"Changes"
Chapter Four
Sorry for the wait y'all, but my col computer died, and I had to get a new one. Luckilly, I'd uploaded all the files for this story. :)
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Egon panted for breath as Janine chased him down the streets of New York. He managed to ditch her in the alleyways near central park.
'Janine didn't even recognize me...' He sniffled. 'I'm alone in New York, with the body of a six year old child.'
An overwhelming urge to cry came over the Doctor.
'No!' He mentally shook himself. 'You're an adult damnit, and its time to start acting like one!'
The admonishment only upset him further. Egon cried quietly. He cried more these past two days than he had in the last two years.
'It has to be a side effect of the mutation. Over-emotionality. Once I'm back to normal, this will stop.'
He dried his face with the somewhat damp sleeve of his lab coat.
'That better. Now, I'm practically in central park. It'll be best to wait there, near a group of children if at all possible. If I wait a few hours, the guys will get back, explain this to Janine, and I can go home.'
He started toward the park.
-
"Dr. V, you've gotta bet back here right away. Egon's gone!"
"WHAT!"
"And that's not all. Some little imp or something pretending to be Egon just escaped into the city." Janine said breathlessly.
"What did he look like?" Peter asked, heart sinking.
"Blond, wearing Egon's clothes. Looked like a little boy, actually."
Peter sighed heavily. "Janine, there's something you need to know..."
-
"Peter, getting us all killed because you're speeding isn't going to help find Egon." Ray said as calmly as possible.
Peter ignored the younger man and proceed to blaze through a red light.
"Ray's right Peter." Winston wouldn't let his death-grip on the seat go. "Calm down."
"Egon is lost somewhere in New York and you want me to be calm!" Peter demanded.
"Most likely, he's fine. He knows this city. He'll probably be back at the firehouse by the time we get there." Ray said hopefully.
"Not with Janine on the rampage, he won't." Peter said grimly. "We've gotta find him. I promised him I wouldn't let anything happen to him."
"He's gonna be fine Pete." Winston said thru clenched teeth. "Now slow your ass down."
"No offence Zedd, but shut-up."
-
Egon tried to look as nonchalant as possible while approaching a playground within the park. Blending in with the other children would be vital to mask the fact that he was alone.
He sat quietly watching the other children at play. Three of the children were arguing about something.
One of the girls broke off and approached him.
"Wanna be a Ghostbuster?"
"What?" Egon said sharply.
"We need a fourth person to be a Ghostbuster." The girl sounded exasperated. "We only have three."
"Um...alright." Egon stood up and followed back to the group.
"Here's your proton beam." She handed him a stick. "My name is Kayla. This is Bernice, and Sammy. What's you're name?"
"E-Eric." Egon stammered.
"Okay Eric. There's a bad ghost in this hotel, and its our job to bust 'im!" Kayla, obviously the leader, grinned. "Eric, you and Bernice take the stairs-" She pointed to the jungle gym. "And Sammy and I will take the top floor."
She and Sammy ran for the slide.
"C'mon Eric!" Bernice began to climb. Egon followed obediently.
"What do we do when we see a ghost?" Egon asked conversationally.
"We hit it with out proton beams, like this." Bernice whacked a bar. "Haven't you ever played Ghostbusters before?"
"Kind of." Egon blushed slightly.
"Good, because there it is!" Bernice yelled and jumped to the ground. "Lets go!"
Egon quickly un-scaled the structure.
'This is fairly random.' He thought while running after her.
"Kayla, its the marshmallow guy!" Bernice swung her stick at pure air. Egon opened his mouth to tell them it was a physical anomaly for Gozer to enter a hotel while in that form, but thought better of it.
"I'm comin' Bernice!" Kayla and Sammy ran to her. Egon swiped half-heartedly at the empty patch of air.
"We've gotta cross the streams!" Sammy yelled.
The three crossed their sticks.
"Eric, c'mon! Its the only way to beat the ghost." Kayla whispered.
"Oh...Okay." Egon touched the sticks.
"Argh, ack, oh no, ooh..." They fell onto the ground. Egon sat quickly.
"We did it." Kayla stood up, wiping 'marshmallow' from herself. "New York is safe again, thanks to the Ghostbusters!"
"Yea! Ghostbusters!" They cheered. Egon cheered right along.
'This is actually...fun!'
-
"Janine, please!"
"No." Janine buttoned her jacket. "I've gotta find him."
"Someone has got to stay here in case he comes back." Ray said desperately. "Peter and Winston have already gone, and I'm supposed to search the park. You have to stay here."
Janine bit her lip. "I chased him away, I should be out there looking for him."
"Its not your fault Janine, you didn't know. You've gotta stay here. Please?" Ray gave her the 'puppy eyes'.
"Alright Ray." Janine sat heavily on her desk. "But Egon is all alone out there. And with those brains in that body, that spells trouble."
"It'll be okay. You'll see."
-
"Bye Eric! See you later!" Sammy waved as his mother pulled him home.
"Bye Sammy!" Egon waved.
The Ghostbuster watched until his new friend was out of sight.
"Egon!" A loud yell came from behind. The startled blond spun around to see Ray approach. The other man locked him into a hug.
"Are you alight?" Ray demanded.
"Yes Ray." Egon gaped for breath. "Aside from being able to breath."
"We've been worried sick!" Ray released him. "Gosh, we'd better call everyone and let them know you're alright."
"Of course I am. Why shouldn't I be?" Egon asked as they walked toward the firehouse.
"Well, for one thing, you have the body of an eight year old, and you were all alone."
"Oh...Right." Egon frowned slightly. He'd been very distracted during the last few hours-he hadn't thought about it.
"Janine feels awful. I practically had to tie her to the desk to keep her from looking for you." Ray said.
"She's not mad at me?" Egon asked quietly.
"Nope, she just upset she chased you halfway to Jersey." Ray chuckled as they approached a main street.
Ray felt something tug at his sleeve. He glanced down.
Egon was holding his hand.
Ray opened his mouth to say something, but shrugged it off as they crossed the street.
'He's trying to blend in...The last thing we need is somebody figuring out what's happened and trying to use it against us.'
-
"See that? He's right there. Still in his jumpsuit."
"Yeah, I see 'im...What are we supposed to do about it?"
"Wait until they're on one of the back streets. Then we grab the kid."
"Are you sure it's his kid?"
"It's Venkman's alright. He and the chick split up, but they had a kid. He'd be that age by now."
"I still don't like it."
"You don't need to like it, you just need to do it! Damnit Joe, you don't do this and the boss'll have your head on a plate."
"Yeah, I got it." Joe muttered.
"Its a good thing Barry saw the kid come outta the firehouse, or we'd never have this little opportunity."
"Lucky us." Joe said half-heartedly.
-
"Ray, I don't feel so good." Egon said as they entered the back ally.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure..." Egon frowned. "But I think I need to take a closer look at the tests I did on myself. Something is wrong."
"All the more reason to get home as quickly as we can." Ray said.
"You're right." Egon nodded. "Let's just-"
"Lookout!" Ray shoved the Ghostbuster to one side.
A car was racing straight at them. Egon pressed himself close to the wall.
"Ray-"
"Just stay there!"
The car screeched to a stop between the two. The side door near Ray swung open. Egon glimpsed a gun pointed at Ray's head.
"The kid gets in or you both get wasted." A guttural voice growled.
"Take it easy fella." Ray had his hands up. "Do whatever you want to me, but leave the kid out of this."
"Ray, no!" Egon whimpered.
A man wearing a ski mask eased out of the car. He kept the gun trained on Ray.
"Get in kid, or he gets it."
"Don't do it." Ray pleaded. "I'll be alri-"
The man cocked the gun.
"By three." He growled. "One."
Egon shook his head. "I'm not going to let him hurt you Ray."
He stepped towards the car.
"No!" Ray yelled.
An arm snaked out of the car and grabbed Egon's coat. The miniature Doctor was pulled inside.
"You son of a-" Ray was cut short as the gun connected with the back of his head. He crumpled to the ally floor.
The man kicked him once in the ribs for good measure and returned to the driver seat. Joe had already duct-taped Egon's mouth shut. The terrified boy stared up at them, eyes wide.
"Put the bag on his head, he doesn't need to know where we're going." The other man ordered him.
Egon's world went black.
-
END OF CHAPTER FOUR
