Connection

Slimer hovered over the lone, crowded desk in the small Library that took up half of the top floor. Janice Spengler had fallen asleep at the desk, wearing small frameless reading glasses that made her look like Janine. But she wasn't. She was a little brighter than Janine, well, at least in his vision. She was just as bright as Peter. Janine and Ray were second brightest, and then Winston and Egon.

He could feel a sall tug, something had been consistent ever since Ray had passed on. He knew it what it was, though. He wanted to move on and be with his friends. If it hadn't been for Peter's instructions to stick with Oscar, he wouldn't have stayed. And then if Oscar hadn't felt it was necessary for him to be there to help his friends' descendents, he would have left after Oscar had also passed on.

Now, he was glad he hadn't. Janice wasn't Janine's firey tough girl, and she wasn't even trying to stand up for herself. She really needed a friend to help her.

One of the first things he had decided to do as soon as he was allowed to haunt the firehouse freely again, was prank the others. A strand of red hair fell into her face and he very carefully moved it out, leaving a little slime.

He really missed his friends. Slimer grabbed a blanket and drapped it over her. But He'd stay for Janice. The tug vanished. He'd stay and make sure no one took advantage of her. The siren went off and Janice jerked up.

"Whoa!" Slimer almost got hit by her head.

"Slimer, room, I'll get you a Cheeseburger on the way back." Slimer nodded. Even if she didn't get it right after the bust and had to return, she was very good at keeping her promise for feeding him. And it would give him a chance to plan what he was going to do to the other Ghostbusters as revenge. Years with the originals had given him a large prank repertoire. Curtosy of Peter, mostly.

Egon woke with a pounding headache, and the feeling that his chest was being crushed. Opening his eyes revealed Ray and Janine on top of him. They were also starting to come around.

"Ooohhh . . . what hit me?" Janine groaned as she tried to lever herself up. Not an easy task with a forty pound pack and Ray on top of her. "Ray get off, you're crushing me and Egon."

"Sorry . . ."

"You guys alright?" Winston helped Ray and Janine up.

"Yeah . . ."

"Sorta . . . where's Peter?" Ray glanced around.

"I don't think he made it." Egon fixed his glasses.

"What do you mean?"

" . . . Peter was hit with a combination of ghost and proton energy. His body diffiused most of it, so we were . . . transported to here, instead of destroyed . . . but he wouldn't have survived the blast."

"You're sure?"

"Somewhat."

"Where are we?"

"I believe the correct question would be when." Egon picked up a paper. "The year is 2100."

"Wow!" Ray looked at the paper.

"But how do we get back?" A siren interupted them.

"Should we run?"

"I don't think so . . . maybe we'll be able to find out more." A white van/truck pulled up, the ghostbuster's logo clearly visible. A group of five emerged, traing throwerd on them.

"Hold it right there."

"Pardon me, but we've been temporaly displaced." Egon wished Peter was here, he was better at talking people down. "I'm Dr. Egon Spengler-"

"Why should we believe that, you're reistering on the meter."

"Well . . . we were transported by a ghost."

"Let's just zap them." The throwers gave an ominous hum.

"Wait!" One of the ghostbusters stepped forward. She had red hair and was wearing a green with pink trim uniform. She walked right up to Egon, a PKE meter pointed at his chest. The machine beeped, and she gave him a smile, as she turned, he saw her name tag. J. Spengler. "They're telling the truth . . . It's not them that's giving off the energy, it's this entire area!" The others relaxed, but were clearly unhappy.

"Next time, don't do that." Ed scolwed at her. She just looked at him, before turning back to Egon.

"I'm Dr. Janice Spengler."

"Dr. Egon Spengler . . . Janine Meltnitz, Winston Zeddemore and Ray Stantz. Are you-"

"I'm your great granddaughter."

"She looks like Janine . . ." Winston commented.

"Well . . . that's cause . . . um . . ." She glanced at Janine. "We're related too." Egon and Janine looked at each other and turned red.

"I'm Dr. Edward Stantz, this is my sister, Ruth Stantz." He had a brown uniform with tan collar and trim, while ruth had a tan uniform with pink trim.

"Chad Zeddemore, doctorate in engineering." Chad wore a dark blue uniform with white collar and trim.

"Alan Venkman, I'm a medical doctor." Alan nodded, wearing a white uniform with red collar and trim. Under the Ghost buster logo was a red cadecus.

"How'd you get temporaly displaced?"

"I'm afraid we're not sure . . . the last thing I remember happening is Peter crying out and a bright light." Egon explained. "Beyond that, nothing."

" . . . that's really not much to go on- What the?"

"Janice, Ray, look out!" Janine shouted, a portal having appeard right behind them. The two looked, and began moving quickly away from the portal. Ray moved quicker than Janice, and the portal warped, grabbing her and just missing Ray.

"Hang on!" Winston grabbed her before the portal could pull her in. "Ray, Egon, think fast!"

"Hold still." Egon fired a low powered beam, which did make the portal release her. In fact, she and Winston almost toppled to the ground.

"Only you Janice." Ruth shook her head. "You really shouldn't come on busts."

"Oh, great . . ." Janice swore, ignoring Ruth.

"What's wrong?"

"The PKE meter . . ." She held up a burned hand. "That was a really high powered vortex . . ."

"Residuals alone are reading as a class nine." Chad glanced at Ray, who had spoken at almost the same time.

"It seemed like it really wanted you."

"She's a jinx. She always gets into trouble."

" . . . or she's more attractive to ghosts." Egon glanced at Ed, a slight frown on his face. "Peter Venkman and Ray are much the same way. Ghosts tend to go after a person that they feel could help them in some way." Ed shifted, uneasy. "But we better get a place where we can talk, other than a potentially busy street in a few hours."

"Firehouse?"

"That place is still standing?"

"It's been remodeled a few times, but yeah."

"Janice, let me see your hand." Alan took it forcing it open. "Where did you get this scar?"

"Um . . . A bust a month ago . . . You were at a conference." He looked at her, than at the others.

"was no one going to tell me?"

"She got hurt on that bust?" Ed blinked. "When?"

"It's not a big deal. Only took a couple of stitches." Janice tugged her hand away. "I've gotten worse."

"You have?" Egon's frowned deepend.

"Am I to understand that you do not pay attention to your own teammates?"

"That's cold, real cold." Winston crossed his arms and shifted against the Truck's side.

"She doesn't say anything."

"She doesn't say anything, or you don't listen?"

"Whoa! Hold it!" Janice waved her hands. "I've been in a car crash and had to be in the hospital for a bit. That's all!"

"When?"

"Before I met you. We're not all going to fit in the truck, I'll take the motorcycle." She grabbed a green helmet. She left her pack in the truck. "See you at the firehouse."

"Be careful."

Slimer 'slept' fitfully, dimly aware of a familiar feeling . . . It felt like Ray, Winston, Janine and Egon. But it couldn't be. Peter would be with them. So he stayed in the room.

"I take it you guys are all descended from one, or two, of us?" Wintson settled on a couch.

"Right. It's a tradition that descendents of you stay here in this office."

"How many ghostbusting offices do you have?"

"At least one in every major city. It recently started branching out to other countries."

"All this from four guys setting up shop in a firehouse to bust ghosts?" Janine shook her head.

"Well, yeah . . ."

"We need to work out how we got transported over a hundred years into the future." Egon shifted his glasses. "Peter could be seriously injured."

"Doubt there would be much you could do even if he is." Ruth absently muttered.

"What?" Egon's blue eyes met her hazel ones.

"From what you described it's likely that Dr. Venkman is dead." She shifted. "Ghostbusters history 101. Peter Venkman dies protecting the team on a bust gone wrong."

"We still have to try." Ray looked at Egon. An Alarm went off.

"If it's not one thing it's another, whatcha got, Alan?" Alan was over at a machine.

"Ecto 26 has just been in a crash. And the psi meter isn't transmitting very well . . . It's fluctuating like crazy!"

"Can you get her on radio?" Egon moved to look at him.

"Hang on . . . Janice, you there? Dr. Spengler? Hey Red, answer me!" Alan frowned.

"I . . . n . . . roub . . . elp . . ." There was a brief response, and it went dead.

"C'mon. This is going to be another long night . . . You can stay here."

"If I may make a suggestion?" Egon shifted his glasses. "Winston and I will go, along with Alan and- Chad?" Chad nodded. "The rest of you should stay here and start working on what that portal was."

"Yes Proffessor Spengler- er, Doctor." Ruth winced. "This is going to be difficult . . ."