Small Wonder: Vicki vs The Monster (S5E6)

by BadMrSushi

Currently continuing this story! Sorry for the lengthy absence! Please look forward to the completion of this story !

Small Wonder:

(S5E6) Vicki vs. The Monster

By BadMrSushi

A/N

This story is written as a Halloween special, in the vain of how the actual show might have presented one (or at least how I would wish they would have!)

Ghoulish things are afoot in this story, with a few cameos from both the silver screen and small screen, and all throughout there are even going to be a few hidden cameos buried within the story! See if you can guess who they are!

I hope you enjoy this next one in particular, maybe even enough to come back and visit it during the Halloween season~!

And now it's time for the Lawson family to face a grave situation…

Ted Lawson sat with his wife, Joan, in their backyard on some well used patio furniture. The sun was going down, hiding itself far beyond the scenic sandy looking mountain they had come to enjoy, and the sky was turning a brilliant shade of pinkish orange. They both sat in a contented quiet, sipping down warm apple cider, and huddling together for a bit of warmth from the chilly October evening air. Joan sighed out, and emptied her last few drops of cider onto the lawn in front of them.

"I wish Jamie and Vicki would have joined us out here, it's a really nice night!" She said. Ted nodded and sipped out of his cup. "It's hard enough to break Jamie away from the T.V. anytime, but it's almost impossible with all the monster movies playing now." Joan added. Ted chuckled.

"And what monsters. Cars that eat people, man eating tomatoes, little space porcupines." He said. "Where in the world do they come up with this stuff?" He asked, as he poured out the last of his cider too. Joan smiled and sat back against Ted's side.

"That's what happens when you give a few hundred dollars and a camera to a college graduate. The arts." She said. "At least it keeps them from going into advertisement." Joan added, as she took Ted's empty mug from him. Ted grinned and watched the sun finally vanish behind the large dark silhouette of the mountain.

"Well, we better get inside before all the blood suckers come out of their hiding places!" Said Ted, in a spooky voice. Joan shushed him.

"Ted! They'll hear you!" She said in a hushed panicked voice, looking over to the Brindle's house just beyond the fence. Ted's mouth dropped open and Joan looked a little embarrassed.

"I meant Count Dracula and his cronies, not the Brindles!" Said Ted, as he bit his knuckle trying to feign shock. Joan shook her head and got up from the patio seat.

"Well that's what you usually call them." She said, a little flustered. Ted laughed out, but his laugh quickly faded as he heard the all too familiar voice calling to him from around the fence.

"Yoo-hoo! Teddy boy!" Came the voice of a distant but fast approaching Brandon Brindle. Ted grasped his chest and shooed Joan away.

"It's too late for me Joan, run! Save yourself!" He said jokingly. Joan gave him a wry smile and left for the back door of the house, passing Brandon just as he rounded the corner of the fence. Brandon waved at her as he trotted by and then clasped his hands together as he went to sit down by Ted. The close proximity of Brandon Brindle put him off, and Ted scooted away from him. "Brandon. Something I can help you with?" Said Ted.

"Lawson, I can't help but notice that you haven't taken that beast out in your garage for a spin yet! I'm gonna be frank and put it right out in the open, how much would you sell it for?" Asked Brandon, sounding very excited. Then he stuck his finger in the air to make a point. "Mind you, I'm not a man to be taken by a shyster! If the price isn't fair, I'm talking my offer off the table!" Said Brandon. Ted raised his eyebrows.

"My grandfather left me that car, Brandon, I'm not selling it. It's an heirloom, I may even pass it down to Jamie." Said Ted. Brandon looked shocked and sat up in his chair.

"Pass it down? For free?!" He asked. Ted folded his arms.

"You know Brandon, something tells me you've been eyeing that Belvedere for quite awhile now. I noticed that someone fogged up my garage windows the other day, was that you?" Said Ted. Brandon waved him on.

"Bah, I take a peak now and then, who wouldn't?" Said Brandon. "But I'll tell you this, Teddy! It's a shame to let that thing waste away in there like that! It should be out burning rubber!" He said. Ted shook his head and got up from his seat.

"Not a chance Brandon, that thing isn't leaving the garage until Jamie gets a driver's license… and when he hits thirty." Said Ted. Brandon got up and followed Ted around the house to the kitchen door.

"Alright, alright. Just in case you ever reconsider it, my offer still stands!" Said Brandon. Ted furrowed his brow.

"What offer? Brandon you never even named a price." Said Ted. Brandon looked confused.

"Well I don't want to be taken advantage of!" He said defensively. Ted shook his head and entered his house.

"Goodnight Brandon." He said. Brandon gave him a nod and left for his own home and Ted closed the kitchen door. He spun around and looked at his wife Joan, who in turn looked up at him from the kitchen table, with a slightly puzzled look on her face. "That goof wants to buy my grandfather's car! I wouldn't trust him to even change the oil right on it…" Said Ted as he joined his wife at the table.

"Look at this Ted!" Said Joan as she slid a flyer his way. Ted looked down at the colorful piece of paper. "I think it's what Jamie and Reggie were talking about the other day, some Halloween bash up by that old cemetery." She said. Ted examined the paper and clicked his tongue.

"Kind of disrespectful don't you think?" Asked Ted. Joan nodded in agreement and sat back in her chair. "Wow- listen to this though, Joanie! Horror host Peter Vincent will be kicking off the evening with a tour of the macabre! It actually looks kind of fun!" Said Ted excitedly.

"Especially if you're a teenage boy." Said Joan. Ted made a face at her and then kept reading the flyer. "Who's Peter Vincent anyways?" She asked.

"He's a character from one of those monster movies, it almost looks like the real guy who played him!" Said Ted. "I'll bet Jamie would have a blast there! It would get him out of the house too!" He added. Joan scrunched her mouth up.

"I don't know, it sure looks like a party more for adults…" She said. Ted snapped his fingers.

"Even better. We'll go with him and make sure he stays out of trouble." He said with a smile. Joan gave him a knowing smile back.

"Uh huh, I'm beginning to think that it wasn't Jamie who left this flyer on the table." She said. Ted shrunk down in his seat still smiling and shrugged. "Maybe we'll talk it over later." Said Joan. Ted sat up in his chair.

"Oh come on Joan, Jamie's not going trick or treating this year! Why not let loose and get dressed up like we did in our college days? Just once?" Asked Ted. Joan got up from the table and went towards the sink for a glass of water.

"Because neither of us have our college days body anymore." She said with a grin. "Besides, what if we'd end up being the two oldest people there?" She asked. Ted looked off into the distance and imagined himself as a creepy old guy in the middle of a bunch of high schoolers.

"We're not that old…" He said. "Are we?" He asked, looking back at his wife. Joan took a drink of her water and looked back at him.

"Ted, you've got an abacus on your nightstand." She said, without any hint of humor. "Face it, in the garden of life we're a couple of dandelions gone to seed." Added Joan. Ted frowned and turned his attention back to the flyer, sighing out as he came to terms with being over forty years of age.

Vicki meanwhile, was coming to terms with her stupid left arm again. Over the course of the last few months Vicki had been picking up stray radio frequencies, and a few of them had made it past her radio authentication codes with some troubling side effects. The most serious side effect having been her generating uncontrollable magnetic fields around her, in full view of the public no less. Those troubles had been far behind her for quite some time now, after Ted had restricted her frequency modulator to a more thin bandwidth. She didn't really need radio, but it had been built into her as an emergency call device- something that Ted believed would be invaluable in the future when his VICI line of robots would hit the market. Perhaps he was right that someday Vicki, or any VICI would use the technology to save a life during an unfortunate accident, but mostly Vicki just used the radio to tune into the local radio station for some light music listening.

At this moment in particular, the radio had tuned into her, but not all of her. Just her left arm (the stupid one) and try as hard as she might, Vicki could not get the arm to listen to her. It was very embarrassing to have an arm carry on in such a way, grabbing at things that she didn't intend on grabbing, flexing when she had no reason to do so. She preferred not to involve her human family members, even her creator Ted, unless the situation really got… well, out of hand- so to speak. Losing the control of an appendage wasn't something that humans would be able to easily relate to, especially when the appendage seemed to be going out of it's way to make trouble.

"Stop it." Commanded Vicki, as her left hand reached out for one of Jamie's collectible toys atop his desk. It reached out in vain and finally gave up, snapping it's fingers in disappointment. Vicki shook her head and continued her internal system diagnostic . Removing the intruding radio frequency would take only a few short minutes, but in those few short minutes Vicki knew that her hand could do some serious damage. "Limb alignment will conclude shortly." She told the offending arm. It waved it's hand and gave her a thumbs down.

Her left arm grabbed at Vicki's face, and she had to restrain it with her right hand. For a moment it looked as though Vicki might be doing some strange dance move, with her two arms wrestling each other for dominance. The left arm finally stopped it's struggle and it began to realign under Vicki's motor control, and she began to move it under her own power again. She had purged the radio signal and the stupidity out of her left arm, and she decided that it was a beneficial move to turn off her radio for the night. Such a move would prevent her from accidentally losing control of another body part, or worse, magnetizing all the silverware in the house.

Vicki went through the usual internal rigmarole to shut down her radio, and got up from Jamie's desk. She moved her arm in a wide arc just to make doubly sure that it was under her control, and left Jamie's room. When she came down the hallway into the living room, she spotted Jamie on the couch, watching yet another horror movie. Jamie was so intent on the film that he didn't even notice his sister come up from behind him. Vicki watched the movie along with him, the movie involved killer security robots in a shopping mall chasing down some young couples, and Vicki recoiled a bit when one of the robots on the screen was blown up.

"Wow!" Said Jamie, as he admired the special effects on the screen.

"Why?" Said Vicki, mimicking his tone. Jamie looked behind him and smiled at her.

"Hey Vicki! Sit down, this movie's awesome!" He said, as he patted the cushion next to him. Vicki reluctantly walked around the couch and joined her brother, taking her seat to watch the thriller on the television set. "It's just getting good! The robots have it 3 to 1 right now!" Said Jamie, as if the movie's kill count could be explained through sports terms.

"Who are you rooting for?" Asked Vicki, as she placed her hands between her knees. Jamie raised an eyebrow, and itched the back of his head.

"This is some kind of trick question, isn't it?" He asked back. Vicki looked back at him with a furrowed brow and a confused look on her face. Jamie cleared his throat. "The people, I guess…" He said slowly. Vicki nodded and continued to watch the slow moving carnage on the screen.

"Why are the robots trying to get the people?" Asked Vicki, as the movie went to a commercial break. Jamie stretched and yawned.

"They're malfunctioning." He said tiredly. Vicki nodded again.

"They're not supposed to shoot people with their lasers?" She asked. Jamie bit his lip and squinted at her. He knew that the blowing up, crushing, and otherwise destruction of robots was a tender subject for Vicki, and treading around the topic with care was of utmost importance.

"Well, they got hit by lightning, and now they're tracking down everyone as targets not just the burglars." Said Jamie. "It's all pretend anyways, it's not even real robots. It's probably just a guy with a skateboard." He added, reassuringly. Vicki seemed to understand and she put her focus back on the screen. A strange man appeared on the screen, he was standing in a foggy graveyard wearing a frock coat and a bow tie, and he stepped towards the screen with a smile.

"Well! This is one retail establishment that stands a cut above the rest~!" He said in a strangely distinguished voice. Jamie groaned out at the pun and crossed his arms. The man on the screen laughed out and then continued. "Of course, in my day we didn't have to worry about killer robots, just an occasional vampire or two…" Said the white haired man. Vicki nudged Jamie.

"That's the man that we saw hanging flyers around town last week." She said. Jamie stared at the man on the screen.

"Hey, yeah! That is him! Wow, he's a T.V. star!" Said Jamie. "I wonder why he was hanging those flyers up then, they could've gotten somebody else to do all that." He added. Vicki nodded, and continued to watch the horror host on the screen.

"… and there'll be plenty of thrills and chills at 'Frightmare Forest' for all you kiddies this year! Be there this Tuesday, Halloween, and you can even meet me! Peter Vincent- vampire killer!" Said the host, as he leaned over a tombstone. "But until then, let's get back to the creature feature that brings a new meaning to the words, 'shop til you drop!'" He said, bursting out into maniacal laughter. The camera zoomed in on him, and some tacky keyboard music played. Vicki mimicked Jamie's groan from earlier, and sat back into the couch with crossed arms. Jamie looked over at her.

"I think it's gonna be fun! You still want to go, don't you?" He asked her. Vicki shrugged.

"If I go, I'll be two different kinds of monsters." She said. Jamie smirked.

"Oh yeah? How's that?" He asked.

"I'll be a vampire, and a robot." Answered Vicki in an almost annoyed tone. Jamie scoffed.

"Vicki, robots aren't monsters!…" He began to say. He was interrupted by the screaming of a man in the movie, after a robot had thrown him off of a ledge. Vicki looked over at Jamie, ready for him to finish his thought. "That doesn't count…" He began again. This time a volley of laser shots cut him off, and Vicki got up from the couch.

"I think I'll go tidy up the kitchen." She said while tilting her head. "That scene just reminded me to mop the floor." With that, she left, and Jamie sunk down into the couch with a sigh. He somehow felt that he had failed to approach the subject of killer robots with the grace that he had hoped for. Ted came out of the swinging living room door just as Vicki was entering it, and she bumped into him nearly knocking them both over. Ted steadied himself and her and gave out a soft chuckle.

"Whoa, easy there killer!" Said Ted, as he patted Vicki on her head. Vicki put her hands on her hips and looked up at him with a furrowed brow. Ted smiled back down at her and waited for Vicki to say something back, but she just rolled her eyes and went through the door in what Ted could only perceive as a simulated huff. Ted turned his attention from his robot creation over to his son seated at the couch. "What was that about?" He asked. Jamie sat up in the couch and frowned back at his father.

Vicki entered the kitchen without a word and scanned around for anything that might need tidying. Unfortunately for her, Joan had already done most of everything that had to do with cleaning, and she was finishing up the job by putting the dishes away into their respective cupboards and cabinets. Joan turned around and greeted Vicki with a smile. Vicki went over to join her by the sink and stood by to offer her services.

"It's okay Vicki, I've got this. Why don't you go watch a movie with Jamie and your father? Take it easy for a night." Said Joan. "Unless you're really looking for something else to do." She added, as she put some plates away. Vicki nodded.

"I really am." She replied. Joan smiled down at her and put some glasses up in their places.

"That must be one gross movie, huh? Okay, I was going to clean under the fridge after this, but I suppose you could help with that." Said Joan, as she handed Vicki a sponge and a spray bottle full of cleaner. Vicki threw her an OK sign with her fingers.

"Okay~!" She said. Joan grinned and went back to putting her dishes away, happily humming out in tune with a song by the band Blondie. In fact, Joan could have sworn that she heard the actual music playing from some unseen place in the house.

"Vicki, what are they watching out there?" Asked Joan, as she turned around to see her daughter. Vicki looked up from her crouched position by the refrigerator, one hand scrubbing away at the floor and the other hand holding up the heavy appliance with relative ease. Joan startled and put a hand over her mouth, having forgotten just how strong her little robot truly was.

"They're watching a movie about robots in a shopping mall. It's part of the creature feature being hosted by Peter Vincent." Said Vicki, as she finished up the scrubbing. She gently put the refrigerator back in it's place and stood up to face her mother, a look of concern covered Vicki's face and she raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?" She asked, taking note of Joan's body language.

"Oh, no, everything's fine- I just didn't know you'd get it done that fast, that's all." Said Joan. "You're even faster than those little scrubbing bubbles on the T.V. that's for sure!" She said, as she finished putting her plates up. Vicki nodded and joined Joan again over at the sink, wringing out the sponge full of cleaner into the drain below.

"What are you and dad going to do when Jamie and I are at the Halloween bash on Tuesday? Will you hand out candy to trick or treaters?" Asked Vicki, as she placed the sponge in the sink. Joan shrugged and put her last glass away, then turned around and leaned against the counter.

"I don't know, Vicki, I almost think that your father might join the two of you there. He's a big kid when it comes to Halloween, you should have seen him in his college days." Said Joan. Vicki nodded and listened intently. "He went around the campus one year dressed up with his buddies looking like the three stooges. They even put on makeup to make themselves look like they were in a black and white T.V. screen. He used to go all out." Said Joan.

"Why doesn't he dress up like that anymore?" Asked Vicki. Joan shrugged and made her way to the kitchen table, Vicki followed close behind her.

"Well, sometimes it's harder to do that kind of stuff when you get older. The last ten or so years he's been taking Jamie out to go trick or treating, so he hasn't really had the time to." Joan said as she took a seat at the table. "It doesn't help that he's over the hill now, people our age are supposed to be the ones stuck indoors handing out the tootsie rolls and peanut butter chews." Vicki sat down too and processed the information silently for a few moments.

"The flyer says that 'Frightmare Forest is fun for kids of all ages'." She said. "If dad is a big kid when it comes to Halloween, then he should go too." Said Vicki. Joan smiled and gave Vicki a nod.

"You know Vicki, you're right. Maybe he should go. He might even get in some exercise with that haunted cemetery tour~." She said. "I just hope he doesn't go overboard." She added.

It seemed to take forever for that Tuesday to arrive, especially for Jamie. Monday had dragged on and on, and the school day took an incredible amount of patience to get through. Even the dinner that Vicki had prepared for everyone on Monday night seemed to last for an eternity, with Jamie hoping that the hours would start to move faster. He was extremely excited for the Halloween bash and all the things that would come along with it. Ted seemed to share his enthusiasm, and even though Jamie wasn't too thrilled with the knowledge that at least one of his parents was going to be at the bash, he was happy that he'd get to see his old man dressed up in some crazy outfit. With any luck, Reggie would bring his camera along and immortalize the moment for later laughs. When Tuesday finally arrived, and Vicki shook Jamie awake from his sleep, Jamie smiled wide and felt that not even the school day could stop him.

"You wanted me to wake you up early for school today, no matter what." Said Vicki, as she looked down at Jamie and the big weird grin on his face. "It's five forty five in the morning, time to get up." She added, as she pulled his blanket off from his bed. She tossed the blanket to the floor and tilted her head, perplexed by the odd scene now playing out in front of her.

"Alright! Just ten more hours until the party!" Said Jamie, as he sat up in his bed. He hadn't gone to bed in his usual pajamas and t-shirt, having chose instead to sleep in his Halloween costume which consisted of a bright orange puffy vest over a denim jacket and lined shirt, along with a pair of blue jeans and Nike tennis shoes. Vicki stared down at the bizarre ensemble with a questioning look, and Jamie felt obligated to explain himself. "I'm supposed to be Michael J. Fox. From back to the future!" He said. Vicki nodded.

"I see." She said simply, as she turned to leave. Jamie got up from his bed and stretched.

"All I'm missing is a Delorean and about 3 million dollars." He said jokingly. "I'm sure I'll get some points in the costume contest! I'll bet no other boy around town went through the trouble I did to put this thing together! I'm even gonna wear it to school, and show it off. What about you, Vicki? Are you going to wear your vampire stuff?" Said Jamie. Vicki shrugged and stepped back into her cabinet.

"I don't know how well the vampire fangs would do during my Home Etc. class, we're making candied apples today." She said. Jamie put his hands on his hips.

"Uh huh, sounds like a likely excuse." He said, with a raised eyebrow. "Oh well, you'd probably have that weird kid who's always dressed in black going gaga for you anyways, I think it's always Halloween at his house." He added. Vicki nodded.

"I'll think about it." She said. Jamie scrunched his mouth up and left his room to make his way to the kitchen, humming to himself as he went along. He got to the kitchen and flipped the light switch on, and shrieked loudly when he saw what was sitting at the kitchen table. It looked like a hunched over stranger had been sitting in the dark, waiting for Jamie to enter into the room. Jamie stood motionless and silent for a few seconds, his heart felt like it was beating around in his chest much like a pinball would bounce around a pinball machine during a manic high score play session. His breathing finally steadied as he realized that it wasn't a stranger at all, but instead a scarecrow of sorts- pieced together with some of Ted's clothes and a mannequin's head. "Whew." Went Jamie, as he patted his chest. Ted came rushing into the kitchen, still in his pajamas and out of breath.

"Jamie! What's the matter?! I heard you yell…" He asked. Ted looked at his scarecrow and nodded. "Ah. I forgot to tell you about our house sitter for tonight." Said Ted, as he made his way to the scarecrow.

"NO problem dad, our P.E. teacher is always telling us about the benefits of a good cardiovascular work out." Said Jamie, as he plopped down into a chair at the kitchen table. Ted smiled and adjusted the scarecrow's head.

"Sorry Jamie. At least we know it works, huh?!" Exclaimed Ted. Jamie just held his hand to his chest and stared at his father. "Why are you up so early anyways? It's not even six in the morning yet!" Asked Ted, as he glanced over at the hanging asparagus decorated clock on the wall.

"I wanted to get an early start today, that's all." Said Jamie. Ted sat down in a chair and crossed his hands in front of him.

"An early start huh?" He asked knowingly. "Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with this Halloween party? The last time you got up this early was for Christmas morning back when you were nine years old." Said Ted. Jamie shrugged and got up from his chair to fetch himself some cereal.

"Okay, a little bit, but that doesn't mean I'm not waking up to also get a good jump on the day! The early bird gets the worm and all that!" Said Jamie, as he poured himself a bowl of Count Chocula cereal. Ted smiled at the brief overly childish moment, and then turned to look at the living room door as Vicki entered the kitchen. "Yesterday I asked Mom if I could walk to school this morning, it'll be good to start the day off with some exercise!" Added Jamie as he sloshed some milk into his bowl of sugary shapes.

"Also because he found out that Paula Preston walks to school right on Reggie's path." Interjected Vicki. Jamie stopped pouring his milk and looked at Vicki with squinted eyes. Vicki returned the squinty look to him, and Ted laughed out.

"Looks like she called you out Jamie." He said. "Is that the same Paula girl that Vicki helped to stop stuttering? I thought you didn't like her that much." Said Ted. Jamie brought his bowl of cereal to the table and Vicki stood by listening in on the conversation.

"Well that was back before when we were just little kids. We're 15 now!" Said Jamie. Ted smirked and gave his son a singular nod, even if he did find Jamie's remark fully amusing. "We all have biology together, me and her and Reggie and Vicki, she's way nicer than she used to be too!" Added Jamie, as he took a spoonful of the cereal to his mouth.

"She's also a lot rounder than she used to be." Said Vicki, as she motioned out an hour glass figure with her hands for Ted. Ted smiled and crossed his arms as Jamie grew red in the face.

"Put a sock in it Vicki!" Said Jamie, quite annoyed with his little sister.

"Put a sock in it, Okay." Said Vicki, with an affirming nod of her head. She reached down to the scarecrow and pulled a sock off of it's 'foot', and then placed the piece of apparel into Jamie's bowl of cereal, making Ted laugh out. Jamie frowned and plucked the soggy sock from his bowl, and put it on a napkin atop the kitchen table.

"Thanks a lot." Said Jamie, as he rested his cheek in his palm. Vicki nodded again.

"Anytime." She said, happy to have helped. "I'll make some pancakes for breakfast." She said. Jamie perked up.

"Yeah?" He asked. "Can I have mine with blueberries?" Asked Jamie, a little hopefully. Ted chuckled and got up from his seat, taking his scarecrow with him.

"Are you sure you don't want boo-berries?" Asked Ted. "I'll have two, Vicki, just normal pancakes." He said. Vicki nodded and threw him an OK sign, and watched as Ted left for the living room. Then she turned back to Jamie.

"Harriet cancelled her slumber party for Halloween." Said Vicki. Jamie snapped out of his daze and looked over at her.

"What? Why?" He asked, as Vicki started to set up her electric flat top griddle. "Don't tell me, all of her friends cancelled." Said Jamie, with a mean smile. Vicki shook her head.

"Mr. Brindle's sister got them all backstage passes at Frightmare Forest. She knows the actor that plays the horror host." She said. Jamie sighed out.

"Of course." He said. Then he sank down into his chair. "So I guess that means I'll have to see Harriet in her Halloween costume. Boy, talk about disturbing and scary images! Blecch!" He added. Vicki nodded, and she retained his little remark for later scrutiny.

The ever worried Joan had given permission for Jamie to walk to school on the condition that Vicki went with him. It wasn't so much because she didn't trust Jamie, or that she was worried that he couldn't take care of himself. It was based on the reasoning that if some stranger or hooligan ever did try anything weird or mean towards him, his younger refrigerator lifting sister would absolutely put a stop to it. It was an unusual kind of comfort for Joan, but a comfort nonetheless.

Having Vicki tag along with him wasn't always too comfortable for Jamie, especially when he had girls in mind. Reggie was aware of that fact, so when the time came for Paula to join them on their walk, he ushered his plastic pal forward so that she wouldn't be such a bother. As Jamie tried his best to delicately ask if Paula would be interested in attending the Halloween festivities alongside him, Vicki and Reggie had their own idle chit chat to get through on the way to school.

"Your vampire costume looks cool Vicki! I heard Jamie say that he helped to put it all together!" Said Reggie, as the two of them walked far ahead of Paula and Jamie. Vicki got a confused look on her face and shook her head at Reggie, with a tiny shrug of her shoulders.

"When did you see my vampire costume?" She asked, very curious. Reggie grimaced and cleared his throat. His eyes quickly darted from Vicki's red and black dress to the red ribbon in her hair, and then finally at her rather pale complexion.

"I mean that I heard it looks good! Yep, you're gonna be a shoe in for that costume contest! I'll bet you even take first prize!" Said Reggie. Vicki nodded and looked onward, staring off into the distance. Reggie smiled and turned around to look at his friend and the girl walking next to him. Jamie looked grim, and he hid his hands in his jeans pockets, looking very strange in his orange vest and oversized Nike shoes. His friend needed help, and Reggie knew it. "Hey Jamie! How much time will it take for Vicki to get into her costume for the party tonight?" Asked Reggie, very loudly.

"Oh, are you guys going to a Halloween party?" Asked Paula Preston, as she swung around to face Jamie. "Where's it at?" She asked.

"Not too long! We're all going to that Frightmare Forest party that's been on T.V!" Said Jamie as he wrestled his hands from his pockets. "We're all dressing up and entering the costume contest too!" He added, still too nervous to ask the girl to go with him.

"Oh neat! I kind of thought Vicki was already in costume though…" Said Paula, as she walked on her tiptoes to get a better look at Vicki's clothing. "Hmm. I think I'm going to the school dance with my girlfriends tonight, but I'd love to see your costume Jamie!" She said with a smile. Jamie raised an eyebrow.

"I'm wearing it right now!" He said. Paula looked him up and down.

"You are? Are you l-like a coast guard or something?" She asked. Jamie frowned and began to reconsider his choice of costume.

"I'm supposed to be Marty McFly from Back to the Future!" He said, as he tugged on his orange vest. Paula nodded and made a silent 'Oh' with her mouth. The two continued to walk on in silence for a bit, and the school property was very suddenly within their sight. "You could go to the party too!" Jamie blurted out, his face turning red as the words escaped his mouth.

"I don't know about that, I had a hard time talking my Mom and Dad into letting me go to the dance! They're afraid I'm going to run off with some high school hunk!" Said Paula, a little jokingly. Jamie straightened up.

"Well, there won't be any high school hunks at the party, just me and Reggie!" He said. Jamie bit his lip and shook his head, realizing that his particular choice of words had once again turned him into a walking talking punch line. Paula giggled out however, and his confidence was restored. "I just think you'd have a lot more fun at the Halloween bash, that dance sounds kind of boring." Said Jamie.

"Oh, but I like to dance!" Said Paula. Jamie's heart sank. They approached the doors of the school and slowed down their pace. "It does sound a little more fun though… maybe I can ask my parents to take me there instead." She said, putting a smile back on Jamie's face. The two of them nearly collided with Reggie and Vicki, who had both stopped and turned around to wait for their arrival.

"Yeah? Well if you can show up that'd be awesome! We're all going to be there at around four! I'll look for you!" Said Jamie.

"Okay! No promises though Jamie, l-like I said, my parents are kind of worrywarts." Said Paula. Jamie smiled and nodded and Paula left for the inside of the school. "See you later!" She said, as she disappeared into the crowd of bizarrely dressed students. Jamie sighed out and his eyes looked glazed over. Reggie waved his hand in front of his friend's dopey face.

"Earth to Jamie! Are you alright?" Asked Reggie, as he snapped his fingers in front of Jamie's face. Jamie startled, and kept on smiling.

"Oh yeah! I'm alright!" He said, sounding quite content. Reggie laughed out.

"Real smooth, Casa-Lawson. I bet you had the whole thing under control!" He said, knowing full well that he had saved his best friend from bombing. Jamie just sighed out and walked into the school. Vicki rolled her eyes and followed him in along with Reggie. "See you at lunch Jamie!" Said Reggie, as Jamie glided into the crowd of costumed teenagers. Reggie shook his head and put his hands on his hips as he watched his friend dazedly wade through the students on the way to first hour.

"See you at lunch, Reggie." Said Vicki, as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Oh, Vicki, wait…" Said Reggie, as he dug into his pockets. She stopped and turned to face Reggie, patiently standing by as he tried to wrench some object from his jeans. He finally produced the item and handed it over to Vicki. "My mom said I could have it, cause she doesn't wear stuff like that. It was my aunt Yvonne's, but I think it would go good with your costume later!" Said Reggie. Vicki nodded and inspected the metallic necklace in her hand, it was a bat shaped pendant with red glass eyes on a silver chain.

"Okay." Said Vicki, in her usual polite, but very monotone way. Reggie shot her a weak smile, remembering that the robot in front of him wasn't exactly unappreciative, just unemotional at times. He nodded and left towards his class.

"Just try not to lose it." Said Reggie, as he deftly merged into a mass of fast moving students. Vicki nodded back at him and turned for her own first hour class. The wall of teenagers blocked her path to the AP algebra room, and poor tiny Vicki went hardly noticed as she tried time and time again to enter into the slow moving parade of unenthusiastic students.

She stood there waiting for any kind of opening into the crowd, but began to see little chance of any way in. The first bell rang, and Vicki hopped up and down on her tiptoes in an effort to get a better view over her towering school mates. Very suddenly, in the midst of her hopping, a radio authentication code flashed across her vision. Vicki's hand unexpectedly, and uncontrollably went out in front of her, landing a very firm and loud smack on the behind of a senior girl passing through in the crowd.

The senior girl's mouth dropped open, and she swung around to the sophomore boys behind her. She smacked them both very loudly across their faces, and the crowd stopped. The girl was exchanging some pretty colorful words with the two boys, and in that split second, Vicki took her chance to get through the crowd and make her way up the stairs. The radio code had vanished, and just that quickly Vicki's stupid left arm had returned under her control. Vicki examined her left hand as she walked up the stairs towards her class. Maybe her left appendage wasn't so stupid after all?

Lunchtime had been awful for everyone at Valley High that day, as the cafeteria cooks had tried to be inventive with orange and black food coloring with every food item. Even the macaroni and cheese. Jamie, Vicki, and Reggie all soldiered through their respective meals, and by the time gym class had started Jamie and Reggie were feeling sluggish and ill. Vicki was the only student in gym class that day that seemed unaffected by the gross 'ghoulash' and 'Macabre-roni and cheese' dishes. No one was thrilled at her unusually accurate dodge ball abilities either, but Jamie was ecstatic for their last class of the day, biology.

It hadn't ever really occurred to Jamie that high school teachers were any more strange than middle school teachers, but when Mr. Perry walked into the biology lab that day every student began to question just how odd the biology teacher actually was. Jamie stared at his teacher, and his teacher crossed his arms and sighed out, almost sounding annoyed at Jamie's choice of costume. Mr. Perry took off his white wiry haired wig and put it on his desk, making some of Jamie's classmates laugh out.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Asked Mr. Perry, as he shuffled off his white lab coat that was decorated with a radioactive symbol. Jamie opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the teacher. "I know who you're supposed to be, it was a trick question." Said Mr. Perry, as he took a seat at his desk. Jamie huffed out and turned his attention back around towards his two friends sitting across from him.

"I don't get it!" Whispered Paula Preston, as she leaned forward to Jamie. "What's he supposed to be?" She asked. Reggie and Jamie both raised an eyebrow at her, and she shrunk down into her seat.

"Haven't you ever seen Back to the Future, Paula? The sequel's coming out next month!" Said Jamie, just as the bell rang. Paula shrugged and shook her head. The bell stopped it's ringing and the teacher immediately sprang out of his chair. Mr. Perry began to giddily walk around the class room handing out sheets of paper to all of his students, while Jamie sat marveling at the only person in the whole world who hadn't seen the cinematic masterpiece that just happened to be his favorite movie (not involving any kind of gore). Paula shifted uneasily in her seat when she caught Jamie's gaze and she turned in her chair to watch the teacher instead.

"Everybody! Put your text books back in your bags and keep your bags closed~! This is gonna be fun with a capital PH!" Said Mr. Perry as he handed his last papers to Jamie, Reggie, and Paula. They collectively looked at the bizarre images on the paper, full of weird squiggly body parts and bones. Jamie looked up at the teacher.

"What are we supposed to do with these?" He asked. Mr. Perry waved his arms in the air and stood by Jamie's table, making sure that the whole class could see and hear him.

"Science! Paper science!" Exclaimed the teacher. He held up Jamie's piece of paper to show the class. "Everyone will notice that each paper is different from everyone else's! Some of you have bones, guts, kidneys and all sorts of fun stuff, and guess what?" Said the teacher.

"What?" Asked the class, collectively.

"You'll all have to work together and put your pieces together in the right order with the right labels before the end of class. Let's see if you can do any better than Frankenstein." Said Mr. Perry, as he went to sit at his desk. "When you're done just yell the magic words~!" He said.

"What are the magic words?" Asked Reggie, as the class got up from their seats and began to shuffle around the room. Mr. Perry threw his hands up into the air.

"IT'S ALIVE!" He yelled out, making the class giggle out. "Go, go, go! Show some hustle!" Said the teacher, as he whistled out. Jamie, Reggie and Paula all immediately honed in on Vicki and her paper.

"I've got the brains." Said Vicki, as the three of them approached her. Reggie nodded.

"I think that goes without saying, Vicki." He said.

"Paula, how often do you get out to go see movies and stuff?" Asked Jamie. "Don't your parents let you out of the house?" He asked, with a little humor in his voice. Paula shrugged again, and remained quiet. She joined Vicki at her table and began to cut out the pieces on her paper. Reggie nudged Jamie in the ribs.

"Hey man, you better drop it~! I think it's a sore subject." Whispered Reggie. Jamie nodded and scrunched his mouth up.

"I think you're right. I thought she was just being funny earlier when she said that her parents were really strict with her- but I wonder if she wasn't telling the truth." Said Jamie. "Maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up for the party either." He said, sounding quite disappointed. Reggie grimaced and gave him a pat on his shoulder.

"Well, at least we'll still have fun! Besides, you're going to be pretty busy with the costume contest." He offered up. Jamie gave him a nod.

"Yeah." He said simply. Vicki joined the two boys and held out her hand to Jamie.

"Coccyx." She said at him. Jamie raised his eyebrows and stared confusedly at his sister.

"What?" He asked, feeling like she had spoken some weird foreign language at him.

"Coccyx." She repeated. "The tail bone. We need it to complete the spine, and you have it." Said Vicki, with the slightest tone of impatience. Jamie handed over his paper to Vicki and watched her as she returned to her table.

"You're welcome!" He said at her as she left him behind. Reggie scoffed and stared at his own paper.

"I think Mr. Perry accidentally gave me some drawings of linguini…" He said, as he turned his sheet upside down. Jamie nodded and examined the paper as well. He held his stomach and stuck out his tongue.

"That's not linguini, that's the small intestine!" Said Jamie. "Linguini is what they massacred in the cafeteria earlier!" He added. Reggie's eyes watered up and he dropped his paper out of sight.

"Don't remind me." He said, with a bit of indigestion.

The walk home from school that day was bitter sweet for Jamie. On one hand he was completely energized just with the thought of going to the Halloween bash! On the other hand, he felt a little down that his almost secret crush was more than likely going to be a no show for the event. Paula Preston's mother had even picked her up from the school that afternoon, leaving Jamie no time for the banter he had hoped for on the way home. Just like that, the fun atmosphere that Jamie had always felt around Halloween had changed- altered forever by some unforgiving biological imperative (as Vicki would call it) to show up at a party with a girl on his arm. Or depending on the girl, showing up with him on her arm.

"…what do you think Jamie?" Asked Reggie. Jamie snapped out of his thoughts and turned around to face his friend and robotic sister behind him. His dumbfounded face made Reggie laugh and cross his arms. "You didn't hear any of what we were talking about, did you?" He asked.

"Sorry…" Began Jamie. "My brain is on overload, I can't really keep my mind focused..." He said. Vicki nodded at him.

"Widen your bandwidth." She suggested to him. Reggie shook his head at her.

"I'm pretty sure people don't have bandwidths, Vicki, whatever they are." He said. Vicki got a puzzled look on her face and remained quiet. "Anyways, we were talking about how late you'll be able to stay out tonight? Vicki says she doesn't think your parents will let you stay up too late." Said Reggie. Jamie nodded.

"Yeah, it is a school night… I hadn't really thought about it. Vicki's pretty lucky, she never has to worry about getting enough sleep!" Said Jamie. Reggie looked over at Vicki. "I'll bet they let us stay out until at least ten! That's not too terrible." Added Jamie.

"She really doesn't sleep? Don't you ever get tired, Vicki?" Asked Reggie. Vicki shrugged at him.

"I can go into a sleep mode to expedite data compression and dream, but I don't get tired." She said. "I haven't 'slept' since the end of September." Added Vicki. Reggie's eyes widened.

"Wow! What do you do all night?!" He asked, excited at the notion of never having to sleep again.

"Typically, I stare at the cabinet door." Replied Vicki. Jamie smiled big and turned back around, seeing the dismay on his best friend's face. Reggie still had quite a bit to learn about a robot's day to day life.

"Sounds exciting." Said Reggie, as he shook his head. "Alright! I'm gonna head off onto my street, but I'll see you two at the party!" He said, as he waved at them. Jamie and Vicki both waved goodbye to their friend and continued on towards their own home.

"Am I like a vampire?" Vicki asked abruptly. Jamie blinked and gave his sister a stern and concerned look before continuing onward. Vicki followed close behind him and waited a few minutes before talking again. "I am like a vampire." She said, matter-of-factly.

"What?!" He asked. "Vicki, what are you talking about? You mean your costume for tonight?" Asked Jamie. Vicki shook her head.

"I stand in a cabinet instead of sleeping in a bed. Vampires stand in coffins." Said Vicki. Jamie laughed out and continued walking towards home.

"Vicki, you stand in a cabinet because you don't even have a bed! Vampires have to sleep in coffins because sunlight will make 'em burst out in flames. Kind of like Harriet at the beach!" Said Jamie. Vicki nodded and followed behind him. A few minutes passed by before Vicki spoke up again.

"I don't tan. Vampires can't tan either." Said Vicki.

"Well duh, they'll explode! You don't tan on account of being all plastic and stuff." Said Jamie, sounding a little disinterested. Vicki nodded again, then she sped up her pace so that she could press her arm into Jamie's. "Gah! Watch it!" Said Jamie, as he pulled his arm away from hers.

"As cold as the grave." Said Vicki, obviously quoting someone else. Jamie put his hands on his hips and stopped walking in order to face Vicki.

"Vicki, you're not a vampire! Those are just… what you call its… uhm- coincidences!" Said Jamie. Vicki crossed her arms in front of her. "I only dressed you up in the vampire costume because I thought you'd look cool in it! Honest." Jamie added.

"I can hypnotize, just like Count Dracula does." Said Vicki.

"Not anymore you can't! Not after Dad fixed that little issue." Said Jamie. "Vicki, what the heck? What's the matter, why are you stuck on this vampire thing?" Asked Jamie. Vicki counted on her fingers, mimicking how the girls at school would do sometimes.

"I don't tan, I don't sleep, I don't get older." She said to him. Jamie grimaced.

"Alright, I get it, but you don't drink the blood of the living to get by. That's a plus!" Said Jamie, as he patted his sister on the shoulder. She shook her head.

"I don't have a pulse." Said Vicki, as she placed her hand into Jamie's.

"Big deal! Neither does R2D2, and you don't see him complaining!" Said Jamie, as he let go of her hand. "You're a teenage robot, not a 100 year old blood sucker! I think you're taking this whole costume thing too seriously. Maybe it's not too late to find you a different costume…" He said.

"I'm like the Frankenstein monster, too." Said Vicki. Then she showed Jamie her leg. "I was brought online with electricity, and Dad has to piece me together sometimes." She added, pointing to the leg that Jamie knew full well had been detached and reattached before.

"Not even!" Said Jamie, slowly becoming more and more concerned. "Dad's not a mad scientist, and he didn't go grave robbing to put you together! That's crazy!" He said. Vicki held her hands out in front of Jamie.

"I'm like the wolfman, too." She began. Jamie scoffed out.

"How?! You have like, no body hair at all!" He said, in an almost scolding tone.

"I can run as fast as the wolfman, and jump as high as the wolfman, and dogs bark at me no matter what I do, just like the wolfman." Said Vicki. Jamie stood in uneasy silence and finally sighed out.

"Let's just talk about this later, Vicki." He said, as he turned and continued the walk home. Vicki nodded and followed behind him again. They were almost home by the time Vicki spoke up again.

"You're like Slimer." She said at last. Jamie turned around and squinted at her.

At that very moment, Ted Lawson had a very strong suspicion that someone had been in his garage, and that they had for one reason or another tidied up his work desk. Bizarrely enough, someone… or something… had managed to organize his scattered papers into a neat and comprehensive pile, while at the same time having had removed the nearly invincible coffee cup ring that had stained his desk for over a year now. Ted found himself baffled and not at all amused at the situation. The only person he could think of that would have been in his garage and done such a thing would have been Vicki, except that Vicki hadn't been in the garage for nearly two weeks.

All of his projects and failed experiments were still tucked away in their far off corners, and his cherished 1962 Plymouth Belvedere (which just barely worked) seemed undisturbed. It was Ted's desk in particular that had been violated by some unseen hands. He went through the very well organized piles of papers at his work place and scoffed out. It was completely ridiculous! They had even gone through the trouble of color coordinating his various projects and ramblings with colored paper clips.

"This had to be Vicki!" Said Ted, to himself, as he went about fixing his problem. He scattered his papers around his desk again and nodded in satisfaction. "Aha!" He added, with a finger pointing towards the heavens. He found his favorite coffee cup and deliberately placed it where the stubborn coffee ring had been before.

"Dad?" Asked Jamie, from the other side of the garage door. "Is that you in there?" He asked, poking his head into the side door. Ted turned and greeted his son and robot creation as they timidly entered the garage.

"Hey Jame. Vicki." Said Ted, as he inspected his desk one more time. "You guys are home kind of late." He said absently. Jamie raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you mean that you're home kind of early?" Asked Jamie. Ted smiled and returned his focus to his two kids.

"Oh yeah, that! I finished my work early so that I could get a head start on getting ready for the Halloween bash." He said. "I even talked your mother into going with us!" He added.

"You did? How?" Asked Jamie, actually amazed. His mother never struck him as the kind to dress up in a costume, especially a Halloween costume. "You must have bribed her." He said. Ted ushered the two of them out of the garage as he talked.

"Nope! I just used the good old fashioned Lawson charm until she caved." He said, quite smugly.

"You nagged her until she said okay." Interjected Vicki. Ted cleared his throat.

"Well either way, she's one more body for the night! Once she gets home we can all get in our costumes, and guess what?!" Said Ted. Jamie opened the back door to the kitchen.

"What?" He asked, as he and Vicki stepped inside the house.

"We're gonna go to the party in style!" Said Ted, as he motioned to the garage. Jamie smiled wide.

"In the Mr. Belvedere?!" He asked excitedly. Ted nodded.

"Uh, it's a Plymouth Belvedere… Jamie, but yeah!" He said, equally as excited as Jamie. "We can probably even squeeze one more high school sized bottom in the back seat, you know if you want to pick up Reggie… or someone." Said Ted. Jamie sensed his father's obvious curiosity about his morning walk with Paula Preston and sighed out.

"Well, Reggie's gonna meet me there, and I don't think Paula is going to show up." He said, trying not to sound too bothered about it. Ted frowned as the three of them walked into the kitchen.

"Oh? That's too bad. Why not?" He asked. Vicki collected Jamie's book bag from him and turned to Ted.

"Her parents are like a drill sergeant married to a nun. Strict." Said Vicki, as she exited out the swinging door to the living room. Ted raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to Jamie.

"Did she get that from you?" He asked. Jamie shook his head.

"No, she's been coming up with a whole bunch of weird stuff lately. Just on the way back from school today, she was going on and on about how she was like a vampire! I think she's got a few loose wires." He said as he went to fetch himself a glass of water. Ted folded his arms and scoffed.

"I guess I can see that… Vampires can fly, she can kind of fly… it makes a little sense." Said Ted. Jamie rolled his eyes and gulped down his drink. "She obviously picked it up in some conversation though. Paula's parents I mean. You should be grateful that your mother and I aren't as strict on you as some other parents!" Said Ted, as he sat down at the table.

"Oh I am!" Said Jamie, as he joined his dad. "Other kids' dads wouldn't let them stay out late tonight, even if it is one of the last Halloweens they'll enjoy together before their little tyke heads off to college." He said, as he sadly shook his head. Ted squinted at him.

4 p.m.

Dressed up like a ninja waiting in the shadows with a throwing star, and a Kodak camera, Reggie stood in the steadily filling parking lot near the entrance to the new Ranch park that was host to the evening festivities. The park itself was fairly new, the ranch having been passed onto the city only recently- but with all the little booths and the funhouse facades littering the mostly empty green field, it was beginning to really shine. Reggie stared at the glowing top of the 'Haunted ranch house' in the slowly diminishing sunlight and brought his camera up to take a photo.

Frightmare Forest, as it was being called despite the lack of a forest, was surprisingly jam packed with as many adults as there were kids. Reggie took a snap shot of a happy enough looking bunch dressed up like the Addams family and smiled. Unfortunately, Reggie's parent's weren't as Halloween happy as 'Wednesday's' and 'Pugsley's', instead he was there by himself. Even his older brother had decided to stay home this year- suspiciously enough. Another family went by, dressed up like characters from the Wizard of Oz, and Reggie took another picture of them. The littlest among them, a barely into kindergarten boy dressed up like a flying monkey, brandished his woolen claws at Reggie. Snap! Another photo for his bid into the school newspaper.

Reggie had become a guy of many talents, not really a jack of all trades sort of guy, but a guy with varying skills nonetheless. He had already secured himself a place in the school marching band on the drum line, he was in line for a spot in the upcoming theatre play of 'Hamlet', and he was an excellent photographer. He could even develop his own film in the school darkroom, and had even impressed the Photography 1 teacher, Mrs. Watterson, with his snapshots of the nearby Mt. Diablo. Reggie was even learning about shutter speeds, angles, and even adjusting apertures! Finding a good picture seemed to come naturally to him, and tonight there were plenty of opportunities to photograph, plenty of dorky adults too! A very dorky looking adult dressed up like Count Dracula passed by him and Reggie took the shot. He scoffed out as the nervous man in the cape startled and nearly dropped something to the ground.

"Watch it!" Hissed the man. "Don't sneak up on people like that!" He barked out. Reggie raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Sneak up? Man, I've been standing here for ten minutes." Said Reggie, as he snapped another photo of the man from chest level. The man covered his eyes from the flash and muttered out as he retreated into the bustling park. Reggie laughed to himself and looked around for Jamie and his family. "Come on, Jamie, where are you guys?" He asked a little worriedly.

His answer came quite quickly. From down the parking lot came a horrible squealing sound from an old and loosed fan belt. A sputtering black car with a grinning chrome bumper slowly turned the corner of the lot and made it's way down to find a parking space. Reggie took a long look at the car and was surprised to see Jamie in the backseat, hunched down and looking embarrassed. The black car squealed again and turned into a free spot, just as it's motor gasped and died. Reggie trotted towards the car, and jumped back as the tailpipe blasted out a puff of black smoke. The doors of the car opened and Jamie came rushing out of the vehicle- happy to have his feet touching the ground below.

"We made it! We made it!" He said as he held his chest. "I thought we were goners as soon as we turned onto the avenue!" Said Jamie.

"I thought you were goners as soon as you turned the corner!" Said Reggie, only half jokingly. He turned to face Ted, who was just getting out of the car. "Mr. Lawson, I thought that you had… a…" Began Reggie. He became speechless at the sight of Jamie's father, and instead chose to snap a picture of the man standing in front of him.

"Reggie! Warn somebody before you flash them! I can barely see!" Said Ted, as he covered his eyes in a daze. Reggie just shook his head and grinned at Ted's red and black tank top with a sequined design in it's middle, dazzling giant belt buckle, and funnily tight black jeans with matching boots. He had combed his hair in a funny way too, and Reggie giggled as Ted tried to move his bangs back into their hairspray held place. "What do you think? Pretty good huh?" Asked Ted, with a hint of pride.

"Yeah, Mr. Lawson! It looks… uhm. Real good!" Said Reggie. Jamie sighed out and crossed his arms.

"Reggie, you don't have to lie, even my Mom says he looks dorky. She thought he was trying to look like Liberache!" Said Jamie. Vicki got out of the car next and joined Reggie and Jamie.

"He's supposed to be Flash Gordon." Interjected Vicki. Reggie snapped his fingers and nodded.

"That's just what I was gonna say! Flash Gordon!" He said. "Did your Mom stay home to pass out candy? That's what my folks are doing." He asked. Jamie huffed out and turned to search for his mother.

"No, she's just too embarrassed to get out of the car! Mom?!" He said as he went around to other side of the Belvedere. Reggie looked down at Vicki and gave her a smile. She was dressed in a white gown and strange shroud of sorts, and he noticed that she was wearing his bat shaped pendant.

"You look cool Vicki! Like a real vampire!" He said to her. Vicki smiled back and showed off her realistic looking fangs, and Reggie's smile faltered. "Wow, you actually really do look like a real vampire… with those teeth and that shroud, you better watch yourself around any vampire hunters tonight." He said. Vicki nodded.

"These teeth, this shroud, and my eyes." Said Vicki. Reggie shrank back as Vicki adjusted the color of her eyes to a brilliant shade of red, and Ted sighed out.

"Vicki, cut it out! We told you that was too much, even for Halloween." Said Ted, in a scolding manner. Vicki nodded and her eyes returned to their normal dark brown hue. Reggie exhaled sharply and shook his head.

"I don't know, she could probably win the costume contest with those red eyes alone!" He said. A small argument erupted from the other side of the car and they all turned to see Jamie throw his arms up into the air.

"Just come out! It's Halloween, no one's gonna judge you, Mom!" He said.

"I'll come out when I'm good and ready, Jamie, now stop it!" Came Joan's voice from inside the car. Jamie scrunched up his mouth and made his way to the back door of the vehicle and got inside.

"Alright, you asked for it!" He said as he clamored in. There was a shriek and Joan popped out of the car, smacking her hands at an unseen Jamie still inside the Belvedere. She looked around and smiled. "Hi!…" She began, nervously.

"Joanie, come on, you spent a lot of time on that costume, you should be proud to wear it in public!" Said Ted. Joan grimaced.

"Oh… alright…" She said as she made her way to them. Reggie's mouth dropped open as Jamie's mother crossed to their side of the car. Joan had dressed up in a very nearly risqué looking fishnet outfit, complete with ratty looking black pants and a black denim jacket, and her hair was even tussled wildly and held together with a black ribbon. She smiled weakly. "I'm supposed to be Madonna…" She began. Reggie lifted his camera up to his chest and took a snap shot of Mrs. Lawson, making Ted laugh out loud.

"Reggie!" Said Jamie, sounding a little offended, as he rounded the car towards the rest of them. Vicki pushed Reggie's camera back down.

"Sorry Mrs. Lawson, I'm just trying to get good pictures tonight so I can get into the school newspaper as the photographer! You l- your costume looks nice! Cool, it looks cool, just like Madonna!" He said, stuttering over some of his words. "You should enter into the costume contest, you just might win it!" He added. Joan shrugged and crossed her hands in front of her.

"Well… thank you Reggie, I just might. It would be a little scary to go up in front of a whole bunch of people in this costume though, taking pictures and getting judged… I wouldn't begin to know what to do!" She said. Vicki nodded at her mother.

"Just remember to warn somebody when you flash them." She said. Joan huffed out and buttoned up her jacket tightly, and crossed her arms. Ted laughed out and motioned for everyone to depart for the festivities.

"Truer advice was never spoken, Joan. You might want to bring an extra jacket too, just in case it gets chilly later… a jacket without all the rips in it!~" He said, very happily. Joan squinted at Ted, and followed behind everyone else into the park.

5 p.m.

A raucous assortment of costumed partygoers had filled the park, the turnout seemed even larger than Jamie had ever hoped for. Witches and goblins moved about the crowded park handing out flyers with the night's events and candy for the kids, one event caught Joan's eye in particular. She read over the flyer as she and her oddly dressed companions slowly made their way to the center of the park, where a giant haunted house had been set up along with a fake graveyard.

"Look at this Ted, they have a pumpkin pie eating contest!" Said Joan, as she tugged on her husband's sequined tank top. "If anyone can win that contest, it's you!" She added, jabbing him in the side. Ted smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Why's that, Mrs. Lawson?" Asked Reggie. Jamie laughed out.

"Because last Thanksgiving, Mom and Vicki had to bake two pumpkin pies for dinner! Dad ate one all by himself!" He said. "And the rest of us only had one piece each out of the second pie." Vicki nodded in agreement.

"He's a pumpkin pie fiend." She said. Reggie smiled and looked up at Ted.

"Wow Mr. Lawson! Do you think you could eat that much pie again? Maybe there's a cash prize!" Said Reggie. Ted shook his head.

"Sorry Reg, the only prize you get after entering a pie eating contest is a new waist size." He said, as the five of them reached the center of the ranch park. "And a big stomach ache!" He added. Jamie looked around at the fake graveyard that they had come to be standing in, and at the haunted house a short distance away, marveling at the cool looking neon light displays in the windows. A bright light suddenly shone in the fake graveyard, and Jamie could see a small camera crew talking amongst themselves as an older man in a weird costume was looking over some cards with another older man next to him.

"Dad! That's Peter Vincent!" Said Jamie, as he nudged his father. Ted turned around along with Joan and peered over the crowd to get a better look. "Wow! They're gonna film right here next to us! Maybe we'll be on T.V!" He said excitedly.

"Oh! Do you think we should try and get out of their way? We don't want to ruin their shot!" Said Joan, sounding a little uneasy at the thought of being on live television in her current outfit. Ted gave her an odd look.

"Ruin what shot, Joanie? We're in a graveyard!" He said. Reggie brought his camera up and started taking pictures of the scene at hand. The man in the frock coat and old bowtie just happened to catch Reggie in the act, and he smiled and waved at the group. Jamie waved back very energetically.

"Do you think we can meet him?" He asked over to his mother. "I'll bet he knows all sorts of stuff about horror movies!" He said.

"Not right now, Jamie, it looks like they're about to start filming- I think we better stay out of the way." Said Joan, as she made her way to the other side of the graveyard. Ted followed her and ushered the kids forward as well.

"That's right, besides, you don't want to go gaga for some T.V. personality on live television do you? You might never live it down!" He said. "I'm sure you'll find something else to stare at for awhile." Jamie shrugged and gave him a slight nod.

"I guess you're right." He said. Reggie turned around to the Lawsons, still looking through his lens, and took one more photo before nearly dropping his rather expensive camera in surprise.

"Oh!" Said a feminine voice from behind Ted, as he was bumped into. "Sorry about that~! That flash caught me off guard!" Said the woman dressed in a skimpy low cut black gown with tall black hair.

"That's alright, we're…" Began Ted as he turned to see the offender. His mouth stayed open but no words escaped his mouth. Joan squinted and jabbed Ted in his ribs. He exhaled and caught his breath. "We're just moving out of the way~!" He said, stumbling over a fake gravestone. Jamie and Reggie's mouth were both still open and aimed at the pale faced woman.

"Sorry! Reggie, you have to be careful with that camera flash! Especially at night!" Said Joan, as she lightly shoved Ted towards the two boys. Joan looked the woman up and down as she continued on her way, and the woman beamed a smile back at her. "That woman ought to be ashamed! Wearing an outfit like that, there are kids around this park!" Whispered out Joan, sure that the woman in the black gown couldn't here her.

"Mom! That's Elvira! You know! She's the host of Movie Macabre!" Squeaked out Jamie, almost offended at his Mother's lack of movie knowledge.

"She's the Mistress of the Dark!" Added Reggie, finally regaining his composure. Vicki peered at the quickly vanishing costumed lady, Elvira, up and down too and finally gave an affirming nod of her head.

"She's much taller in real life." She stated.

"Taller, right." Said Joan with a little nervous smile. "Jamie, you're going to start catching flies if you don't close that mouth up, mister." She said as she turned to face her son. Jamie grinned and turned back around to his mother.

"That's right Jamie, you shouldn't stare at that woman like that, she's probably just dressed up for the costume contest." Said Ted, joining Joan and putting his arm around her shoulder. Joan rolled her eyes and gave him a half nod of her head. "That's not the real Elvira- I'm sure she's just a celebrity impersonator! Why would the real 'Mistress of the dark' be here in our little town?" He added. Reggie looked over to Jamie and shrugged.

"He's got a point. Maybe that was just some look alike." Said Reggie. Jamie nodded.

"Yeah… maybe." He said, sounding almost disappointed. "I'll bet she spent a lot of time trying to look like that! If she's in the Halloween costume contest, she's gonna beat us for sure!" He added with a slight sigh.

"There's plenty of other stuff beside the costume contest, Jamie." Said Joan. Jamie nodded.

"Sure Mom, I know- I just spent a lot of time on me and Vicki's costumes! I wanted to be the best! You know? Get some acknowledgement for a job well done~!" Said Jamie. A group of people walked by the five of them and the youngest children in the group shied away from the perfectly still and watchful Vicki. One of the kids even hid behind his mother's leg and got a laugh out of the adults as they walked past.

"Looks like it's working!" Said Reggie, as he turned around from the little scene that had just played out in front of Vicki. "Besides Jamie, you wouldn't want Paula Preston to see you staring at that lady like that, would you?" He asked, half jokingly. Jamie shook his head and blushed.

"What do you mean? I don't get what you're talking about." Said Jamie as he pretended to be genuinely surprised. "I wouldn't care about if she did or not even if she was here." He stated. Joan bundled herself up in her jacket even more and huffed out.

"Oh? Paula Preston, isn't that the girl that Vicki helped with her stuttering problem?" Asked Joan. Ted nodded.

"She's in Jamie's class now. I think he has a thing for her~." Said Ted, not at all trying to lower his voice for Jamie's benefit. Jamie sighed out and stamped a foot on the ground.

"That's it, I'm going to the carnival games over there, away from you old people!" He said, very emphatically. Ted and Joan both opened their mouths to apologize but Jamie was already walking away. He waved a finger in the air. "No-no-no!" He said, as he made his way to the brightly lit Halloween themed carnival games. Reggie smiled up at Ted and Joan and took a quick snap photo of them both- capturing their look of bemusement against the Mansion façade behind them.

"I guess I'll follow him, someone better keep an eye on him." Said Reggie as he waggled his eyebrows. Ted nodded.

"You know Reggie, I completely agree with you, kids shouldn't be out and about without some kind of supervision." He said. Then he nudged Vicki on the shoulder, breaking her concentration of the passersby. "Vicki go with Reggie." Said Ted, as he gave them both a smile. Reggie shook his head and went to follow his friend to the carnival games.

"Man, it's just like having my own mom here." He said, as he fiddled with his camera's buttons. Vicki trotted off behind him and turned around to look at her parents.

"Stick with them Vicki, and go have some fun! We'll be over at the pies." Said Joan. Ted feigned a surprised look and turned away towards his favorite part of any holiday celebration. The food. Joan waved to Vicki and Vicki gave her an OK sign with her hand.

"Stick with them, have some fun, got it." She said, as she turned back around to find Jamie. Vicki turned up the micro sensors in her ears and went about scanning for Jamie's and Reggie's voices. She found them quickly over by the creepy clown shooting gallery, and made her way towards them.

Truthfully, Vicki hadn't had the volume up on her micro sensors for quite some time, mostly at the request of her family. For whatever the reason Ted, Joan, and Jamie all found it an invasion of privacy to have Vicki constantly able to hear what they were saying or doing. She herself didn't really have a notion of privacy- not that she didn't understand what it was. Vicki plainly and pointedly just didn't have the shame or secrecy to ever have the want of it. All in all, after initially turning her audio intake down she found that she also couldn't hear the Brindle family next door, and that was something that Vicki categorized as very beneficial. It was seldom after that point that she ever turned her Micro sensors back up, and so it was almost shocking to her that she immediately heard Harriet Brindle's voice beaming at her full blast.

"Vicki!" Squealed Harriet, as she came running from a crowd straight into Vicki's path.

"Hi, Harriet." Greeted Vicki. Vicki stopped and looked at her neighbor up and down, trying very hard to guess at her costume. Harriet stood proud and even posed a little for Vicki, as a few of Harriet's friends came to join her.

"Well? What do you think? Can you guess what my costume is?" Asked Harriet, as she flipped her outrageously blonde wig's curls. Vicki shrugged and gave her top probable answer.

"Tammy Fae Baker?" Asked Vicki back, still looking at Harriet's overly bright blue eyes shadow. Harriet's friends giggled out behind her and Harriet's mouth dropped open as she dropped out of her pose.

"What? NO!" She said, sounding offended. "I'm Marilyn Monroe!" Said Harriet, as she flung her fake feather boa across her shoulder. Vicki nodded.

"That was my next guess." Said Vicki, taking a cue from Jamie. (In fact her next guess would have actually been one of the weirdoes from a movie on the Fright Night featurette- the Rocky Horror picture Show.) "Are you entering in the costume contest later?" Asked Vicki. Harriet straightened her boa out and motioned to her friends.

"Nope, my aunt Ida Mae is going to take us to meet that Vincent guy! We're all going to be on T.V!" Said Harriet as she beamed at Vicki. "That's a way real looking vampire get up, Vicki! I almost didn't recognize you at first! Are you here with Jamie?" Vicki nodded.

"Jamie and Reggie. I'm supposed to stick with them." She said. Harriet sighed and turned to look at her small group of impatient friends.

"Okay, well tell him I'm looking for him! Or no don't! I want to see if he can guess who I am~!" Said Harriet, as she smiled and wiggled her eyebrows. Vicki nodded.

"Okay Harriet, I won't tell him that you're looking for him." She said. Harriet bit her lip and adjusted her boa.

"Actually, tell him I'm here in the park, but that I didn't even ask about him. Better yet, don't tell him I'm here at all, maybe I can sneak up on him and he won't even know who I am!" Said Harriet. Vicki furrowed her brow.

"Don't tell Jamie that you're here, or looking for him, or that you asked about him, got it." She said. Harriet gave a big nod.

"Right! Exactly! Well I'll see you later Vicki! Come find me later during the T.V. broadcast, maybe we can get you on television too! You never know!" She said, as she went to join her friends. They disappeared into the park and Vicki turned on her heels towards Jamie and Reggie. She went about marching in their direction and stopped behind them at the brightly lit by fluorescent lighting ring toss booth. Reggie turned around at the sound of Vicki's feet on the grass behind them and he gave her a quick smile then turned back around to Jamie.

"I think this thing is rigged! There's no way anybody could land all the rings on the bottles like that!" Said Reggie. Jamie just shrugged him off and waved a hand at him.

"No way, Reggie, I'm the master at these carnival games! Watch this!" Said Jamie, as he tossed his ring. It bounced off the bottle he threw his ring at and landed somewhere out of sight. Jamie made a harrumph and tossed another ring with exactly the same effect, making him sigh out and turn around to face Vicki. "Maybe he's right. I don't think even you could do it, Vicki." He said, handing her the last ring. Vicki took the ring and examined the diameter of the inner hole of the rubber ring, and juxtaposed it to the circumference of the bottle's rimmed top. She nodded at Jamie.

"Do it." She said, as she put the ring flat in her palm and tossed it gently into the air. It landed perfectly on the center most red painted bottle of the game board and the booth worker applauded the action. Jamie put his hands on his hips and stood with his mouth opened as he watched Vicki receive a plush Halloween costumed Snoopy doll from the ring toss man. Reggie simply laughed out and snapped the photo before the moment passed.

"Hey!…" Said Reggie, as he motioned for Jamie and Vicki to follow him away from the games. The three of them gathered away from the booths and Reggie raised an eyebrow. "Is there any rule saying that Vicki can't play the games and clean house? She could probably win the top prizes at all the booths!" He said very quietly. Vicki nodded.

"I can play the games, my Mom and Dad told me to have some fun." She said quietly to Reggie. "I also clean the house as a general rule~!" She said with wink. Reggie rolled his eyes and looked at Jamie.

"I get you!" Said Jamie, whispering too. "Like those walkie talkies and the Nerf guns?" Asked Jamie, as he rubbed his chin.

"That's a lot of loot, probably get in trouble with your Dad if he found out that Vicki did all the heavy lifting." Said Reggie. Vicki was about to interject with some details about her ability to lift heavy things, when Reggie sensed it and shushed her all at once. "Vicki, is there any of the prizes that you see that you'd want?" Asked Reggie to her. Jamie shook his head.

"Forget it, Reggie, Vicki is the only girl in North America who doesn't want anything for herself. It's like living with Mother Teresa sometimes." Said Jamie. Reggie smiled a little, and then the unthinkable happened.

"I want the nunchucks." Said Vicki with an affirming nod. Jamie shrank back from his robotic sister's words.

Jamie had often found Vicki's taste in movies and T.V. shows to be quite funny. It was true that she had watched the movie "Airplane" well over twenty times now, and it was also true that she often watched Saturday Night Live on the television. Most of the movies and television she watched tended to correlate closely to the shows that the other members of the Lawson family would also watch, save for that annoying Funny Bunny show that Jamie absolutely despised, and of course the oddball collection of Kung Fu and Karate movies that Vicki simply couldn't get enough of.

From Bruce Lee to Sonny Chiba, and back again, Vicki delighted (in her own stoic way) over watching the badly dubbed and over the top films of the genre. Her favorite as far as Jamie could tell would have to have been Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon", and Vicki's interest in the nunchucks in question gave him an uneasy feeling. After watching so many martial arts movies, Vicki had begun to accurately mimic the movements of the actors and fighters on the screen, and with her inhuman speed and strength... well. It was something that even Jamie couldn't ignore as a bad idea.

"The nunchucks?" Jamie repeated back at her. Vicki nodded again, and then she turned and pointed towards one of the many prizes at the creepy clown shooting gallery. There, hung upon the wall of prizes was a day-glow green colored pair of nunchucks. Jamie bit his lip and turned back to his sister and narrowed his eyes at her. "Vicki, you know I never try to sound like mom and dad when it comes to having fun, but listen... I think they'd both flip if they saw you with that thing." Said Jamie, feeling a little odd at the amount of adult rationality that had suddenly welled up within him.

"Don't you want anything else? What about one of the really big teddy bears, over there by the balloon dart games?" Asked Reggie. He raised his eyebrow as Vicki shook her head. Jamie and Reggie turned to each other and then back towards Vicki. "Well...why just the nunchucks?" Asked Reggie, as he started to fiddle with his camera.

"I don't have any use for the teddy bear, I don't sleep." Answered Vicki. Jamie shifted his weight to his other foot and put his hands on his hips.

"What the heck can you use the nunchucks for?!" He asked her, sounding a little exasperated. Vicki shrugged back at him.

"You never know~." She said, in a very chipper sort of way. Reggie snickered in the background and started taking photos of the festivities around them once more, while Jamie stood staring at his sister. Vicki finally put an index finger to her chin and tilted her head in thought. "There are those glitter filled batons over by the ring toss game..." She began to postulate. Jamie smiled and his eyes lit up.

"Yeah? I bet you could use that! Especially if you try out for the cheerleading squad this year- you'd totally win the judges over with one of those batons." He offered up, hoping to sway her choice. Vicki dropped her hands back down and shook her head again.

"No." She said, very plainly. "I want the nunchucks instead." Jamie sighed out and looked at all of the other marvelous knick knacks and collectible junk, ripe for the taking at the carnival game booths.

"Well..." He began, really taking stock of the repercussions at hand. "Those walkie talkies are super cool..." He said. Reggie took a snap photo of Jamie and Vicki, they both turned towards him.

"So is that remote control monster truck." He added. Reggie put his camera down and looked at the two of them. "They're probably just foam nunchucks anyways. It's not like she's gonna break any bricks with them." He said. Jamie turned on his heels straight to Vicki.

"You better hide those nunchucks from Mom and Dad, or my goose is as good as cooked! Comprende?" Said Jamie to his little robotic sister. Vicki nodded and flashed him an okay sign with her fingers.

"Si!" She answered back to him, sounding almost giddy. Then she grabbed Jamie's arm and started leading him back to the games at the booths, with Reggie following behind them still snapping photos as he went. They reached the creepy clown shooting gallery and Vicki quickly took her place in line behind a few taller boys. Jamie leaned down to his kid sister.

"Okay Vicki, try to make it look like you're just kind of lucky." Whispered Jamie. Vicki raised an eyebrow and shook her head at him.

"How do I look kind of lucky?" She whispered back, a little confused.

"Well... you know... just barely win the games~!" Answered Jamie in his hushed tone. Vicki nodded once and looked off into space. There was a lot of math involved with what Jamie had just asked her to do, almost as much as when she tried to 'throw like a girl' in P.E. class. That had become easy enough with repetition, but barely winning at anything was quite new.

"I'll do not quite my best." Said Vicki, after a slight silence. Jamie smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

"Good!" He said. "I think..." Said Jamie, as he stood there thinking over her words. Reggie smiled and looked on, winding his camera. He just happened to look up to see a girl in a giant plush penguin costume walking towards the three of them, and smiled wide when he recognized her face. He jabbed Jamie in the ribs and motioned over at the approaching penguin.

"Look who made it!" Said Reggie, as he shoved Jamie towards the girl. Jamie stumbled forward but quickly caught himself, just in time to see the expression on the penguin's face. Paula Preston smiled down at Jamie and put her cushioned wings behind her back.

"Paula!" Exclaimed Jamie, as the line full of eager clown shooters advanced. "You made it!" He said rushing over to her. He stopped mid rush and tried to play it cool, putting a hand on his hip and narrowing his eyes. "Cool costume." He said.

"My mom bought it for me a long time ago." Said Paula, as she bent forward to look down at her orange bird feet. "It was for a Christmas pageant, like two years ago." She added. Jamie smiled.

"Call me crazy, but I don't think that Santa has any penguins pulling his sleigh." He said. Then he looked past Paula to a tinfoil cardboard box, quickly approaching the two of them. "What's going on there..." Began Jamie, as Paula smiled and turned around.

"Oh! Wait till you see this! Vicki made her own Halloween costume! Isn't it n-neat?" Said Paula. Jamie's eyes widened and he involuntarily cringed at Paula's shy friend, who was also named Vicki, as she made her way towards them. She was dressed in multiple boxes, all covered in tinfoil and working lights, with her head placed squarely in a humorous looking box decorated with an expressionless cut-out pair of eyes and slightly frowning rectangular mouth. "She was coming here anyways t-too. I guess she really likes Halloween and monsters and stuff." Finished Paula. The tinfoil box robot Vicki reached them and came to a stop.

"Hi." She said sheepishly, taking a tiny step behind Paula. Paula smiled and then went to join Reggie and Vicki at the line full of eager clown shooters.

"This will be fun! Vicki the Vampire!..." Said Paula as she grabbed her shy friend's hand and walked off with her. Vicki stood in line and turned to see Paula (the penguin) dragging along an unknown person behind her. Reggie turned too and scrunched his mouth up at the sight of Paula's friend. "Meet Vicki the robot!" Said Paula as she happily showed off the tinfoil covered shy girl.

"Yeah..." Said Jamie to himself. "Fun."