw them, there was much laughter.
"Hey Lifeline! You finally caught that little rat that was causing all the mischief, huh?" Quick Kick called.
"Yeah, I did. Actually, I think David caught it," Lifeline called back.
The night passed with much hilarity ensuing; especially after General Colton and General Flagg showed up out of the blue.