In the cold brick basement of the century old firehouse, the current location of the iconic Ghostbusters of New York City, Dr. Egon Spengler and Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz worked tirelessly on the modifications to the, powerful as it is delicate, containment unit that housed thousands of captured lost spirits and malicious ghosts. A faint yellow glow from the overhead light illuminated the enclosed room with a dull amber hue that cast a dreary aura over the working figures of the two scientists.

"Okay, I think this will work." Ray set aside his soldering iron as he held the newly designed gasket in his hand for Egon to see as he stood before the containment unit. "Better conduction, stronger material, lighter in weight and much easier to replace in the event of damage."

"Good work Ray." Egon watched as Ray set to work replacing the older obsolete gasket with the newer one. "This should enhance the containment unit's power capacity and efficiency by at least thirty percent."

"Let's hope so," Ray went to work with a large wrench to loosen the heavy industrial bolt from the old gasket. "I'm tired of dealing with power surges every time we deposit a Class-5 ghost into the unit." The bolt slipped free from the screw with some resistance. Sliding the old gasket aside Ray set it down on the floor and picked up the new gasket.

Egon held a clipboard in his hands with various complicated formulas, calculations and graphs. "According to the latest data readings the ionization field should be increased exponentially with the inclusion of-"

"OUCH!" Ray stepped back holding his right hand securely in his left, the new gasket sitting idle on the bolt.

"What happened?" Egon dropped the clipboard down on the workbench as he strode over to where Ray was standing. Pulling Ray's good hand away from the injury sight Egon examined the wound carefully.

"I burned myself..." Ray shook his head feeling foolish with his own carelessness. "Damn exterior port is blazing hot."

"First and second degree burns." Egon diagnosed calmly. "I'll replace the gasket and get your handed treated."

"Careful!" Ray instinctively cautioned as he resumed holding his throbbing hand in his unafflicted grip. "I don't think Venkman would ever let us live it down if we both got hurt on the same project." He slipped off his white lab coat and draped it with one hand over the back of the chair tucked beside the work bench.

"I'll be careful." With some degree of frustration Egon managed to slip the new gasket in place and replace the bolt. Tightening said bolt as much as possible with the sturdy wrench he checked the power display on the containment unit, satisfied with the current reading. "It's stable."

"Good." Ray stared down at the reddened skin and small blisters that had already formed in the palm of his right hand. "Now let's get this taken care of before we work on the proton packs. "I'll be sure to come back down and double check everything later tonight."

Egon briefly put his hand on Ray's shoulder as the two walked up the basement stairs side by side, Ray still clutching at his sore hand.

Passing through the small opened office space on the first floor the two men walked in as Janine Melnitz, their loyal and fiery receptionist, was busily handling yet another intrusive phone call from Walter Peck and his P.C.O.C. minions. She was unfazed by Peck's arrogant attempt to intimidate the Ghostbusters into taking subservient roles beneath himself, and was able to easily handle his angered outbursts without batting an eye. Filing her nails she casually listened in on the call and only spoke up when absolutely necessary.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Dr. Venkman isn't going to comply with any form of insurance policy you try to force down his throat." She blew on her freshly manicured nails as Peck screamed at through the phone. "Well, there's no need to get hostile! Look, why don't you call back tomorrow when Dr. Venkman is actually here in person? Hm?"

Ray gave Janine an unseen nod of approval. "I'm certainly glad she's on our side."

"Never assume." Egon wisely cautioned as he opened the door to the small lab that also doubled as their makeshift medical wing. Removing two bottles of purified water from the storage refrigerator tucked in the corner he poured one bottle of water into a sterile metal basin and set on the table beside Ray. "I'll get the gauze."

"Say Egon," Ray took his long sleeved red flannel shirt off over his white t-shirt and sat down on the exam table. Holding his injured hand outward he unfastened the strap of his watch and placed it down on the table beside the basin. Immersing his hand in the cool water he sighed in relief as the pain began to ebb away. "do you ever regret switching fields in college? You excelled in medicine, but now you're a physicist."

"No, not really." Egon sat down on the rolling stool and slid over in front of Ray, a box of gauze, the second bottle of water and bottle of burn salve sat on his lap. "While I do miss the opportunities to study, even occasionally explore human anatomy, I find physics to be a more fulfilling and mentally fascinating subject matter through which I can excel." Slipping on a pair of purple latex gloves Egon lifted Ray's hand from the basin to examine the burns again. "Do you regret becoming an engineer?"

"Nah," Ray winced as he Egon poured the second bottle of water over the burn ensuring it was properly rinsed before applying the salve to cleanse the burn and protect it from further possible exposure to bacteria. "I don't really have any regrets in my professional life."

"Personal?" Egon inquired as he began loosely wrapping the white gauze around the fresh burns; starting from Ray's palm and stopping just below the wrist.

"Only with my siblings. I wish we were on better terms."

"My own father disowned me because I left medicine behind. My mother only speaks to me when absolutely necessary to please my father."

"My dad and mom never had any problems with anything me or my siblings wanted to do." Ray shrugged as he compared his familial experiences to Egon's. "But I don't know how they would react to me being a Ghostbuster."

"My parents are the polar opposite of thrilled." Egon finished wrapping Ray's hand. "How does that feel?"

Ray flexed his hand slowly and relaxed his fingers. "Still stings but not as badly." Hopping down from the table Ray slipped back on his flannel shirt and picked up his watch before continuing on with the odd conversation. "I know my brother hates that I chose science over religion and my sister hates that I use science to explore the paranormal instead of helping the living. Guess I just can't win."

"Fortunately for you your life decisions are your own and you don't have to answer to anyone else or explain yourself."

Ray smirked at Egon and arched his brow.

"What?" Egon asked as he slipped off the gloves and disposed of them properly.

"That sounds more like something Peter would say."

Egon replayed his words in his mind and analyzed his own demeanor. "Peter is a trained psychologist."

"Yeah, but psychologist or not I imagine he'd still be the same stubborn smartass we all know." Securing his watch over his left wrist with mild awkwardness Ray exited the lab with Egon following close behind. "I'm going to grab the blueprints for the proton pack modifications from the rec room."

"I'll meet you downstairs."

Winston Zeddemore; the former Marine, paramedic, construction worker and mechanic, had his head under the opened hood of Ecto-1 and a red rag tucked under his hand. Glancing up he saw Ray passing through the garage to walk up the staircase to the second floor.

"Hey Ray," Winston noticed the white gauze around Ray's hand. "what happened to you?"

"Oh?" Ray walked over to the car and held out his hand sheepishly. "Burned myself while working on the containment unit." Patting his good hand on the hood of the car he leaned down on the opposite side of Winston to look at the engine. "How's Ecto doing these days?"

"Not bad. She was overdue for an oil change and I figured while I was at I'd take care of the air filter and few other things." Wiping his grease covered hands onto the red rag he stood up straight to stretch his back. "How's the containment unit?"

"It's going to be running a lot smoother from now on. Egon and I are going to get to work on the proton packs, want to join us?"

"No thanks, I still need to check the tire pressure." Slamming down the hood of the car he looked over at the clock on the far wall of the garage noting the late time. "When's Peter getting back? I could use a hand."

"Who knows? He and Dana are out on a date night."

"Lucky them." Winston sarcastically replied as he used his foot to slide the car jack from the wall and under the car's rear end. "Want to order a pizza? I'm starved."

"Good idea. I get the feeling it's going to be a long night!" Ray decided as he resumed walking upstairs and into the rec room to collect the desired blue prints. "It's been too quiet in the city as of late, we're overdue for some action, I just know it!"

"Careful what you wish for!" Winston called after Ray before muttering to himself under his breath, using the jack to lift Ecto-1 up from the ground. "The last thing we need another giant marshmallow attack." Laying down on his back he tucked himself under the raised vehicle to resume repairs. "We don't get paid enough to deal sugary monsters."

While Ray was upstairs in the rec room Egon returned to the basement to test the output capacity levels on the containment unit's power levels. The new gasket seemed to be holding firm but it was still too early to predict any imminent failure or dramatic fluctuations in the stability of the energy readings. Keeping a keen eye trained on the display gauge Egon noted the improvement in power flow and internal ionization capacity.

"Good, very good." Egon noted the improvements on the clipboard amiably. "These settings are exemplary."

"Pizza is on its way." Ray jogged down the basement stairs with the blueprints in his uninjured left hand. "And I got 'em." Laying out the blueprints across the workbench Ray smoothed out the imperfections with his right arm and pinned down the corners of the prints under heavy tools with his left hand. "These new ventilation systems should help keep the packs cooler for longer periods of time."

"Agreed." Egon looked away from the clipboard and over to where Ray was standing in front of the workbench. "If we can eliminate the venting process all together it'll provide us much needed time to capture ghosts while out in the field."

"I think if we start here," Ray pointed to the small motor that would be used to increase the power of cooling fans within the confined vents. "we can built around the vent without compromising structural integrity."

"We should get started." Egon tossed the clipboard down on the workbench beside the blueprint. "Once we have a completed prototype on the table we'll be able to upgrade all of the packs simultaneously."

"Think Janine will be able to keep Peck away from us while we finish our work?" Ray asked offhandedly as he pulled a large metal circuit box from the shelf above the workbench and sat it down on the blueprints. "The fewer interruptions the better!"

"I think Janine is more than capable of keeping Peck at bay for as long as we need." Egon hefted a fully charged proton pack onto the workbench and began opening the ventilation system with a screwdriver. "I also think it'd be wise on Peck's part to avoid getting on her bad side."

"Janine's bad side," Ray lamented jovially. "scarier than anything Gozer or Vigo could ever throw at us!"

From the top of the basement stairs Winston called down to the working scientists. "Hey guys! Pizza's here!"

"Already?" Ray called back with noticeable surprise in his voice.

"Yeah... It's been twenty minutes!" Winston confirmed. "Come on, let's eat!"

"Oh, I didn't even notice." Ray set aside the circuit box shrugging his shoulders dismissively as he turned toward the basement stairs.

"Time flies when you're having fun." Egon quipped comically. "We'll finish working on the prototype tomorrow."

"Hopefully by then Peter will be back from his date!"

...to be continued...