A.N.: Same warnings abound for language, sci-fi violence, and intense situations. And I still don't own the characters (see chapter 1 for full disclaimers and credits).
3
"Throwdown"
Arthur Klein was used to working for everything he had. He had studied long hours at school. He had worked long hours to pay his way through college. After graduating, he had worked still longer hours to climb his way from internships to one of the premiere particle physicists at Globaldyne. When the opportunity to head up a team assigned to repair and upgrade the CERN Hadron Collider came along, Klein had called in every favor he'd earned along the way to secure the spot.
He considered himself to be driven, dedicated, focused, and determined, and he expected nothing less than the same seriousness from every one on his team.
Which is why his first impression of the scrap of a girl in the baggy, paint-stained overalls, leather jacket, pointless rubber boots, and socks that look as if she stole them straight off the feet of Munchkin from the Lollipop Guild could be summed up in a single word:
"No."
Klein's team had been loading the plane for the trip to Switzerland that morning when his cell phone buzzed. Dr. Gorin was calling to inform him that she was adding another particle physicist/engineer to his team. As Arthur owed her several favors, he naturally could not refuse.
The strange waif in the overalls must have been Dr. Gorin's protégé, for she'd been gifted with a duplicate of the "Screw U" pendant that Rebecca bestowed on only her most favored students. However, if Gorin thought Arthur was going to suffer a buffoon for a team member, she would be having an unpleasant call from Klein coming her way that evening.
At Klein's monosyllabic dismissal, Holtzmann had halted in her tracks. She pulled out her ear buds, just in case she'd heard him wrong with the music blaring because there was no way this joker had said what she thought he just said. "Excuse me?"
Arthur Klein's disapproval was written on his face. "You're Holtzmann? You're the physicist Dr. Gorin intends for me to take to Switzerland?"
Holtzmann was instantly defensive. "I'm the one Dr. Gorin intends to help fix your mistakes."
It was definitely the wrong answer. 'Mistakemistakemistakemistake,' Jillian scolded herself. Dr Gorin had warned her that Klein functioned primarily on ego. Unfortunately, ass-kissing wasn't one of Holtzmann's strongest suits.
Sure enough, Klein turned on his heels and headed for the plane, fulling intending to leave the insolent girl standing on the tarmac.
She refused to chase him. There was more than one way to manipulate an egomaniac, after all. "You know what, it's fine!" Holtzmann dropped her duffel bag on the pavement and used it for a chair. She called to the back of his head as he walked away: "Dr. Gorin showed me the plans your team put together for the upgrades. Frankly, they're embarrassing. I'd rather not have my name attached to them. See, that way, after the Swiss laugh you back to the States, I can fly over there myself and do the job the right way."
Klein paused, but he didn't look back at her. He was listening. That was something.
"What?" she pressed him. "You really don't see it?"
Now, Arthur turned and glared. Nevertheless, he pulled the computer pad from his briefcase, called up the schematics for the upgrades, and offered the computer to Holtzmann. "Show me our 'mistake'. You have five minutes to impress me. You could start by losing the Munchkin socks."
"I can do it in two minutes." She took the pad from his hand and swept her hand across the screen, scrolling through the pages of schematics. For added fun, she repeated the motion several more times, scrolling up and down the file. Finally, she covered her eyes with one hand and, with the other, pointed to an apparently random spot on the file. "This. Right. Here."
Arthur frowned at her. She was playing games, just as he'd anticipated. "Do you even know what page you're pointing to?"
Holtzmann opened her eyes. "Doesn't really matter. There's something wrong on every page." She jerked her chin in the direction of the rest of Klein's team, who stood near the plane watching the exchange with smirks she would have loved to smack from their faces. She recognized most of them. There were some good scientists among them…and a couple of real morons Holtzmann had the misfortune to work with at Globaldyne. She fixed a stare on them. "Or didn't TweedleDum and TweedleDumber overthere let you check their homework, dad?"
Klein started to turn away again. The time, Holtzmann did follow. She circled around to block his path and shoved the pad under his nose. "There. Right there. Do you really not see the mistake? The Box of Death you labeled a Super Proton Synchrotron? You follow these schematics and this Box of Death is going to cause and explosion that brings the whole facility right down on you. Or what about the linear particular accelerators? The proton synchrotron booster? I'm assuming you want the particles energized to the proper levels? Or is the plan to supercharge the collider and skip from finding the God particle to generating a black hole. If that's what you're going for, I withdraw my protest but have about six more follow up questions."
Klein examined the schematics. He must have agreed, judging by the twitch in his jaw. Holtzmann managed hide her grin.
She pulled out a spiral binder-a notebook, for God's sake, Arthur rolled his eyes-and flipped through pages of what looked to him like the scribblings of a madwoman. She found the page she wanted and held it out, again practically under his nose. Klein might have laughed outright, but morbid curiosity got the better of him, compelled him to take just a peek (if only to gage the true depths of her madness).
He frowned. "You want to use what for shielding? And these settings…this is all quite…insane."
"I like to think so. You can take your chances with TweedleDum and TweedleDumber, or you can let me on the plane, and I'll show you the other three mistakes in their schematics."
"Holtzmann, is it?" Arthur extended a hand, offering to help with the cumbersome duffel bag. "I still hate your socks."
"I have five more pairs and a matching shirt."
Something had happened. Holtzmann knew that much.
Her mind felt fuzzy, detached from her body, like the first groggy minutes waking from a dream. Bits and pieces of memory floated back to her consciousness, but she had to struggle back to lucidity to try to make sense of them. Why was it so difficult to think?
Holtzmann remembered something attacking her in her apartment. Something…she couldn't see what it was…it was a ghost. A ghost was attacking her and the proton pistols weren't having any effect, the proton grenade weren't working…
That bratty neighbor girl had shut off Holtzmann's power (again) and messed up her experiments. The girl was there when the ghost attacked. She remembered shoving the girl out the door…the girl and her father both. Holtzmann had to get them away from the ghost...
Then something grabbed Holtzmann's legs and jerked her from her feet. She had tried to call the firehouse for help. Had they heard her? Had she even thought to tell them where she was? Holtzmann couldn't remember. The ghost kept coming. Nothing Jillian tried slowed it down.
She got up, but it knocked her off her feet again and sent her crashing into her bathroom door. She remembered water everywhere-the damn ghost must have ripped the pipes right out of her wall. Oh well, she'd lost her damage deposit a long time ago anyway.
A ghost…
Not some random ghost. She remembered the music.
Artie. It was Artie.
Then something, solid and hard, connected with her skull, and Holtzmann saw only white light. Warm, inviting, safe light. It was tempting just to stay there in the light.
Except voices started calling her, voices calling her name from very far away…
Abby's voice. Abby was calling her name.
Abby, no...there was something important she had to tell Abby. Jillian had to warn her. Warn her about what? What was it…?
She followed the voices out of the warmth of the light…into pain. She felt her ribs breaking as immense pressure crushed down on them. It was difficult to draw a breath past the pain, but her lungs burned with need for air. Her head throbbed, aching so fiercely it brought with it nausea. The voices still beckoned, closer and louder now. Patty's voice. Erin's voice. Abby's voice. They were here. They'd found her…
For a moment, her panic abated. She wasn't alone now. Her family had come to help-
Then the fear returned in a rush. No, no, no…they couldn't be here. They were in danger. Why were they in danger?
Artie. He was there, too. He had tried to kill her. Artie would kill them, too. No, no, no…the proton packs wouldn't work…Holtzmann had to warn them.
She fought the blackness that held her in its painful grip, fought the pain, fought to open her eyes…
Holtzmann snapped back to consciousness with a strangled cry, completely disoriented.
Where the hell was she?
More importantly, where was Artie? He was near. She could sense it.
She blinked, trying to focus her eyes so she get her bearings. Glancing around her, she saw an unfamiliar window, sterile white walls, and bland tiles. There were monitors beeping. Crappy artwork adorned the walls. The place stank of ammonia.
Hospital, her mind supplied immediately. She was in a hospital. How did she get to the hospital?
Her gaze finally fell upon a familiar figure that was seated nearby, hunched over the only bed in the tiny room. Abby. Holtzmann breathed a sigh of relief…
…until she spied the second figure in the room. Holtzmann's gaze narrowed. Fury welled from deep within her. Her hands balled into fists.
Artie.
The ghost was stalking behind Abby, who was unaware of his presence. Her attention was completely focused on the person in the hospital bed.
Instinctively, Holtzmann shouted: "Artie, stop!"
She surprised him. The specter whirled to face the new arrival, a snarl of warning escaping its lips before Artie saw just who was standing behind him.
"Jillian? Jillian, I'm…I'm so-"
Artie struggled to form the words around a mouth already twisting and distorting from his human visage as his inner turmoil began to affect his spectral form. His eyes-brown and beseeching-met hers for an instant before they slowly darkened to blood red.
He's sorry? Was he freaking kidding her? Holtzmann frowned. He'd tried to kill her. He could talk to her about 'sorry' after she ripped off his arm and beat him with it…
Something flashed behind Artie's red eyes. Holtzmann had seen that expression a dozen times before when she'd slugged it out with ghosts: It was the look of a specter that was about to lose the internal battle to contain its rage, about to lash out at the living-whether in a slime-soaked mess or with its inhuman limbs ripping at human chests and throats, tossing people through windows, or ripping their heads from their shoulders.
Artie's attention returned to Abby. The voices whispered to him, summoning the deep-seeded rage once more: Jillian was here finally. He needed Jillian's help. This dark-haired human would get in his way. Artie reached for the tray table by the bed.
Holtzmann read his intention: Abby had her back to him; Artie would bring the tray crashing down on her head or her neck, again and again until Abby was unconscious or worse.
"Artie, no!" The scream tore from Holtzmann as she lunged, pushing him away from Abby.
Rather, she meant to push him. Instead, Holtzmann flung Artie across the room easily as tossing a rag doll…and she had done it simply by waving one arm in his direction. What the hell?
Artie sailed through the wall into the adjoining hallway, but returned in the blink of an eye. He was giving in to the voices in his head. His appearance was growing less human and more monstrous with each passing second. His gaze swept over Holtzmann, a sneer playing at the corners of his mouth, as he thundered toward the unsuspecting woman beside the hospital bed.
Holtzmann stepped between Artie and his target. "You even blink at her and I'll wring your scrawny neck."
She had a clear memory of firing the proton pistol at Artie back in the apartment, of the beam passing harmlessly through the specter's torso. Without her weapons, Holtzmann had no idea how she was going to make good on any threat she could issue.
Which wouldn't stop her from trying.
Abby was still unaware of the danger. What the hell was distracting her from the commotion taking place two feet behind her? Holtzmann wondered.
Monster Artie propelled himself towards Abby once more. Holtzmann extended her arm to the rolling tray table. It floated off the ground at her command. One wave of her hand and the table pitched itself smoothly and effortlessly right at Artie's head.
More precisely, it flew through his head.
Telekinesis. Nice. Holtzmann grinned. She had no idea how she was doing it, but she was sure going to enjoy trying it out.
The crash of the tray impacting the wall directly behind her finally alerted Abby to the danger. She whirled, facing a room that appeared empty. The psychokinetic energy needed to propel that tray was finally enough to trigger the PKE, which a beeped a belated warning of the obvious: Arthur Klein had returned.
Otherwise, there was nothing to signal the presence of the ghost-no change in atmospheric pressure making her ears pop, no smears (or showers) of ectoplasm, none of the hallmarks that years of research told Abby to expect in the present of the deceased. No wonder he had caught Jillian completely by surprise. She probably had one, maybe two seconds' warning before Artie attacked.
She hadn't watched the recording of the fight in Holtzmann's apartment, but Erin and Patty had given Abby the essential facts: Arthur was their ghost and their weapons didn't work on him. What the hell kind of a ghost is this creep?
Erin and Patty had gone out to pick up decent coffee and donuts (the hospital food was inedible) and talk about strategies over breakfast, respecting Abby's request not to talk about Arthur's attack or weapons or anything else in the hospital room because Jillian needed positive energies to help her recover. Rorke and Hawkins heard the crash and charged into the room, only to be blown back into the hallway by a psychokinetic blast. They slumped to the floor, out cold.
Abby put herself as best she could between the bed and the ghost she knew lurked somewhere in the room, finger itching for the proton wand that had been stowed in Ecto-1, a weapon that wouldn't have worked even if she'd dared fire it here in the hospital. The best Abby could do was try to be a distraction and hope Erin and Patty returned before Artie chewed through her and turned his attention to the unconscious Holtzmann.
"Artie?" Abby called to the empty air. "Artie…I get why you're pissed at Jillian. But, you touch her again and I swear I'm going to fucking end you. Do you hear me?"
The couch in the corner of the room levitated into the air, which Abby supposed meant that Arthur heard her loud and clear. She barely had time to utter an oath and dive to shield Holtzmann before it arched through the air and smashed into the closet door.
The tray hadn't even made Artie blink, so Holtzmann figured she needed something bigger to draw his attention away from Abby. Someone had pulled a small couch into the room at some point. Holtzmann could never have moved it under normal circumstances. With her awesome new ability, she floated it surprising ease and did her best to pitch it squarely at Artie's legs. It slid through him and slammed into the bathroom door with sufficient force to knock it from its hinges, but it sufficiently caused Artie to turn back to face Holtzmann.
Monster Artie roared a howl that kicked up a psychokinetic whirlwind in the room. Abby had stretched herself across the hospital bed, carefully protecting whoever lay there. Holtzmann didn't have time to wonder about that, not with the ghost's attention now fully returned to her. His distorted, claw-like fingers snaked toward her throat. Grotesque lips curled back to bare sharp fangs.
Holtzmann stood her ground, staring it down. Her friend, Gary the veteran, had taught her long ago that intimidation of your attacker was half the battle in self-defense…granted Gary probably hadn't run across a class four apparition with a serious grudge, but what the hell, it was worth a shot.
To her surprise, the specter faltered. Monster Artie blinked at Holtzmann in hesitation, let out a sound like a wail of frustration…and turned to flee the room.
Holtzmann was too stunned to move for a fraction of a second.
Then, fury kicked back in full-force. She tore down the hallway in pursuit. "Artie! Come back, you little rat bastard!"
The retreating Artie nearly collided with Kevin as he rounded the corner of the hallway. The receptionist caught sight of flailing talons and pointed teeth and reflexively flattened himself against the wall to allow the ghost to pass. Moments later, Holtzmann came barreling down the corridor in pursuit of the creature.
"Hey, Holtzmann!" Kevin greeted her. He gestured to the duffel bag slung over his shoulder. "Erin asked me to bring your stuff-"
"Not now, Kevin!" she shouted back, vanishing around the corner as she chased the specter.
Kevin shrugged off the dismissal, unfazed. Holtz was the professional ghost chaser and she was evidently busy. After his experience with Rowan, Kevin had no desire to get in the middle of a ghost hunt.
He'd wait until they weren't in a hallway full of people to let Holtz know that she was running around in a backless hospital gown. No point in needlessly embarrassing her.
Pleased with that decision, Kevin searched the hallway until he found the room number Erin had given him over the phone. He was a bit perplexed to see the government guys sleeping outside the door. The room itself was wrecked. Furniture was smashed. The closet door hung from one hinge. Abby was there, looking windblown. She jumped at the footsteps until she saw it was only their receptionist.
"Hey, Abby, who's that ghost that Holtz is chasing-?" Kevin asked, stepping over the sleeping Homeland Security guys so he could enter the room. "-also, did you know there are two guys napping in the hallway?"
Abby was busy checking the beside monitors, inspecting the I.V. line, making sure Artie hadn't damaged the equipment that was helping keep her friend alive. Then, she realized she had no idea how to tell if the medical equipment was functioning properly and pressed the nurse call button. The force of the psychokinetic maelstrom had nearly knocked Abby from her feet. It would have blown unconscious Jillian to the floor or right out the window if Abby hadn't stretched herself across the bed to carefully hold her in place.
Kevin was blathering about something. "Sweetie, what are you talking about?" Abby asked, distracted.
Kevin walked over and looked at the bed. He frowned, scratching the side of his head in confusion. "Wait a second…why are there two Holtzmanns? She have a twin or something?"
That was the instant that Abby finally became aware of the commotion coming from outside the room. She peered into the hallway.
There was a trail of trash cans being blown into the air and pictures flying off the wall while people ducked to avoid the projectiles. Ghost Artie clearly was heading that way. "Artie," Abby growled. He wasn't getting away this time.
Kevin stared over Abby's shoulder, asking: "Artie? Is that the guy Holtz is chasing?"
His words finally sank in. Abby has a creepy feeling. "Kevin…where do you see two Holtzmanns?" she asked carefully, willing herself not to be alarmed quite yet.
"One's in the bed…the other one is over there." He pointed in the direction of the chaos. "Artie's running towards the cafeteria, and the other Holtz is following him. She's kicking his ass, too."
Abby decided it was all right to panic now. She ran after the invisible combatants, pulling Kevin along by his sweater sleeve. "Oh, this is not good…not good…"
Holtzmann chased Klein into the cafeteria. Luckily, most of the people who were eating had abandoned their meals and run for their lives when they heard the commotion and saw furniture flying everywhere. Monster Artie stops in the middle of the room. He turned back to face Holtzmann. She gave him a feral smile. "Tried to kill me, Artie?! Seriously? You son of a b-"
Holtzmann had a memory of him sending silverware flying at her back in her apartment, so she decided to return the favor. The cups of silverware topple and fly in a stream towards Artie. Monster Artie lets out a roar of psychokinetic energy that sent Holtzmann careening through the vending machine.
Through the machine. It dawned on her that the ability to pass through solid objects was also not normal.
Abby and Kevin caught up to them in time to see one of the cafeteria vending machines propel itself across the room before smashing through the window.
"Okay, which one of them did that?" Abby asked Kevin.
"Holtzmann," he answered.
Next, a table flipped end over end, forcing Abby and Kevin to dodge out of its path. It smashed into an empty gurney in the receiving area.
Kevin supplied: "That was Artie."
"What the hell is going on?!" Patty and Erin followed the trail of fleeing bystanders directly to Abby and Kevin. Patty had shouted despite the fact that it was fairly evident what was happening.
"There's been a development," Abby told them.
"Yeah, I can see that much," Patty snapped.
Kevin waved hello at them and blurted out: "Holtzmann is a ghost…"
"Out of body! Apparently." Abby corrected him quickly, before his words gave Erin and Patty heart attacks.
"Was that supposed to be reassuring?" Erin asked.
"So, is that guy out of body or a ghost?" Kevin pointed to the invisible Artie.
Erin's mind seized on those words. "Out of body…of course! That's why Arthur isn't acting like a normal ghost…"
Patty wasn't worried about splitting hairs over technicalities right then. She gaped at the whirlwind of flying debris, silverware, and furniture. The PKE was sure active now…it was spinning so hard it nearly broke apart in Abby's hand. "Holtzmann?! You mean our baby girl is doing all that?"
All four of them had to duck as a bench seat arched right over their heads. "No, that one was Artie," Kevin pointed to the smashed bench seat. "You guys really can't see them?"
"You mean you can?" Erin asked him.
Metal sculptures tore themselves from the cafeteria walls and flew like Frisbees, smashing the last unbroken window in the room. "That was Holtzmann," Kevin said .
"It was a rhetorical question, Kevin, but, good information, thanks." Patty watched the fight, undecided whether to be terrified that Holtzmann was clearly currently a ghost or to be proud that she was currently handing this Artie joker his ass.
"You said the proton streams won't work on him. If you've got any suggestions, now's the time," Abby said.
Erin pursed her lips, thinking. "We could try the trap."
Abby shook her head. "No! We might miss Artie and catch Jillian! We don't know what that would do to her!"
Patty added, "Besides, if the proton streams don't effect Artie, who says the trap is gonna hold him?"
Monster Artie slowly realized there were more people gathering by the minute. The other women who called themselves the Ghostbusters had arrived, interfering again. The voices urged him to kill them all. They were inconsequential.
Not inconsequential, the voices rationalized. They would never help him. They would keep Jillian from helping him.
Jillian…
Artie collapsed to his knees for a second, fighting back the urge to attack. He hadn't come here to attack her again-what was he doing?! He let out another mournful cry, his ghostly arms wrapping around his torso, hugging tight.
He raised his eyes to her. "Jillian-help me-"
She froze.
Arthur stared at her. For a split second, his ghoulish visage faded back to the human face that Holtzmann remembered.
"Jillian, I need-I can't-I-please-"
She took a step towards him.
Then he lost his tenuous control; the monster within seized him. "No, get away!"
Artie swept his arm, knocking her again through the wall, this time the attack was meant to buy her time while Artie fled out the broken window and disappeared.
Her own rage abating, Holtzmann pushed herself to her feet, wondering what the hell to make of that.
Dr. Menken thundered through the ward, shouting at the Ghostbusters. "What is happening-what's this!?" He gaped at the wreckage.
Patty held up her hands defensively. "Hey, don't look at us. Our weapons are in the car, remember?"
"Is it over?" Abby asked.
Kevin grinned. "Oh yeah. That Artie guy flew out the window. Holtz is still there, don't worry."
Erin was very worried, in fact. The implications of Holtzmann being out of body…she hoped Kevin is wrong somehow. "Kevin, tell us exactly what you're seeing."
Kevin crossed his arms. "I see Holtz. She's wearing a hospital gown with no back. There's a tattoo of Bugs Bunny on her right cheek. He's giving the finger-American style, not Australian style." He demonstrated the difference for them.
Holtzmann overheard. "What!? Abby, why didn't you tell me I've been running around with my butt hanging out…" She grabbed the gown, holding the back shut.
Nobody responded to her question. When she trudged back to her friends, she noticed they weren't even looking at her. "Guys?" she waved her hand in front of their faces, and still there was reaction, save for Kevin.
"They can't see you," he informed her.
"Eh?"
Kevin shrugged. "I think you're a ghost."