The last of the Christmas requests. This was for Shadow-Crystal-Mage, who wanted a continuation of my Spirit Quintology, and a bunch of other things. With this, my time in the Spiritverse ended.
Pamela Manson scrutinized the three people standing in front of her with an eye sensitive to fashion and social propriety. Apart from nervousness, they appeared well groomed and well dressed, so they were sure to make a good impression on everyone, even if that didn't really matter since they were local celebrities anyway. Finally satisfied, she succeeded in looking all three in the eye at the same time.
"You're clear on everything, then?" she demanded.
"Yes," came a bored chorus from the younger two people present. The older one simply nodded.
Pam swept out, to make sure that everything else was running smoothly. The people she left behind in the greenroom visibly relaxed the moment she shut the door.
"Well," the black-haired boy began, "I guess this is it, then."
"Yeah," the balding man beside him agreed. "This is going to be worse than the press conference. I'm actually going to have to talk to people." He didn't sound pleased with the idea.
"Relax," the girl on the other side of the boy told him. "You've been talking to people for a month already. No one's gonna have new questions, Will."
"It's still a party," the man protested. "I hate crowds."
"Dani's right, Will," the boy said. "You've done this lots of times before. Besides, you're going to have Cathy to help you."
"I suppose…," Will Lancer said thoughtfully. "I still want to know what you and Aster were up to this morning, by the way." He looked pointedly at Dani, his, well, adopted daughter unless you really got technical about things. Both she and the boy, Danny, paled and stiffened.
"Oh, right! How did I forget that?!" Dani exclaimed in a panic. "Danny, you've got the bag?"
"Yup!" Danny grinned, and a backpack appeared in the hand he'd been holding lazily behind his back. He handed it over, and Dani bolted over to the door that opened away from the ballroom, ripping off her black heels as she did so. Lancer looked questioningly at Danny.
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" he asked drily.
Danny chuckled. "What? Dani? Nah.... I think even Cathy would be cool with this."
Lancer simply sighed. Then his nerves kicked in again.
"Are we going to have to do demonstrations?" he asked frantically. The man still wasn't comfortable about using his ghost powers in public, even though Dani and Danny were. He didn't like the attention (couldn't deal with it, actually), and it inevitably seemed to lead to some sort of one-upping contest among the people surrounding him. A town full of people with ghost powers had seemed a good idea at first, but Lancer was beginning to feel it might be more trouble than it was worth. At least there weren't going to be full ghosts at the Manson's Halfa Ball. Their hostess still didn't trust them to behave. Lancer reflected that she should probably be more concerned about the people she had invited.
A door slammed and Lancer turned to see his charge wearing a gray suit with a white shirt and black tie. Her regular ponytail also seemed to have disappeared under a wig. This was not going to go over well with Cathy, who believed that girls should wear dresses for formal occasions. He mentally began preparing arguments to get her to change back as Dani ran up to rejoin him and Danny.
When she got there, he began to round on her for disobeying orders, then stopped dead in shock and confusion.
Dani was wearing the exact same outfit as Danny was, right down to hair style, and with the growth spurt she'd gone through in the last month or so, she was only a few inches shorter than the boy. In fact, she looked like his clone, which was the reality. Lancer's knowledge of Dani and Aster clicked everything into place and he grinned along with the two teenagers.
"I think Cathy will definitely approve of this," he declared.
---
Ten minutes of anxious waiting later, they were finally called into the ballroom. Each halfa gave a resigned sigh and went ghost. Dani was announced first, because she was least well known. There was a smattering of applause, then Will Spirit was called and Lancer floated through the door to the ballroom to louder applause. He gave a wave and took his place beside Dani, trying to look heroic. He caught Cathy's face in the crowd. She smiled encouragingly.
Then Danny Phantom came in to thunderous applause and catcalls. He gave everyone a big grin and a wave that left a trace of ectoenergy hanging in the air for a moment. Lancer snorted quietly (Show-off) but the crowd seemed to lap it up and the dynamics in the room increased again.
Jeremy Manson finished his opening address a few minutes later, extolling the virtues of the town heroes still further. Then Lancer and his fellow halfas floated off the stage to start mingling with people. He transformed back to human as soon as he reached the floor and walked off to meet Cathy before braving the masses. Dani and Danny stayed ghosts, but split up at the bottom of the stairs. Lancer figured they planned to transform privately so no one would realize they'd dressed the same.
---
Lancer was keeping an eye on the conversations occurring around the room while keeping the other eye and both ears tuned into the chatter being directed at him. It wasn't anything overly exciting, and his current assailant didn't seem very interested in anything Lancer had to say, so it was fairly safe to let his mind wander. Besides, Cathy had linked arms with him and was managing to answer the shorter questions for Lancer anyway.
The state governor was standing beside the fireplace and talking down to a tall, thin, dark-haired figure in a gray suit. The figure was nodding in the appropriate places and the governor was beaming like a politician in a career-advancing situation. As Lancer's eyes passed over the pair, they shook hands and separated. The governor moved off towards the state senator, only to find the senator talking to a figure identical to the one he'd just left. The governor did a spectacular double take before making a beeline for the bar and ordering a Ghost Buster.
Lancer's eyes travelled over the senator and whoever he had cornered at the moment, wondering briefly whether the man was talking to the halfa he thought he was. Then Lancer decided it probably didn't matter, and kept going, his eyes coming to rest on the bulky orange form of Jack Fenton, who had cornered some poor journalist and was explaining his weapons a little overenthusiastically. A few of the people he accidentally hit fired ghost powers back at him.
Closer to the stage, Maddie Fenton was talking politely to Vlad Masters and the Mansons. Vlad had arrived in Amity Park the week before to help with the ghost immigration he'd bullied everyone into accepting. He'd already bought a place to live in Amity Park, anticipating how much time he'd be spending in the city over the next few years at least. As far as Lancer knew, and word travelled fast these days when it concerned ghosts, everyone thought that Vlad was simply a billionaire friend of the Fentons who had grabbed a unique business and PR opportunity when it presented itself. He wasn't sure if Vlad was intending to go the next step and reveal himself as a halfa as well. Probably not, since Plasmius had gained a reputation as an archvillain and Vlad seemed to worry about people's opinions a lot.
Lancer's mind was brought back to earth with a quick jab in the ribs.
"Will?" his girlfriend asked. "Mr. Davis wants to know what you'd project for the economy in five years."
"Oh, uh…" Lancer stalled, "I'm not really qualified to say, but I think we'll probably be seeing quite a bit of tourism, maybe some paranormal science, possibly some manufacturing plants…." He trailed off, hoping that would be a sufficient answer, and mercifully it was. Davis, whoever he was, probably a tycoon or entrepreneur, excused himself and headed towards Vlad. Cathy took the moment's pause to squeeze Lancer's hand in reassurance before an exuberant voice accosted both of them.
"Cathy! Will!" A pudgy moist hand grabbed Lancer's and started pumping. Lancer started and looked at the newcomer in confusion for a moment before Cathy flashed a winning smile.
"Dave Bowman! How nice to see you again!"
Right, Lancer thought, Dave Bowman. Of course it's Dave Bowman.
"Dave!" he forced himself to say, nervous and irritated by the man already. "How's that novel coming? Have it published yet?"
"Actually, no," his former classmate responded. "I had it almost finished, see, and then all this ghost stuff started happening in Amity Park, you know, with people getting ghost powers and everything. I decided to put the publication on hold so I could do a bit more research."
"Ah…." Lancer looked around desperately for some way to get out of talking to the man. He'd never liked novelists much, and Bowman, with his penchant for horror, was already heading into territory Lancer wanted to avoid tonight. Fortunately, a tall man happened to be walking by at the moment. Lancer grabbed his arm and pulled him into the group.
Bowman was still speaking after Lancer had silently reassured his friend that he hadn't lost his mind. "So I was wondering if —"
"Geoff! This is Dave Bowman. He's a horror novelist." Lancer gestured towards the man opposite him. "Dave, this is Geoff Worthington. He's a writer too. I'm sure you'll find lots to talk about."
"A writer, eh? What genre?" Bowman asked excitedly, focusing his attention almost solely on Worthington.
"I haven't really decided on one …" the taller man said, sneaking a glance at Lancer beside him. The halfa's expression practically screamed, "Help me!", which meant he was probably desperately hoping that Worthington would take this novelist off his hands.
With a mental note to make Lancer return the favour later, Worthington swung a friendly arm around Bowman and led him off with a, "So, what sort of horror do you write, then?"
Once they were a yard or so away, Lancer hastily wiped his right hand on his dress pants and Cathy slapped his arm lightly.
"Geoff didn't deserve that," she told him playfully. "C'mon, let's go see where Dani's got to. I haven't seen her for a while." She began to lead him off, with Lancer wondering if now would be a good time to mention the costume change. He was saved by a lanky body interposing itself between him and Cathy.
"Hey, guys!" it said, draping arms around the couple's shoulders. "This summer theme is awesome! I've really got to thank Sam, man. Really brightens things up, doesn't it, with all that snow outside?" Lancer and Cathy both turned around to face their friend, Aster, smiling a little along with him. The hippie's moods were always somewhat infectious.
"Enjoying yourself then?" Lancer asked.
"You bet I am, man! Lemonade, cheese dip, organic veggies... And you know the best part? The band's short a member and they're letting me step in!"
Lancer groaned. That was a recipe for disaster right there...
"Don't worry, man. It's only drums!" Aster headed off in the direction of the greenroom as quickly as he'd come.
Lancer and Cathy exchanged a quick glance, mutually deciding that whatever Aster did tonight wasn't on their heads. Then Cathy caught sight of Danny casually refilling his pop at the drinks table, and pulled Lancer over to him to ask if he'd seen his "cousin" lately.
"Uh, no, I haven't," Danny answered with a straight face. "Not for a while, anyway."
"You've no idea where she might be?" Cathy asked. "If she's run off, I swear…"
Lancer laid a hand on her arm. "I think she knows better than to do that, Cath. I think I might see her talking to those actors by the window, though."
Cathy looked where he'd gestured, then turned to look at him. "Will, don't be silly. That's Danny." She pointed to the halfa in front of her, and then her face hardened a little in realization.
"Heheh, uh, I'll just be going now?" Danny tried to edge off, but Cathy thrust out an arm and held him back.
"You two dressed alike, didn't you?"
"Ummm…."
"After I finally got her into that dress?"
"Ummm….."
"And you weren't going to tell me?"
Lancer decided this was probably the time for him to intercede. "Cathy, look it's harmless. I don't think anyone else has realized it yet, she's still dressed appropriately, and it's not as though anyone's really interested in Dani anyway."
Cathy softened a little, and turned to him. "How close is the similarity, Will?"
"Almost perfect."
"And nobody's noticed?"
Both Lancer and Danny shook their heads.
Cathy sighed. "Who's idea was it, Will? Yours, Danny's, or hers?"
"Either hers or Aster's, actually," Lancer answered reluctantly. Danny wasn't looking all that comfortable either, as befitted an aider and abetter.
Cathy chuckled. "So that's why he closeted himself with her earlier. I wondered." She took Lancer's arm in hers again, and nodded at the boy opposite her.
"Well, I think we'd better start mingling again. Thanks for the intel, Danny." Danny nodded as she and Lancer walked off, then turned to walk off in the opposite direction, only to be confronted with a reporter from CelebTV who started pestering him about his love life. He was glad when Sam showed up a minute or so later in a dark purple dress, and began spinning out obvious lies for the woman's benefit.
Meanwhile, Cathy and Lancer made their way across the room, exchanging pleasantries with several politicians, a diplomat, and three business moguls. They'd nearly made it to their destination, Dani, when the band began its first set.
If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.,
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californ-I-A!
Pam Manson, to accent the summer them of the party, had hired the best Beach Boys impersonators in the country. For most of the night's attendees, this would be a throwback to their youth, and already people were being to clear a space in the room for dancing. This made passage through the crowd slightly more difficult, but it did prevent people from trying to taking to Lancer (or rather, Will Spirit) as he moved past them, since everyone was more concerned about remaining with their current conversation partners while moving and not spilling their drinks.
Cathy and her boyfriend eventually reached Dani, who had just be caught up in a conversation by a couple of well-known artists and was already looking painfully bored. Her surrogate mother graciously excused "Danny," drew her off to the side, and backed her against the wall. Dani shot a frightened and accusing look at Lancer as Cathy did so. The older halfa made signals to try to indicate that his girlfriend wasn't exactly angry at the moment. Dani just ended up being confused.
"So, how's the con going?" Cathy asked dryly.
"What?" Dani gave her a wide-eyed look of calculated innocence. Cathy lowered her eyebrows, unimpressed.
"I've been clued in, Dani. How many people have you fooled so far?"
"Six?"
"Out of?"
Dani lowered her eyes slightly. "Six."
Cathy grinned. "Anyone impressive?" she asked eagerly.
Finally warming to the idea that Cathy was on her side, Dani grinned as well. "I got Sam, for about ten seconds."
Cathy burst out laughing. "Did you really? Will, remind me to bring that up sometime."
"Sure." Lancer smiled. "Now how about we leave Dani to get back to work. We do need to schmooze some more, as much as I hate to say it."
"I guess you're right," she sighed, straightening. "Dani, don't forget to do that neck thing too. And you'll have to tell me all about it on the flight across town, okay?"
"Aww, do I have to?" the girl whined, making a show of massaging her neck. Cathy snorted and gave her a slight cuff to the head, then walked off with Lancer again.
As the couple made their way across the ballroom again, to the strains of "Barbara Ann," snatches of conversations drifted across the hubbub.
"Oh, so I take it you've read Lord of the Rings, then?"
"Just finished it, actually."
"I never did like Merry, you know."
"Yes, sir, but I don't think it would be feasible to give everyone in America ghost powers."
"Heh, a comic book series based on me? I'm flattered, but really, I'm not the material you're looking for..."
"Glibbering ghosts! That wasn't supposed to happen..."
"Oh, Jeremy, you simply must demonstrate your power for the senator."
"Um, you want to see my ghost form. Heh, er, I'll be right back!"
"Psst. Could you, um, pass me that stick thingy? Thanks."
As Lancer and Cathy were once again accosted by a somewhat egotistical politician, the eldest halfa started reviewing the situation in the room, because he'd learned the hard way that it never hurt to have an action plan. So... Geoff was already looking stretched by Bowman's antics and was known to go ghost when angry, Dani was starting to run into problems maintaining the ruse, Aster's knowledge of percussion was looking a little sketchy, Cathy's sarcasm would be acting up soon, Jack Fenton was still waving around his latest ectoweapon, and roughly a third of the people in the room had ghost powers they weren't afraid to use. With all the little arguments and ego trips that went along with cocktail parties like this, he could tell that it was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose in the ballroom. William Lancer sighed and braced himself for the rest of a very long night.
A very long night indeed.