I do not own Ghostbusters.
I own Kitty and Angie Reed, and Remy Safar.
Kitty was alone again in her padded cell. With her knees pulled close to her chest, she sat in the dark and waited until the doctors would let her out again. It was dangerous to be in your mind, no outside stimulation to keep you company. In the dark it's only you and your thoughts, and what ever monsters your brain conjured.
Though her eyes couldn't see anything, her mind played with the absent shapes on the walls, making it seem like she wasn't alone. Surely she was alone – she knew she was alone. Kitty had nothing to occupy her time, nothing to keep her mind from taking the shapes around her and turn them into monsters.
Her thoughts went back to a simpler time back when she and Angie were younger, five or so. Their parents would take them out shopping against their wills. After kicking and screaming didn't work in the public eye, the sisters would use a more humorous side to getting their parents to leave. Instead of screaming and saying 'I wanna go home!' the girls would simply start signing, off key if I might add the Harry Bellefonte song 'Day-O.
It would annoy their parents to the point when it was simply better to leave than to deal with the singing and the stares from random people.
If it wouldn't annoy the doctors hold her hostage, it would at least give her some added entertainment until they wanted to ask her redundant questions again.
"Day-o. Day-o.
Day light come an' me wan' go home.
Day, me say day, me say day,
Daylight come and me wan' go home."
Nothing from behind the door. Not even a rumble of the door handle or the lock from the outside. Clearly, Kitty would have to sing louder.
"Come, mister Tally man, tally me banana,
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
Come, mister Tally man, tally me banana,
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
With every verse Kitty would sign a little higher, even to the point of screaming the lyrics against the padded room. Not the best on acoustics, but it would surely get her message across. Kitty stood on her own two feet, leaning against the wall for support as she continued to sign the lyrics with the hopes that they might see the daylight and let her go home. It was a long shot, but something had to make them snap before she did.
Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!
Daylight come and me wan' go home."
She'd once sung this song for four hours straight; she was prepared to do it again.
"Day, me say day-o,
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day-o,
Daylight come and me wan' go home."
She began to hear scurrying around the door, the sound of rubber soled shoes on white linoleum while men with deep voices talked over each other filled the void in the air in between verses. This encouraged the alone and scared woman to stand up to her captors, singing louder than she ever had before.
"COME MISTER TALLY MAN, TALLY ME BANANA!
DAYLIGHT COME AND ME WAN' GO HOME!
COME MISTER TALLY MAN, TALLY ME BANANA!
DAYLIGHT COME AND ME -!"
The door on her cell opened abruptly, the silhouette of the doctor staring down at her made her nervous but also angry. How he could look down on her like an animal in the zoo. She was caged like an animal and if she was any other woman, she would have gone off on him like a lioness in the wilds of Africa.
Unfortunately for her, she was more like her namesake as far as furiousness went.
"Katherine Reed?" A voice, far different than the condescending doctor's said as he stood in the doorway. This new voice was higher pitched, squeaky, almost prepubescent in its tone. Kitty nodded, lost for words for what was going on as the shadow offered his hand to the woman standing against the pillow-y wall.
"Your friends are waiting out here." He explained quickly, before another silhouette popped its head into the doorway.
"Thanks, Sherman." Peter's voice erupted from the doorjamb. "What, you just gonna stand there? Come on, we've got work to do!"
Kitty stood there stunned. What the hell was going on?
The Peter shaped silhouette pocked his head out again, casting a shadow over the young woman's face. "By the way, nice pipes you've got there."
Kitty could feel herself tense up and blush at the same time before running to the door just short of the doorjamb. Peter' features began clearer as she got closer and the same was for the doctor next to him that she didn't know. Her face hurt from smiling as Peter moved out of the way and down the hallway, quickly jogging down the white corridor and passed the double door at the end. Kitty followed closely, her rubber soled slippers squeaking lightly against the clean linoleum.
Louis filed them in - who Kitty promptly hugged upon setting eyes on the annoying former neighbor – about Dana's condition and what had happened the previous night. So many things had happened so quickly that Louis was simply afraid of missing anything vital, so he started at the beginning. He told them about putting Oscar to sleep and the French bread pizza, and then he told them about watching Citizen Kane, and then told them about the creepy ghost nanny.
Quickly changing out of the hospital garb for something a little bit more comfy, the Ghostbusters busted through the double doors leading to the loading dock of the hospital, Louis following along their coat tails.
"And he took the baby into the carriage, and it levitated away!"
"What'd Dana do? Where'd she go?" Peter asked, straight seriousness in his voice as he was done playing around.
"I don't know. She said she was going to the museum to get the baby back! And Angie went with her, and there was an eclipse, and the whole town went dark, and everybody's nuts!"
"It all fits!" Ray exclaimed as they marched their way through the hospital. "Vigo wants in on the 21st century. He needs a human body to inhabit. Little Oscar must be it!"
"Yeah, and I bet we're the only ones who can do anything about it, right?" Winston asked with a grin on his face as he zipped up his grey jumpsuit.
"You bet we are!" Peter shouted behind him, hard determination in his voice. He was upset, he was angry, he was pissed – and rightfully so. Some 16th century creep thinks he could just move in on his girl? Not gonna happen.
Making their way through the streets of a haunted Manhattan was actually easier than it sounds. Avoiding the abandoned cars, the streets were relatively clear as Ray, with his driving privileges back, navigated through the streets with ease. The empty streets gave an eerie feeling to the world around them. So much had changed in the hours that they had been locked away. It looked like an apocalyptic film right after the zombies attack.
The museum, however, was far from empty. People that had once been crowding the streets or returning that ugly sweater aunt Mildred brought them were all standing outside of the Manhattan Museum of Art, blocked off by the police barricade. Different members of the press had shown up as well, all exploding with delight as soon as they caught a glimpse of the dying white hearse. The crowds had erupted in applause and cheering, some even chanting 'Ghostbusters! Ghostbusters!' – Just like the good ole days.
Ray put the car in park and shut off the engine, killing the sick sounding engine before it backfired in front of the press. The boys all looked wearily at Kitty, none of them wanting to say what they all had to say. Some bit their lips, some looked down at their feet, but Peter seemed unaffected by al of this 'extra pressure' the boys put on themselves.
"Kit," Peter said, turning around from the front seat of the Ecto-One to the back, facing Kitty who looked around the scene before here with child-like enthusiasm. "You won't be able to come with up on this bust."
"I know."
"I just think it's better for – what?" Peter stumbled over his words. He had planned out this whole long speech about 'finding your place' in life and 'following the wind' or some hippy crap. Kitty just smiled sweetly at the boys. "You guys had brought me along on so much – and put me in a lot of danger. I can't ask you risk both of our necks again. I'll stay behind and… Play PR person or something. Talk you up to all the cameras. Seriously, I'm fine."
Peter and Ray shared roughly the same look. A part of them was glad she understood, but didn't quiet feel right about doing something like this without her. She'd been along for the beginning of the ride so far, it would have only made sense for her to come along with the final moments of Vigo the Carpathian.
"Okay." Peter said, shaking off the feelings he decided weren't real. "Time to save Dana and the baby."
"And Angie, right?" Kitty asked with an extra glare from Ray. With a reluctant sigh, Peter nodded "Fine. And Angie – Alright? Let's go."
The boys exited the Ecto-One to their adoring audience. Peter, always the one for PR at a time like this, was in no mood to deal with the public. Manhattan had gone to hell while they were gone; it was about time that they took it back.
The museum itself was covered in a dark purple shell of ecto slime. The candy-coated the museum radiated evil as it almost pulsated through the air. The slime moved up the exterior of the stone building, giving a big middle finger to physicists everywhere as it defied gravity.
"It looks like a giant Jell-o mold." Ray said in awe of the sheer mash of the object covering the building. From behind him he heard a groan – "I hate Jell-O"
Peter smirked; the annoying, wise-cracking Peter back with us once more. "Oh come on," Peter pleaded, staring at the shell covering his girlfriend and her place of work. "There's always room for Jell-o."
Inside the museum, Angie leaned against the stone walls of the restoration room, nursing her back and her ongoing headache. From the background she watched as Dana stalked the gates, Janosz following behind, still trying to make his case on why they should be together. It had never accord to the strange man that kidnapping the woman's child might not make her panties drop. No over, he largely ignored the part where her boyfriend would be coming after him with a vengeance.
Janosz followed closing behind Dana's footsteps from the other side of the security gates, pleading his case to the young woman.
"Soon it will be midnight and the city will be mine and Vigo's! Well… Mainly Vigo's." The small man exclaimed; grasping his hands together dramatically as visions of doom and destruction filled his heads like sugarplums might in a normal person.
"Oh, Dana, you and I have this terrific opportunity! To make the best of this relationship."
"We don't have a relationship." Dana said bluntly.
"I know!" Janosz exclaimed, falling to his knees as he clung to the gates. "Marry me, Dana. Together we will raise Vigo as out son!" Janosz had to pause to give him self enough time to breath, and to gather the saliva that was collecting in a pool in his mouth over the excitement.
"And let me tell you something here, there are many perks in being the mother of a living god. Sure we could get you a magnificent apartment, car, free parking…"
Slowly, the smart talking artist rose to his feet with his promises of the future. Dana was fast to react; hatching a plan between her ears that Angie only wished that she could have been a part of. Janosz unlatched the gates, pulling open the security gate and holding it open.
"Many marriages begin with a certain amount of distance. I think that perhaps you and I could maybe learn to… love each other?"
Angie watched carefully the exchange between Dana and Janosz as Dana's eyes hazed over in a faux-romantic haze. She lowered her tone, her defenses seemingly down as she batted her eyes at the cruel painting of Vigo.
"Yes, I could learn." Dana said, as she snaked her way through the gates and boom. She was on the other side. Angie watched as Dana had played the system that Vigo and Janosz had set up. Angie only wished she was that smart as Janosz lowered his guard, letting Dana get closer to her daughter.
Janosz was sucked in under Dana's spell; the state of Vigo was a different story. Surely, he'd be harder to woo.
"Pull 'em!" Ray shouted over the excited crowd as the boys all grabbed the wand from their proton pack. Checking the specs, Egon told the four Ghostbusters to use full nutronas on a psychomagnatheric slime ball this size. In small dose and in small scale, they worked great but Dr. Spengler had never tried to have the slime attach itself to the outside of a Manhattan landmark.
Kitty watched from behind the line of police cars with the rest of the crowd, nervously shivering in the December air as she silently prayed to any God that would listen that they would all be safe. She intertwined her fingers together and slightly bounced up and down, the hospital PJ's they had given her great insulation in the cold. She must have looked strange in the manner she was staying, but she couldn't care with her eyes on the boys and her thoughts in the clouds.
"Let's cook!" Ray shouted, pulling the protonus wand from the back. The proton packs buzzed loudly as the concentrated positive charged particles attacked the negatively charged slime. The two forces collided in a spectacular lightshow for the audience around them that waited for the Ghostbusters to save the day.
The orange energy stream hit the dark purple slime shell over the Museum, zapping it and almost burning it, but it didn't go anywhere. It didn't decrease at all. It stayed – possibly even began to multiply.
With a grimace, Ray shut off the proton pack, his shoulders dropping in disappointment. Biting his bottom lip, he sighed heavily. "Save 'em."
The crowd behind them, behind the barricades and police cars, began to boo. Disappointment was in the air as the people
They're shoulders dropped with the anguish of there only plan not working. It hadn't even made a dent in the slime and they were running out of steam. With the crowd behind them booing and shouting obscenities at them, needless to say it didn't help moral.
"That slime mold is pulsing with evil." Egon said, catching his breath from the 'battle' with the slime vs. proton pack where round one went to slime. "It would take a tremendous amount of positive energy to crack that shell and I seriously doubt there's enough goodwill left in this town to do it."
A defeated Ray rested on the Ecto-One behind them, trying to think of a way out of this. But when Egon said something about a lack of goodwill, the ever positive and sickening optimistic Ray bounced right back up, ready to defend this flea-ridden town.
"You know, I just can't believe things have gotten so bad in this city that there's no way back. I mean, sure, it's dirty, it's crowded, it's polluted, it's noisy and there's people all around who'd just as soon step on your face as look at you. But come on! There's got to be a few sparks of sweet humanity left in this burned-out burg and we just have to find a way to mobilize it."
"He's right." Egon said, his eyes wandering around the scene before them. "We need something that everyone in this town can get behind, we need…" Egon's eyes drifted towards the license plate of the Ecto-One when inspiration struck like a bolt of lightening. "A symbol."
Ray's curiousity got the best of him when he followed Egon's sight right down to the bright yellow license plate. "Something that appeals to the best in each and every one of us."
"Something good." Egon's monotonous voice spoke over the crowds before they began to die down.
"Something decent." Winston said, following their eye sight down to the very 'symbol' they'd been thinking.
"Something pure." Venkman was shocked with his own words. In his head, he began to think of all the way that they could, in Ray's words, 'mobilize it.' In a flash, it seems, they had all come up with a brilliant idea, not one similar to the other. But, regardless, all four of them made their way to the Ecto-One, forgetting one person in particular.
Kitty ran through the crowd, elbowing people out her way like the New Yorker she always knew she could be, and made her way to the Ecto-One as Ray started up in the engine.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kitty asked into Ray's open window. "Aren't you supposed to save the day?"
"We left the coffee pot on at the house – we'll be right back!" Peter resorted through Ray's open window. Ray's simply rolled his eyes before turning to the sister. "It's too dangerous, I think we'd all feel better if you didn't come along on this one."
"Yeah," Peter said from the back seat, wrapping his arms around the form head rest of the driver's seat, pulling himself to the front. With a wicked smirk on his face, Peter said "It's too dangerous for you to come along with us to Liberty Island and possibly save the day – no way, no how!"
His slip up didn't seem to be on accident, as Peter judged Ray's expression as he turned from concerned to annoyed. But it was Ray's fault, he should've expected that.
Kitty smiled brightly at Peter, silently thanking him before Ray turned on the Ecto-One's siren, warning the innocent citizens to get out of the way.
Thanks to gracebass for pushing me through this chapter.
I've just been super lazy recently, so I really needed that.
I hope you enjoyed it!
~pure.