That night, Louis was starting to realize that there was something about New Year's Eve he had never quite appreciated before. In the past, it was just one of those days when other people had plans and he didn't, and everywhere was so crowded that he couldn't get a table even if he wanted to do something besides sit around and eat dinner in his apartment by himself. But maybe the day meant more than that. Maybe all that stuff about new beginnings wasn't just the reason people's financial records always seemed to show a gym membership in January that rarely lasted until March.
A new start. Didn't sound like such a bad thing. And even if they hadn't hit midnight yet, a lot of things were already changing for the better. Maybe once the next year came, he'd be ready to step into it with some bad things to leave behind and some great things to look forward to instead.
But first, he was going to have to make it through the rest of the night. And though he'd dreamt of this more times than he could count, he'd honestly never felt more ready. Something bad was coming again, but this was his chance to make things different. No panicking, and no running away this time.
Still, there was one thing that had managed to make a few doubts start creeping back in.
He didn't know what Janine was doing, but she'd told him to wait for a minute and wandered off. And while he was hanging around alone in the room, he'd caught a glimpse of the old TV tucked against the wall on one of those rolling stands. It was switched off, which meant that all he could see was a reflection of himself standing in the cluttered room. He thought about the usual sort of people you'd see in movies, especially the heroes of the story. They didn't look like him.
There were a lot of things about that he couldn't fix. He couldn't magically grow a foot taller, or bulk up all of a sudden, and he didn't have any change of clothes that might make him look less like an accountant who lost a fight to a toaster. There was one thing he figured he could try, so he pulled his glasses off, tucked them carefully into his pocket, and took another look. Or at least, he tried to.
Yikes, that was blurry. That was very blurry. Bad idea.
Well, he supposed it was alright for a Ghostbuster to have glasses. Dr. Spengler did, anyway.
As he slipped them back on and saw the world come back into focus, he tried to tell himself that none of it really mattered. All that was really important was whether or not he could do anything to help get the job done. It was just that he'd pictured plenty of times what this sort of moment would be like, and he'd always kinda imagined that he'd look like he belonged as part of the team. It was hard not to feel like he'd just be sort of a tagalong. Someone that didn't really belong there. Short but pointless.
But he supposed there was nothing he could do about it, so he tried not to let himself feel disappointed.
Janine returned a moment later, and he was confused when he saw her carrying one of the spare uniforms. She held the folded garment out to him with a self-satisfied smile, and the only explanation she offered was, "If you're gonna go out there, you're gonna need the right gear."
He'd always wanted to wear one of the jumpsuits. Of course he'd always wanted to wear one. How could he not? But he was sure that anything she'd found in the closet would end up absolutely swimming on him. He wouldn't look like a Ghostbuster, he'd look ridiculous. But before he could start to ask any questions, she pushed the suit towards him, and his clumsy attempt at grabbing it resulted in the carefully folded bundle coming unfurled. And this time, it didn't result in an excess of fabric trailing on the ground.
It was his size. Meant for him. His uniform. His spot on the team.
"I didn't have time to get a new name tag made yet." Janine stated as a way to fill his awed silence. He didn't seem to notice she had said anything. He didn't seem to be noticing anything else at all. "You really don't care, do you?"
He didn't know whether he felt numb or so ecstatic he was going to burst. He did know that he was starting to feel a little dizzy. Why did he feel dizzy?
Janine's expression grew concerned, and she reached out to grab his arm. "Louis, breathe."
Oh, right. That was why.
After gulping down a breath, he raised his eyes up at her, and look on his face told her everything she needed to know.
He felt something he hadn't for a long time. He felt sure of himself. He'd spent a lot of his life feeling small, in more ways than one. Thanks to her, he didn't have to.
Before long, he was almost ready to get out there and take on the threat facing the city.
Alright, so maybe it took a little longer to start getting on his way than it needed to. He and Janine may have gotten sidetracked doing some other stuff in the closet. But in his defense, he probably wasn't going to be back for that sort of thing by the time the clock struck midnight. Really, it was just good sense to make sure he got things done ahead of time.
But in any case, he was soon suited up, and in the process of pulling on a proton pack. She started towards the stairs, and Louis began to follow, but hesitated and looked back into the room behind him. Janine also paused when she realized he wasn't behind her. He quickly turned back towards her, but she'd already seen where he'd been looking, and a knowing smirk appeared on her face.
"You wanna go down the fire pole, don't you?"
"Yes I do."
He seemed a little embarrassed, but was still looking at her with that smile she could never want to disappoint. She reached over and hefted the pack into her own arms.
"I'll meet you downstairs."
There were a lot less people out than usual, but New York was the kind of place that never seemed completely empty. That was one of his favorite things about the city. He made sure to wish everyone he passed a happy New Year, since he figured that the potential catastrophe about to occur was no reason not to be friendly.
He had yet to encounter any ghosts, or anything supernatural for that matter. But that didn't mean he wasn't facing some other problems. It was definitely a crisp night, but he'd come prepared for that. Earmuffs weren't technically part of the standard gear, but that was another thing he figured was just good sense. Statistically speaking, the cold was more likely to kill you than a ghost.
No, the real problem was the distance. He loved this city, but boy was it big. They'd tried calling for a cab before he left, but it seemed as if most of the transportation in the city had been shut down, what with everything going on that night. Or as Janine had put it, "One taxi gets stepped on by a living dinosaur skeleton, and suddenly it's 'too hazardous' for anyone to buck up and do their job." At the time, he'd told her not to worry too much. He already knew these packs were heavy, but he assured her that he spent plenty of his free time watching workout tapes, so he was sure he was in perfectly good shape for this sort of thing.
It soon turned out that carrying one of these packs around on a hunt for Slimer had already been difficult, but running all over the city was a very different story. Starting tomorrow, he was watching those tapes with a backpack full of rocks.
He was pretty sure that getting onto a bus driven by a giant slime ball that didn't even have feet, not to mention very likely not having a valid driver's license, was probably violating the 'make good decisions' part of the advice he'd been giving himself. He didn't even know why it was driving a bus around the city. Maybe it decided it felt bad about stealing his lunch all the time and came to help, or maybe Janine had sent it after him once it became clear no one else out there was going to drive him anywhere. Or who knows, maybe it had just stolen a bus because it was getting up to mischief like all other sorts of strange things that night, and it only came across his path by chance.
But even if he had a lot of good reasons to be concerned about getting on that bus, those packs were heavy, and he was certain he was going to collapse if he had to make it the rest of the way on foot.
And anyway, it gave him someone to talk to while he was on his way to the museum. Slimer didn't exactly speak, at least not in a way he could really understand, but the ghost didn't seem to mind listening. By the time they were pulling up to the bus stop closest to the museum, he felt confident that they'd come to some sort of understanding, at least enough to know that his lunch wasn't going to be stolen much anymore. Granted, that was probably because he'd promised to bring extra to share, but he figured the ghost was sort of his friend now, so it seemed like a better way of handling things than chasing it around the firehouse.
Soon, the bus came to a stop and he climbed off again, ready to jump back into the action. He made it a few steps before he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned around to find Slimer still trailing after him.
"What're you doing here?"
The ghost gestured in the direction of the museum, indicating that it was planning on coming with him.
"Well…"
The idea of having some backup was nice, but would it be safe there? Truth be told, he still didn't really know exactly was going on, and he didn't want to put his newfound friend in jeopardy.
"I don't think that's a good idea. This is just for Ghostbusters."
Slimer let out an unhappy whine and sunk a little lower in the air, his arms trailing limply towards the ground.
"Aw, don't be sad." He quickly attempted to comfort the large creature. "There's plenty of things you and I can do together. I bet with arms like that you're a real good bowler."
The ghost perked up again, flexed one of its arms, and looked rather impressed with what it saw.
"See?" Louis encouraged it cheerfully. "Why don't you go and celebrate? It's New Year's Eve."
Slimer immediately took off again, though Louis got the sense that it was more because it had spotted an unattended pretzel cart than because of his advice. Either way, it managed to splatter a glob of slime onto his face as it zipped past.
"That guy really stinks." He muttered to himself as he carefully tried to wipe it away. He was probably going to need to make a quick pit stop now, if only to make sure he could wash his glasses off. "Well, I got a lot of friends that smell. I guess it's not that bad…"
Finally, he was the museum, and doing his best to make his way through the crowd so he could get close enough to see what happening. He could definitely tell that something strange was going on, but it wasn't until he got closer that he could make out what it was. Even then, he wasn't sure exactly what to call it. It looked like some sort of giant pink blob, but but could also see that it was definitely solid. He couldn't get in. And as he stood there and started feeling a very familiar sense of dread, he realized he knew exactly what it was, even if he didn't know what to call it. A huge, looming barrier, one that meant he was stuck outside and helplessly waiting for something terrible to happen.
'Please, not again…'
And suddenly, it was hard not to feel terrified of it all happening over again. Standing outside, locked out and trapped. Not knowing what to do, and finding that the harder he tried to figure it out, the more he knew he was out of options. Realizing that he needed help and it wasn't coming. Knowing that no matter how many people were there, he was all alone. Something in the back of his mind wondering how and when he'd managed to become that invisible. Finally being unable to do anything but freeze up and scream. Spending the next five years struggling to shake off that one moment.
'Not again.'
He took a deep breath, and he reached for the proton pack.
"I'm here with you guys."