I do not own Danny Phantom or Extreme Ghostbusters. Those are owned by their individual companies. This is a sequel to Unclogged Graves.
In New York City, people were constantly walking around. Be it for work or recreational purposes, everyone had somewhere to be. It was the city that never sleeps.
But in one corner of the famous city, a man barely moved from his home in a firehouse on the corner of North Moore and Varick street. It was an old building, yet it was kept in somewhat reasonable order by its resident, Egon Spengler.
Dr. Spengler had just finished for the day. He had been up studying various samples of ectoplasm, microscopic life, and other substances, all while checking the Ghostbuster gear. It was a long day, but the man was happy if anyone could guess. And now, he had only one last chore.
"Janine, you there?" He asked, sliding down the pole into the entrance. He looked at the front desk to see the secretary, Janine Melnitz, typing away on the computer. The old model was running far from its warranty yet still on its last leg.
"I'm here, still working on this old fossil." Janine blew onto the top, removing some dust. "And I gotta tell you, Egon, we have to upgrade some of the systems. You can say all you want about the hardware, but we can't keep using this stuff for our work."
"I know." Egon walked up and patted the console, leaving a handprint on the clunky monitor. One of the few remaining devices they somehow managed to hold on to while slowly converting their equipment to more modern devices. But some were far beyond their last leg. "We've been resourceful with our equipment can't use computers from the late i90's anymore. Hopefully, after the seminar, we'll have the money to go grab a new one."
Janina adjusted her glasses, giving a concerned look.
"You sure this is a good idea? I mean out of everything done, only—"
"I'm aware of the occupancy, Janine, but while calls keep coming, we should make sure to get more income. Who knows what else needs to be replaced."
"But are you sure letting some kids in here is a good idea? What if something happens?"
Egon adjusted his glasses, looking over the extra security measures he could take. While not on the best budget, there was not much to add, given the already secure procedures for ghost containment. All he did was add a few locks on some doors and made a few extra keys, more than enough for any trouble makers.
And that was not including their resident guard dog. Though they wondered when he ran off since he was supposed to be here to welcome the guests as well.
"Janine, I have the utmost faith that, if anything, we're not gonna get trouble makers," Egon replied.
Janine sighed but nodded as she picked up the invoice from the Fenton's. She inspected the papers with a stern eye.
"It's not that we're gonna get trouble makers. I looked up the Fentons. Seems they are quite the ghost fanatics." She went it the file cabinet, meticulously organized, mind you, pulled out a couple of sheets of paper, and walked over to the man. "You might want to take a look for yourself."
Before Egon could take a look, the sound of an engine was heard parking in front of the firehouse. The Ghostbuster handed the paper back as he walked to the door, wondering what the noise was. Any normal car could easily be identified by noise, but this sounded like serious horsepower.
"That must be the Fenton's. I'll go and greet them, then," Egon said as Janine rolled her eyes.
"Ok, but be careful," Jannie remarked, putting the papers away.
Careful was the right word. As soon as Egon stepped out, the sight of the Fenton Assault Vehicle made him jump back. The giant, highly customized RV seemed more intimidating than some ghosts. Although, that was probably the point. In the window of the driver's seat, the Ghostbuster saw the face of Jack Fenton, who was staring in awe at the man. It was awkward, given no one said a word.
Eventually, the Fenton clan came out with Jack and Maddie wearing happy faces as they jumped out. Danny and Jazz did not have the same vigor as they dropped down from the side door a little shaky. The two teens looked worse for wear, like they just went through a battlefield.
"I know Dad was excited, but I didn't think he'd drive like that," Danny commented, holding onto his knees for support. He had fought many kinds of ghosts, but none seemed to break the laws of physics like his father's driving.
"On the way home, mom drives," Jazz added, fixing her appearance.
The brother and sister noticed Egon, who had been inspecting the family. They looked back at the middle-aged, bespectacled, blonde scientist. For some reason, the siblings thought he'd look older.
"You must be the Fenton's. I'm Egon Spengler, one of the original ghostbusters. Welcome to Ghostbusters headquarters. Noe, why don't we head inside for the introductions and at our?" Egon spoke in his usual monotone deadpan, sounding more like reading a script.
But before Dr. Spengler could get a few more feet into the garage, Jack, unable to contain his excitement squeezed the man in an enthusiastic greeting. The scientist wheeze as he gets the air forces out of him, much to his and Janine's caution.
"Dr. Egon Spengler!" Jack yelled, squeezing the man in a hug. "It's an honor to finally meet you!"
Egon now adjusted his glasses as he powered through the strong embrace. They were famous back in the day but had not seen a fan like this since the '90s. The man wondered what he had gotten himself into as he looked back to see a smug smirk on Janine.
"Ahem, yes. It is a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Fenton. Joe, could you please let me go?" Egon said as politely as possible.
Jack gave a nervous smile as he let one of his idols go. The man was embarrassed having acted like a child and stepped back a bit. He was feeling like those teenage boys and girls in comic book conventions right now.
Everyone stepped into the firehouse as the parents awed, with Maddie snapping a photo.
Jazz and Danny looked around the room. Everything was a bit dusty with old equipment set up. The ghost boy mentally wondered how his tech-loving friend, Tucker, would react to such a sight. But tarring ghost hunting equipment set a sensation of pins and needles as his stress inched up.
I wonder how this stuff works compared to mom and dad's. Danny thought.
Jazz held other, more positive emotions.
"So, where are the others?" Jazz asked as she glanced around. "Did we make it early?"
Janine smirked as she looked at the girl with crossed arms. She could remember a day when she was like that and giggled.
"Sorry, but you two are the only ones who applied," Janine said.
Danny was shocked, now mentally berating himself for coming. He felt like he was back in high school as the resident loser. It was one thing to join such an esoteric and unusual event, but it was completely different when you were the only one there. His sister had the same reaction as she stuttered.
"So wait, we agreed to stay here for the week, and we're the only ones who signed up?" Danny asked in angst.
Jazz was speechless, having hoped she'd see at least one other person here.
"To be fair, we never expected anyone to show up." Janine walked up to Egon and pointed at him. "Egon teaches a class at the community college and people barely show up."
"You teach classes? Here?" Jack asked with fervor. He seemed excited and looked as if he could foam at the mouth in his immense joy. He was like a child, jumping up and down with joy like he opened the perfect Christmas gift. "When?!"
"Jack, honey, calm down. You're gonna work yourself over," Maddie said as she kept her husband's head on the earth.
But as she did her best to keep her now hyperventilating husband in check, another vehicle was just arriving. This was a 1970s Cadillac hearse painted white with red lines and had various equipment on top. It was known all around New York as the Ecto-1, but most just called it the Ghostbuster's car.
Inside, a group of four looked exhausted as they made their way to the firehouse. Seeing the Fenton Assault Vehicle astonished them, especially the driver who almost ran a stop sign when he saw the size of it.
"Hey, what's with the tank in front of headquarters?" one of the guys asked in a Brooklyn accent.
"I don't know, but it looks like it could handle World War III," the driver said, squinting his eyes. "Whoever it belongs to knows their tech, it could give most of our equipment a run for its money."
"It looks kinda...familiar," the only girl in the group said, squinting at the RV.
"Oh, like you'd recognize something that looks like it came from the future," a boy snarked.
"Well, we better investigate after emptying the container," the driver added.
As they closed in on the firehouse, the girl pointed at a round disk-like object in the trunk. The boy in the back wheeled over there as the smell of hot circuits reached his nose. He held his nostrils while waving his hand.
The doors of the firehouse opened up as the Ecto-1 backed in. Jack and Maddie geeked out as the iconic vehicle lit up as the car rolled up before coming to a halt. The doors opened for a group in differing uniforms to walk out, with the trunk opening up with a ramp.
"Hey, Egon, what's with the two in spandex," one of the members asked. He was a physically fit man in a wheelchair, coming out of the back, carrying something. "We got some new recruits?"
The Fentons watched as each member walked out with the Ghostbuster's logo on their clothes. They eyed the group with odd curiosity before speaking up.
"Hey, wait a minute." Jack looked at Egon. "I thought the Ghostbusters were over."
"They were, but due to recent events, ghosts have been coming back. While there is no explanation, with everyone moved on, I've assembled a team to handle these new threats." Egon spoke with pride as he gestured to the four coming over. "I might not be fit to fight ghosts, but they are. Allow me to introduce the newest generation of Ghostbusters: Kylie Griffin, Eduardo Rivera, Roland Jackson, and Garrett Miller."
"But you can call us the Extreme Ghostbusters!" Garrett proclaimed, pointing to himself with a thumb.
Danny stared at the group, feeling slightly nervous about the idea of new Ghostbusters. Whatever he thought would happen all week was altered significantly, wondering where things could go. He did not know how drastic the week could turn.
We've met Egon and now we'll be introduced to the Extreme Ghostbusters! But where is Slimer? Found out in the next chapter as Danny and Jazz see what they got themselves into.
Reviews:
RonaldM40196867: Not saying. I'll try to be scary. Hard to say, I like a lot, except some really processed candy like Tootsie rolls.
Luiz4200: Can't say.