Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not this show. Not the characters. Not the characters they're playing. I'm not even sure I own the laptop I typed this on.
Casper High was seldom open past six on a school night. Even with extracurriculars and teachers correcting papers, the only person in the building after sundown was janitor Hank.
Of course, the main exception was whenever there was a school function, like a dance or a party.
Dressed in costumes ranging from a cowboy to the Grim Reaper, students filed into the building.
The gym was abuzz with conversations between costumed revelers. One of the main topics was the unexplained appearance of a big-name star.
Tucker made an entrance. He cut quite a figure in dark glasses and a black suit. "Here it is: Casper High's Halloween bash. A whole night of trick-or-treating gone!"
A voice came from behind the door. "Tucker, don't you think you're a little old to trick-or-treat?"
"I'm probably too old for dressing up too, but I managed to do that...and I got you to do it, too."
"And, for that, you will pay."
"Jazz, it's your last year at this place. You don't want to dress up?"
"It's not that. I just wish you'd chosen a less...showy costume."
Tucker reached behind the door and pulled in a purple glove-covered hand. Jazz lost her footing and fell into the gym. The sparkling dress, the purple gloves, the red-hair teased over one eye...she was Jessica Rabbit...save for a couple of differences.
"Oh, you look good."
Jazz folded her arms. "That's the problem. You owe me for this."
"I think it's worth it." Tucker cast an approving eye at his girlfriend. Yes, girlfriend. Long story short, they hooked up over Christmas break.
In another part of the gym, Valerie was chatting with Star. Valerie had been encouraged by her father to take time away from ghost hunting and have some fun. By the time she'd gotten to the costume store, there was only one costume left in her size: Tinkerbell. Star, on the other hand, reprised a favorite of hers from last year: the heroine of Zombie Cheerleaders. Her outfit was smeared with what appeared to be blood. A guy dressed as a frog blanched at seeing it, until Star reassured him that it was merely-
"Corn syrup; same stuff they used for pig's blood in Carrie."
The would-be frog nodded before hopping off - not literally.
Making their way through the crowd was a most unusual couple: one was decked out in a form-fitting top and matching skirt with white stockings and a flailing tail. She wore black shoes and black gloves and her face was painted to look like a cat. The other...he had on a pink shirt, blue pants and a long black wig. One didn't need to be up close to see his embarassment.
"Okay, we're here. We've talked to people. Can we go now?"
"Come on, Dash. You look so pretty." And she should know; she did his make-up.
"I feel so stupid."
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have made that bet." Paulina dragged Dash along. The made-up jock cursed himself; betting on whether the Ravens would win last week's game. A football team that starts a season 0 and 6 is bound to turn around, right?
At the entrance, a couple made their way in: one was dressed in a black and green outfit that hugged her curves impressively, while the other looked quite dashing in a black suit with matching fedora and a red tie.
"You sure that nothing weird is going to happen, here; you're not gonna change into a giant...mouse or something?"
"Danny, it was curiosity. That's all. Besides, it was pretty interesting having Desiree's powers." The events of last year's Halloween party were fresh in Danny's mind.
Danny couldn't help but stare in the direction of the punch bowl. The person pouring a glass of punch seemed out of place. For one thing, he wasn't wearing a costume. For another, he looked very familiar.
"What's wrong?"
"Sam, doesn't that look just like the guy from those Star Wars movies?"
Sam squinted at the mystery guest. "He totally does. What the heck is he doing here?"
Before they could ruminate on the answer, Mr. Lancer appeared in front of them, dressed up as Abraham Lincoln. "Hello."
"Hey, there, President Lincoln."
"Stay away from Ford's Theater." Sam giggled at playing along.
At that moment, Tucker and Jazz bumped into the two of them.
"Hey, nice costumes", Tucker exclaimed, getting an eyeful of Sam's costume.
"Thanks. Who are you supposed to be?"
Tucker sighed. "I guess this is better than people thinking I'm Secret Service. I'm Jay."
Danny thought for a moment. "Men in Black!"
"See? That's why we're best buds."
Sam studied Jazz's costume. "Jessica Rabbit?"
"The next person that asks me if I'm bad or just drawn this way is getting carried out of here." Jazz gave Sam a once-over. "I'm blanking on your costume."
"Come on, it's Shego!...from 'Kim Possible'."
Jazz shook her head. "Nah. Haven't heard of it."
"Yeah, got the suit off of Ebay. Funny thing: it was actually made for a "Kim Possible" movie they were gonna make a few years ago. When the financing fell through, the props got scattered around the world. I heard there's someone in Boise with a grappler gun."
"Weird." Jazz turned to her brother. "And you are?"
"The Spirit."
Jazz gave Danny a weary look. "You're serious?"
"Yeah."
"And the fact that this is only a small step up from going as..." Jazz threw up air quotes. "'yourself' means nothing to you?"
"Hey, I think it looks good."
Sam glanced over at the mystery guest, who was texting on a Blackberry. Suddenly, a shadow fell over the guest.
"Angels and Demons!"
The guest glanced up at Lancer. "Oh, did you like that film?"
"Film?"
"May I help you?"
"I loved you in Moulin Rouge!. What brings you here?"
"Oh. Had a break in shooting my latest to..." He glanced in Danny's direction. "...see some old friends."
"Students here?"
"It's a long story. I'm not at liberty to discuss."
"Okay. Say no more. It was nice to meet you."
The guest watched as Lancer took off. He resumed texting.
At the punchbowl, Star poured herself a glass. Suddenly, she turned around. "Zombies!" None could be found. Maybe 'twas her intuition.
"Such an odd light position", Jazz stated as she glanced at one of the lights flickering on and off.
"What?"
"That light in the corner is flickering on and off." Danny, Sam and Tucker glanced at where Jazz pointed.
"...and I just had to get this Sayonara Pussycat costume, because it was so kawaii. I had the top for a while, but I never had a reason to wear it until tonight..."
As Paulina blabbed and blabbed, Dash started to feel less than fab. He grabbed his stomach, as if someone were making balloon animals with his intestines. He glanced down at his hands. The fingers were much slender than he was used to and his skin had taken on a tawny color. He tapped Paulina on the shoulder.
"Paulina..." Dash placed a feminine hand over his mouth. He didn't remember his voice sounding so...girly.
"Dash, sweetie, I'm talking."
Dash glanced down at himself. His legs had gained some impressive curves, with an added bit of bulk to his carriage. The bulk that comprised his torso faded away, the remaining bits of it migrating onto his chest. From his point of view, his body was very much that of a girl, but not just any girl...
"Paulina?"
Paulina - the real one - turned around in a snit. "What is it-" She stared in shock at the girl that looked just like her. "Did somebody put a mirror in front of me?"
Paulina's sight gave her pause, but was she ready for the claws? "Ew, I need such a mani." At that moment, her shoes burst open, revealing that her toenails had each made a point. "And a pedi? What is going on?" Her ears started to move toward the top of her head, also becoming pointed. Paulina groaned at this development. Her tailbone grew, snaking its way from between her blouse and skirt. Her face pushed out into a muzzle. A fine coat of white fur plumed all over her.
When Paulina opened her eyes, they were catlike slits as opposed to her usual pupils. Paulina took a look at her body. She was impressed with herself. "Meeeeeeeeow! Now, this is a costume." Her statement was punctuated with a wag of her tail.
Tucker glanced over at Paulina and the five-foot catgirl. "Wow, now those are costumes!"
Sam took a dismissive look at Paulina. "See, that's not a costume. It's Paulina looking like her snobby self."
"But wasn't Paulina wearing a costume when she came in?", Jazz noted. "It's not like she could get in without one."
"Then how do you explain-" Danny couldn't continue, for a familiar blue light escaped his lips. "There's a ghost here."
"But who?"
"It might be Desiree." Before Danny could fully turn around, Sam folded her arms.
"Don't even. I haven't seen her since last Halloween, and, besides, no one got hurt, did they?"
A lot more students began to change. "Okay, this is way too strange." Tucker took note of the craziness unfolding. Within the gym, there were witches, vampires, werewolves, reptiles, various cartoon characters and a refrigerator.
"We need to get out of here." There wasn't time for a response to Jazz's suggestion, for her brother and his friends were already dragging her out of the gym.
Tucker threw a hand on Mr. Lancer's shoulder. "Mr. Lancer, we need to get out of here."
The man who turned around was not their teacher, but our 16th President. "I'm afraid I know not this Mr. Lancer of who you speak, young man. I'm Abraham Lincoln."
"Perfect." Tucker shuffled off behind his friends. He was the last one in the gym before closing the door.
Danny, Sam, Tucker and Jazz stood in the hall and regrouped. With a 'eureka!' expression, Tucker threw off his suit jacket.
Sam covered her eyes. "Tuck, what are you doing?"
"The costumes must be what's changing everyone, so..."
The brunette turned to her companion. "Danny, tell Tucker not to be so ridiculous-"
Danny focused his intangibility on his clothes, slipping out of them and leaving him in nothing more than boxers and an undershirt. "I'm goin' ghost!" Within moments, Danny was in his ghost form.
Jazz folded her arms. "Well, that's hardly fair. It's not like we can just strip down!"
Danny and Tucker glanced at each other, as if to share a silent 'high-five'.
Sam glared at her friends. "Don't you say it!"
"We didn't say anything!" Tucker smiled nervously.
Sam rolled her eyes before turning to Jazz. "Okay, so now what?"
Jazz glanced down at her dress. "Well, I think the best thing would be to get out of these costumes before we change into the characters."
"I vote for that plan."
"Fine, but we need to find out what changed everyone."
"How?"
Danny spoke up. "Call me crazy, but I think it might have something to do with our mystery guest. He wasn't wearing a costume."
"And he disappeared when people started changing." Sam thought back to a few minutes ago.
"We have to find him." Danny hurried down the hall, followed by Sam.
"What about Mr. Lancer?", pondered Jazz.
Tucker grabbed her hand. "Unless there was someone dressed as John Wilkes Booth, I think he'll be fine."
"But the witches and werewolves-" Jazz couldn't finish as Tucker started to run.
"They'll probably just attack each other."
Sam groaned a little. "Could we waste more time not getting out of these costumes?"
Tucker nudged his friend. "Danny, I think that Sam's starting to turn into Shego."
Sam glared at Tucker. "We're all very amused right now."
The gym was filled with creatures of every stripe. The few unaffected ones (as in, the ones who were changed, but still recognizably human) huddled in a corner, protected by Star. Though she saw no zombies, her mind was on protection.
"This is quite irregular," remarked President Lincoln.
"Yeah, this is lame", whined "Paulina". She took a good look at the unfortunate theater patron. "Don't I know you?"
"I would hope so, young lady."
"Yeah! You're the guy on the five-dollar bill!"
Lincoln sighed. Meanwhile, the catgirl formerly known as Paulina stretched out. She licked a paw and ran it over her head before settling into a sleeping position once more.
"Paulina" pointed up. "What the heck is that?"
Above the rabble, a beam of light streaked through the air. From such a distance, no one could see the being, but if they were close enough (to say nothing of small and fast enough), they could see the look of pure joy on its face. Unshackled from the pressures of school and ghost hunting, this was a being that truly enjoyed life. Tinkerbell had never felt happier.
"Okay, I've managed to hold the monsters off, but we need to get out of here." Star glanced toward the exit. "Single file, that way."
President Lincoln, "Paulina" and the catgirl followed Star to the double doors. Tinkerbell flew toward them. Star closed the door and blocked the handles with her tennis racket.
"Well done, Miss."
"Paulina" shrugged. "Yeah, but what do we do now?"
"We need to go for help. Animal control, a priest, somebody."
The group headed down the halls.
"Trick-or-treat!"
The door to FentonWorks opened. Maddie greeted the costumed kids dressed in her hazmat suit. She was so busy in her lab, she hadn't the time to get a costume.
"Well, don't you look scary?" Before she could hand out pieces of candy, a mountainous shadow cast over the kids, who were unfortunate enough to be dressed as...
"Ghosts!" Jack Fenton appeared, ready to blast some ghosts with the Fenton Cannon. The kids ran screaming into the night.
Maddie punched Jack in the arm. "Jack, they were just kids."
"Aw, Maddie, it was an honest mistake."
"It was the fifth honest mistake you've made tonight."
"It's Halloween. Don't people like to be scared?"
With a sigh, Maddie closed the door.
Tucker stared toward Sam's home, a mere 20 feet away. "I don't see why you couldn't just fly us here."
Danny glanced at him. "And that wouldn't strike anyone as conspicuous?"
"On Halloween?"
"Look, the point is we're here." Sam rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened. Danny turned intangible, while Tucker hid in a nearby bush. Trying to explain why they were in their underwear would create a bigger problem than they currently faced.
"Samantha, what are you doing back so soon?" Mrs. Manson was clearly surprised.
"Something happened. Jazz and I are just gonna go upstairs."
"Happy Halloween, Mrs. Manson."
"All right."
The werewolves grew tired of fighting and being knocked around by the witches' magic. One of them pawed at the door. Pawing turned to scratching and, soon, the door had a large hole in it. The werewolf squeezed through the hole, knocking the tennis racket out of place.
One thing was certain: janitor Hank was going to want a raise.
Sam rifled through her closet. "I hope you're okay with black."
Jazz sat on the bed. "You know I am."
"Some Halloween, huh?"
"Hey, it beats that time you nearly drowned."
"I guess." It was at a party seven years ago. Sam was bobbing for apples when some of the water went up her nose. She fell back, coughing. A wistful smile crossed her face as she remembered Danny making sure she was all right.
Sam handed Jazz a black skirt and top.
"You know, this is almost like we're sisters; you loaning me an outfit."
"I guess it is."
Jazz retreated to the bathroom. Sam put on her regular skirt and black top. However, something glanced at her from the window.
Black outfits? How very bland. Check out the surprise on each hand. Sam glanced down at her hands. A black glove and a green glove. She tried to pull them off, but they wouldn't budge. She glanced toward the window. A figure floated outside of it.
"Danny!"
Danny had snuck inside incognito not long after Mrs. Manson let the girls in. He couldn't help but sneak some Halloween candy for himself. As soon as he heard the call, he rushed upstairs.
The gloves slunk their way up Sam's arms and exploded in a mass of living green and black linen, encasing her whole body. Her short hair flew out into a long, seductive tangle. A confident smirk formed on Sam's now black lips.
"Sam, are you all..."
The woman standing in Sam's bedroom was certainly not the girl he'd known and loved for many years. In her place was a woman in her 20s. She had a green and black suit, fire in her hands...and a bad attitude.
"I'm sorry, but Sam's not home." With a growl, Shego charged at Danny.
"I'm goin' ghost!" Danny changed into ghost form and quickly went intangible. Shego ran right through him.
"Okay...that's new."
In the bathroom, Jazz glanced down at her hands. The purple gloves seemed to be glued on. Her top and skirt fused together to create a sparkly red dress. Her hair deepened into a crimson red and swept itself over her eye.
Danny flew into the hallway, followed closely by Shego. Meanwhile...the bathroom door flew open. The figure strutted out, sure of herself. She glanced at Sam's vanity mirror and gave a nod of approval. She looked incredible.
Tucker rushed up the stairs. By the time he reached the top, he was out of breath. Exercise was not his bag, but when friends were involved, one couldn't get tired. However, he hunched over to catch his breath.
As he straightened up, he saw Danny rush toward him. Tucker braced himself for impact, but Danny ghosted through him.
Tucker smacked his head. "Der!" At that moment, Shego crashed into him, knocking them both down. She stood back up and glared murderously at him.
"Who do you think you are?"
"Just a guy who wants to see tomorrow is all."
Shego lit up her hand. "Life's just full of disappointments, isn't it?"
"You know, I think I saw Kim Possible in the bathroom."
"Do you really expect me to fall for that?"
"Yeah, you're right. She said you wouldn't buy it."
"And she's right..she's not even here!"
"What's going on, out here?"
Tucker and Shego glanced toward the other end of the hall. Jessica Rabbit approached the two of them. Tucker couldn't believe his eyes.
"Jazz?"
"Jessica", she intoned in her breathy manner.
"I don't care who you are. This geek's been trying to con me."
Tucker laughed a little. "I wouldn't say 'con', exactly..."
"I don't care what he did. The cutie with the speech impediment is coming with me."
"You think I'm cute?", Tucker asked with a hopeful smile.
Hands ablaze, Shego leapt at Jessica, who ducked out of the way.
Tucker crawled off and into a bedroom. He peeked his head out of the door. "Oh, man, it's like my dreams coming to life."
Danny found himself in the living room. He was just about to fly back upstairs when he heard someone coming. Without hesitation, he changed back into a human.
"Oh, hey, Mrs. Manson."
"Danny, I didn't hear you come in...why are you out of costume?"
"What?" Danny glanced down at himself. He was in an undershirt and boxers. "Oh. Well...my costume got drenched by some jerks throwing water balloons. It's drying upstairs."
"Okay, but please show some decorum in the future."
"Yes, ma'am."
Mrs. Manson walked away. Danny glanced over at the coffee table. On it sat a Netflix envelope. Out of curiosity, he took a glance inside. There was a DVD. As he studied the artwork and the title of the film, gears started to turn in his head.
"I'm goin' ghost!" With a will, Danny leapt for the window, changing into ghost form and phasing through it.
Just outside the park, the group rested, looking rather defeated...except for the catgirl, who sat nearby idly licking her paw.
Star, however, paced frantically. "I can't believe this! No one would listen to us!"
Lincoln stood up. "We have the truth on our side. I refuse to believe that that isn't enough."
Star twirled her tennis racket. "At least I scared off some zombies. Strange, though. They were pretty short for zombies."
From the bushes, a growling creature watched the pretty blonde walk around.
"Rrrrrwaaaaaaarrrr!"
As Star's scream rang out into the night, Danny flew over the city. He flew down and perched in a nearby tree. The werewolf had sunk his teeth into Star's neck.
Danny fired two light blasts into the werewolf's back. The creature turned and growled.
"Bad idea."
Danny again flew off. The werewolf gave chase.
"Paulina" glanced up at the sky. "Oh, my gosh! The ghost boy!" "She" blew him a kiss.
President Lincoln ripped his sleeve off and pressed it down on Star's bite wound.
"Don't worry, young lady. You'll be all right."
"Paulina" glanced at Star's hands. "Wow, you could use a serious mani."
Star looked down. Her nails had grown into claws. "Oh, man."
Danny flew as fast as he could. The werewolf leapt over houses and cars. Danny glanced into the distance. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Casper High. Never before had he been so happy to see it.
Danny focused on one of the windows, which gave off a weird green glow. He went intangible and flew through it.
Flying along quietly, Danny could hear light clicking, as if someone typing on a keyboard...or a keypad. Danny heard the clicking get louder the closer he got.
It was none other than the Ghost Writer, the glow of the Blackberry making the room lighter.
"Ah-ha!"
The Ghost Writer turned around in surprise. "Greetings, literature hater."
"Yeah. It was you behind all of this."
"First drafts are everything. I wasn't about to lose this one."
"Pretty clever, hiding in plain sight. The Ghost Writer disguised as the star of The Ghost Writer."
"Like the saying goes: write what you know. I don't expect you to be making that career choice."
"Hey, anyone can throw words together, especially if they rhyme. Like...I can stop you. This is true. Just what do you think you're going to do?"
"You don't scare me, ghost boy. With my words, the universe is my toy."
"Say, would you like an orange?"
"You'd better fix that squeaky door hinge."
"Good, but really, why do you wear so much purple?"
"It's so that...well, I...it can...maple syruple!"
"I don't think so." Danny uncapped his thermos (kept in his locker for emergencies), vacuuming the Ghost Writer.
The creatures in the gym changed back into costumed students, all of them looking confused.
The werewolf banging on the front door lost its hair, changing back into Kwan. He rubbed his head. "Oh, man. What's been happening?"
The group of escapees watched as Star's still-forming muzzle shrunk back into her face. President Lincoln became Mr. Lancer, Tinkerbell became Valerie, the catgirl became Paulina and "Paulina" turned back into Dash.
Suddenly, Paulina started to choke. The rest of the group rushed to her aid. Before any of them could do anything, she coughed up a hairball.
"Okay, what happened to me?"
Shego and Jessica were in mid-hair pull when they changed back into Sam and Jazz.
"Okay, this is weird", Sam stated before letting go of Jazz's hair.
"No kidding."
Tucker peeked his head out of the door.
"Is it safe to come out now?"
"I guess so."
"Awesome. I don't know if the positives of that situation could last forever."
Jazz put her hands on her hips and stared Tucker down. "What positives?"
"Exactly. What positives?"
Danny, Sam, Tucker and Jazz sat around the table picking candy out of a nearly full bowl.
Maddie set a glass in the sink. "Danny, Jazz, you can thank your father for that pile of candy."
"Thanks, Dad."
"So, you went out trick-or-treating?", Jazz inquired.
"Not exactly." Jack sheepishly walked out, followed by his wife.
"So, Tucker, you got your candy. Happy."
"Ecstatic", Tucker replied, his mouth filled with chocolate. He kissed Jazz on the cheek, leaving a smear.
"Danny, any chance we can just stay in next Halloween; watch scary movies until we fall asleep?"
Danny took Sam's hand in his own. "It's a date."
A/N: When I came up with the idea for this story, all I really had was who the characters would be changing into. Even with the basic skeleton of story, this is one of the most 'make it up as I go along' stories I've ever written here.
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
