Chapter Seven: Straight Outta Retirement

Chapter Seven: Straight Outta Retirement

            Luckily for Genevieve Marie, there weren’t any signs outside the barely boarded up firehouse that was once housed as the headquarters for the Ghostbusters. Only sections of it were sealed, such as the windows and garage door. The door at the side of the closed garage entrance was left untouched and unlocked, and it was how she was able to get in that day to check out the old place.

            She anticipated on it being completely empty and even a little dusty, but it was not as cluttered as she expected it to be. It looked like the Ghostbusters decided to just walk out and not pack up their things at all. Not like they had much to pack away, considering how in 2006, the city began purchasing and endorsing all of their equipment, which meant they owned fifty percent of it. Everything in the abandoned firehouse, even the Ecto-1 (still parked in the garage, but not covered in a tarp or anything), was untouched for reasons that were strange to Genevieve.

            As she moved between the front desk that belonged to Christina Melnitz (her nameplate still sitting on there) and the lockers that contained the Ghostbusters’ gear, she wondered what it had to have been like the first day they set up shop. It could not have been easy, considering in interviews, each team member described the first day being “sheer chaos.” But they must have overcome it, since they really picked up after the first bust at the Tipton Hotel, the one spot where they seemed to have gotten the most calls.

            While pondering this, Genevieve stopped in front of the locker owned by Dr. Natalie Venkman; opening it, she noticed how it looked like it belonged to a high school student. On the door were pictures of muscular, speedo-wearing male models and advertisements for a hangout joint called “Hoots” with an owl as the logo. Man! Dr. V was some woman, Genevieve thought.

            And, apparently, another unexpected visitor shared the same notion. “She was some woman, alright,” she repeated Genevieve’s thoughts aloud. Genevieve jumped as she heard the voice, turning in the direction of the doorway to see the 26-year-old Ghostbusters secretary, Christina Melnitz, standing there in a pair of khakis, a pair of sneakers, and a tight, striped shirt. “Sorry I scared ya, hon. Just didn’t expect anybody to be here, after four years.”

            “Funny,” said Genevieve. “I was thinking the same thing.”

            Christina approached her with a bright smile on her face, gazing over Natalie Venkman’s former locker. Getting a closer look at the former secretary, Genevieve discovered she was a dirty blonde with blue eyes; she had a fresh, young face and an hourglass figure that would welcome any person off the street. It was how Genevieve knew that she was indeed welcomed to the firehouse, even though it was restricted property.

            “Natalie was one of the craziest out of all us,” said Christina. “Most the time she’d just sit on her big butt and sleep.”

            Genevieve chuckled. “She deserved it, busting so many ghosts all the time.”

            “J.G., Sean, and Jacqueline did most of the busting...she was always lagging behind, grabbing some McDonald’s and whatnot.”

            Genevieve smiled and attempted to reach inside of the locker; before she did, she turned to Christina and requested, “May I?” Melnitz nodded with a smile, and Genevieve reached inside to pull out Natalie’s old gray jumpsuit, which still had her red and black nametag stitched on, displaying her last name. “Wow. It’s almost like I’m holding a piece of history here.”

            “Can’t be too historical, considering the woman who wore it was a real…”

            “Can I wear it?” Genevieve suddenly asked, taking Christina by surprise a little.

            She took a moment to think about her answer before giving it. “Uh, sure. No problem. There’s a bathroom upstairs you can change in.” Genevieve smiled, and as she headed in that direction, Christina made sure to add, “Only a few minutes, O.K.? I’m really not supposed to let anybody mess with the stuff, ya know. Heck, even I’m not supposed to be here.” Genevieve was already upstairs by that time.

            All alone in the garage area, Christina took a minute to soak in the memorabilia that surrounded her. So many memories in that one place, it was all a bit overwhelming to her. She smiled as she approached her old desk, which was cleared off (sans her nameplate and a red rotary phone). Blowing off some of the dust on it, she sat down at the chair and pretended to do her old job.

            She picked up the receiver on the phone and placed it near her ear, careful not to get any dust in it or on her hair. “Ghostbusters, how you doin’ today?” she playfully uttered with a chuckle. “Oh, really? You have a Viking skeleton terrorizing the local museum? Oh, my. That is a big…”

            The door suddenly flew open again, only a lot faster than how Genevieve and Christina had opened it earlier. It scared Christina completely as she jumped in the seat, dropping the receiver and letting it dangle at the side of her desk. On instinct, she ducked under the desk and hid there, while the new visitors (presumably the local authorities, arriving on notice of their being perpetrators in the old firehouse) entered; she only hoped that Genevieve would stay upstairs long enough to avoid them seeing her.

            However, she wondered what kind of police officers were there, as she heard one that sounded like a little kid. “They still keep them in their lockers, when I last checked.”

            Then she heard another that sounded exactly like Mickey Mouse. “You’d think they’d take better security measures, leaving the door open for just anybody to walk right in.” It was Mickey—there was no mistaking a voice as high as his; that was, unless someone’s been sucking on too much helium.

            Knowing it was just another group of perpetrators like her and Genevieve, Christina decided to climb out from underneath the desk, feeling like a complete idiot for even going there. That was until Genevieve suddenly came downstairs (shoot!), wearing Natalie Venkman’s jumpsuit with a big smile on her face. That smile, however, quickly faded once she reached the foot of the stairs and noticed Mickey and his friends there.

            “Uh…hi?” she said.

            Christina rolled her eyes. Rookie.

            “Hi!” Mickey remarked. “You must be…” He looked closely at the name on the jumpsuit that didn’t even belong to her, and an odd look manifested on the mouse’s face. “Dr. Venkman?”

            Genevieve, realizing the mix-up, shamefacedly gawked at the jumpsuit and smiled. “Oh, no. This isn’t mine. It’s just…”

            “A-hyuck! I get it!” Goofy said. “You must be her next of kin.”

            Say what?! Christina thought in bewilderment.

            Genevieve was quite baffled herself, so much so that she could barely find the words to explain herself in this odd situation. What made it even more baffling was the fact that she was the perfect fit in Natalie Venkman’s old jumpsuit. The only issue was the upper part of the sleeves felt a little stretched out (Natalie must’ve worked out a lot), giving them a baggy appearance; not to mention the “butt” felt baggy itself (that was self-explanatory).

            Before Genevieve could even find the right words to say, a sudden tremor came and shook everything inside the firehouse, dropping bits and clouds of dust and debris over them. They also heard loud stomping coming their way, followed by the muffled screaming of a passerby outside.

            “I definitely don’t like the sound of that!” Cody exclaimed.

            All of the sudden, the garage door and everything else surrounding it blew away, forcing everyone to take cover as chunks of concrete and metal flew everywhere. From underneath the desk, Christina could hear loud thumps over her head as the chunks slammed her desk and landed on her chair, breaking it to pieces. She was more grateful to be safe from danger than saddened by the loss of her old treasures. Once the chunks had passed, she stuck her head out and looked to see what caused the sudden destruction: a humungous black three-headed dog, with red eyes and huge sharp teeth. The sight of it was enough to force her back under the desk and stay there until it went away, which seemed downright impossible.

            Meanwhile, Genevieve came out from inside Natalie Venkman’s locker, which functioned as her hiding place. Mickey and his friends, using the other three lockers as hiding places as well, came out along with Genevieve to see the massive, monstrous, and unnatural dog.

            “What the heck is that?!” Cody cried.

            “It’s Cerberus! Hades’ guard dog from the Underworld!” Mickey yelled.

            Genevieve could barely believe she was seeing this creature before her. “What is it doing here?!”

            “Hades sent it to come after us!” Donald screamed in horror.

            “Not us,” realized Cody. “The Ghostbusters!”

            The five of them let out a terrifying shriek, as they ran away from Cerberus. The monster didn’t let them get any further as it leaped over them and crashed against the staircase, keeping them from going upstairs. With the hole that the monster made where the entrance used to be, they took their chance to escape through it. Again, Cerberus foiled their attempt, letting out a fierce and powerful roar that connected to the roof of the garage and the other levels of the firehouse, shattering them away to rain down enough debris to completely seal up the hole.

            There was no escaping at this point, as Cerberus had the mortals exactly where he wanted them. The monster snarled at them, drooling and fumigating the area with his horrible breath. At that moment, staring down in the mouth of death, Genevieve wished she never came to the firehouse. Maybe if she just stayed away, this monster would never have come, and these people cowering with her wouldn’t be in danger. This is the price one pays for having such an unhealthy obsession, she thought.

            “Wait a minute!” Mickey said, realizing they were standing near the lockers. “We have the tools to take care of this mutt!”

            Genevieve realized how right Mickey was; there seemed to have been some hope after all here, and she didn’t hesitate any longer to take advantage of it. She dashed over to the locker that belonged to Dr. Sean Spengler and opened it, reaching through articles of his former uniform to get to a Proton Pack. Before she could even find one, Christina popped out from under her desk and shouted, “You won’t find it there!” Genevieve and the others looked in her direction; Mickey and his friends were surprised to even see her there. Christina waved them over and instructed, “C’mon! Follow me!”

            They rushed over to her, dodging Cerberus as he lunged each of his three heads at them, attempting to catch an arm or a leg with his teeth. Luckily, the monster was unsuccessful in its moves, as the group was already at Christina’s side before any more attempts could’ve been made.

            “Now what?!” Cody said in intense panic.

            “Downstairs!” Christina directed before leading them in that direction through a staircase across from her desk. Cerberus lunged again but missed as the group disappeared into the basement.

            The room was a sprawling, two-story, warehouse-like space with a red, cylindrical machine built into the concrete wall. Genevieve and Cody recognized the machine—from their previous visits to the firehouse—as the Ghostbusters’ Containment System, developed by Dr. Spengler and Dr. Stantz as a large facility for storing captured ghosts; but they seriously doubted if Christina brought them there for a tour.

            A large amount of dust suddenly showered over Genevieve, covering her hair and shoulders. She and the others then heard extremely loud scratching noises, obviously caused by the creature upstairs. “Uh, Ms. Melnitz?” she beckoned. “I don’t think this is the best place to hide.”

            Christina walked over to one tile on the floor and stomped hard on it four times with her right foot before it suddenly crumbled apart. She reached through the squared, well-carved hole with both hands and pulled out a cardboard box. The intense strain on her face and the loud grunts she made nonetheless signified how terribly heavy it was. She set it aside and took a brief moment to catch her breath.

            The others looked on with great curiosity, wondering what was inside it. “There’s a reason this building isn’t as secured as most abandoned places should be,” said Christina, while unfolding the box. “Sean told me the day after we disbanded that we would need this equipment again, in case there was a threat bigger than any the world has ever faced before. He had the mayor promise him that one part of the building wouldn’t be too heavily boarded to ensure any possible entrance. Trespassers, like ourselves, could come in but wouldn’t find anything good enough to take with ‘em. Not even these bad boys…” She reached into the open box and pulled out a Proton Pack that was still in pristine condition.

            Genevieve, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Cody all smiled with joy and relief, seeing the box full of Ghostbusters equipment. Christina handed the one she was carrying to Genevieve; she nearly dropped it under its immense weight but was able to maintain balance long enough to put it on her back. It felt just as heavy there as it did while in her hands. “Man! How’d they get around in these things?”

            “Ask me again later,” Christina delayed. “Just try to lure that thing out of the firehouse.”

            Genevieve’s eyes widened in shock. “By myself?!”

            “You’re the only one who’s big enough to handle these things,” said Christina. “I’m gonna need the boys to help me carry out the other part of my plan.”

            Genevieve swallowed hard, knowing exactly what it was like to step into the boots of a real Ghostbuster; she was extremely nervous and on the verge of wetting herself in Natalie Venkman’s jumpsuit. Of course, she maintained control over herself and reached inside to pull out that sense of confidence, remembering the moments she witnessed the Ghostbusters saving the world; finding inspiration from that, she reached behind her, detached the Proton Gun from the pack, and held it in front of her with a look of determination.

            Not saying a word, she headed back upstairs to the garage, seeing Cerberus continuing to dig his claws into the floor. She did her best to stay as silent as she could, like a hunter going after a lion. Hiding behind Christina Melnitz’s desk, she aimed the Proton Gun over it and, with her target dead in her sights, pressed the button that would unleash the proton stream.

            Unfortunately, nothing came out.

            As she fiddled with the machine, Christina and the others arrived at the scene, individually carrying ghost traps and trailing an incredibly long orange extension cord. Just as she spotted them, Genevieve whispered to Christina, “It’s not working.”

            “Flip the switch,” responded Christina.

            “Which one? There’s like a billion of them on here.”

            “Try the one that’s labeled ‘on,’ genius.”

            Genevieve looked back down over the Proton Gun and spotted the one switch that indeed had the word “On” labeled beneath it. After rolling her eyes in annoyance, she flipped the switch, causing a loud humming noise to be emitted from the Proton Pack. This, however, caught the attention of Cerberus, as the monster stopped clawing at the floor and looked in the direction of the noise. Once he spotted his prey, he snarled again and roared.

            “Don’t think so!” Genevieve yelled as she fired the proton stream from the gun directly at the center head of Cerberus. That particular head started whimpering, while the other two continued growling at Genevieve. “Can’t forget Larry and Moe!” She fired two separate steams at the other two heads, which resulted in Cerberus’s entire body reeling back towards the blocked entrance.

            Christina smiled as she realized how well the rookie handled the situation. “You go, girl!” she cheered before refocusing her attention on her part of the plan. She turned to the boys and said, “O.K. Mick, you and Cody stay down here and connect the cable to the Containment Unit on my signal. Donald, Goofy, and I will head to the roof with the traps.”

            “But the stairs are gone!” Mickey pointed to the staircase remains nearby them. “How’ll you get up there?”

            She pointed to the pole behind them. “We’re just gonna have to break the laws of gravity.”

            Goofy gawked at the pole, rubbing his chin. “Gwarsh. Shouldn’t we get permission from that Newton fella…uh…Wayne?” The others just looked at him oddly, not bothering to waste any time on figuring his comment out. (After all, it’s Goofy.)

            Within seconds, Christina was climbing up the pole with Donald and Goofy, while Mickey and Cody stayed down near the base, waiting for Christina’s signal. It was strain for the three to get up the pole at first; but, with a lot more effort put in, they were able to reach the second level of the firehouse. They were careful not to fall in the hole created by Cerberus’s bark while heading into a portion of the second level that was still intact and contained a staircase leading to the third one.

            By the time they reached the rooftop, Genevieve was already successful in getting Cerberus near the massive pile of debris that blocked the entrance. Another blast from the Proton Gun sent directly at the monster’s chest area was enough to make him collapse right onto that pile, breaking through the debris and reopening the gaping hole. Cerberus fell right into the empty street corner outside, roaring in great anguish and fury.

            From the rooftop, Christina, Donald, and Goofy saw him rolling across the street, his roars echoing throughout the area. Perfect timing, Christina thought. She then commenced in throwing two ghost traps over the edge, dangling them fifteen feet down the side of the building and right near Cerberus’s injured body. Donald and Goofy had done the same with the pairs of ghost traps they carried, totaling the eight traps dangling over Cerberus.

            Down below, Genevieve slowly walked outside and looked up to see what they were doing, and she smiled on realization. She then gazed back over at Cerberus and noticed how he was getting back up again. With quick thinking, she fired yet another strong blast of proton energy from her gun, keeping him down long enough for Christina to execute her part of the plan.

            Christina rushed back downstairs to the second level and shouted down towards the base of the pole. “Alright, boys! Plug ‘em in!”

            Following her cue, Mickey and Cody rushed back downstairs to the basement and plugged the extension cord connected to the traps into the Containment Unit, sending an incredible charge of electrical energy surging through the cord and feeding directly into the traps. All eight of the metal boxes automatically opened their split, hinged lids and collectively unleashed an intense light that engulfed Cerberus. The monster’s form suddenly began to disintegrate, each and every piece of him sucked into eight different traps. As soon as all of him was inside, the traps automatically closed their lids before another surge of energy traveled through the cord and went into the Containment Unit.

            Mickey and Cody watched the visible energy travel into the machine, and they sighted a green light attached to the containment system briefly activate, denoting a successful containment. “We got ‘im!” Mickey cheered, exchanging a high-five with a thrilled Cody Martin.

            Back upstairs, Genevieve approached the pole, just as Christina slid down it safely. The two women smiled and shared a high-five. “Sweet thinkin’! Where did you learn all that?”

            Christina seemed very bashful that moment as she blushed and said, “I learned it from Sean…I mean, Dr. Spengler.” It was bluntly obvious to Genevieve that Christina Melnitz and Sean Spengler must’ve had some sort of special relationship before the team split up. Whatever kind it was, it only mattered to her that it really helped save their lives on that very night.

            Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Cody soon arrived, each of them filled with excitement. “Man! That was just as cool as riding ten thousand times on the Tower of Terror!” Cody shouted.

            Genevieve laughed. “You boys did marvelous,” she said. “You’re on your way to becoming some real ghost-busting heroes.”

            “And you’re already there, hon.” Christina told Genevieve, who looked at her in surprise. “Don’t tell me you didn’t have the makings of a Ghostbuster back there.”

            Genevieve was about to make a protest until Mickey stepped in. “She’s right! You could take on Hades single-handedly!”

            “A-hyuck! And even make your Auntie Natalie proud!” Goofy added, which made everyone turned to him again in an odd reaction.

            Genevieve shook her head and gave a flattered grin. “Wait, wait, people. I’m not who you think I am.” She gazed at the Proton Gun that was still in her hand and chuckled. “I’m just an ordinary girl living her wildest fantasies here. I didn’t mean to get caught up in any of this.” She then motioned towards Christina and added, “Besides, it was the secretary here who thought of everything.”

            “Yeah, but I don’t know the first thing about nuclear accelerators,” Christina admitted. “I just know all the tricks they taught me to busting ghosts.”

            “Well, somebody’s gotta stop Hades,” Mickey said. “If not, he’ll wreak havoc all over the city.”

            Genevieve suddenly reminded herself of something that was said earlier during the Cerberus attack. “Didn’t you guys mention Hades wanting the Ghostbusters? The real Ghostbusters?” They nodded in response. “Then let’s just go find them. Bring them back together, so we can take care of that hot-head together.”

            “Are you kiddin’ me?!” Christina exclaimed. “With the egos and different lines of work those four have now, it’d be a miracle to get them to work together again.”

            “Well, we have to try, Ms. Melnitz,” Genevieve persisted. “I mean, how hard would it be to convince four of the greatest heroes in New York to prevent another end-of-the-world threat?”

            Christina looked past her and at the parked Ecto-1, which had been heavily crushed as result of the Cerberus attack. Several large chunks of concrete turned the vehicle into a pancake, rendering it totally useless. “I’d say it’d be as hard as repairing the damages to our old company car.”

            Genevieve, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Cody glanced over the crushed Ecto-1 and sighed in disappointment. Cody was on the verge of tears as he said, “She never even got the chance to wail her last siren.” Goofy placed a hand over the boy’s shoulder, taking off his green hat and placing it over his chest, as if he were mourning a living thing.

            “Hey, c’mon!” Genevieve said. “This car can be replaced...but we need the original Ghostbusters back…before it’s too late.”

Chapter Six: Ajax Ghost Exterminators

Chapter Six: Ajax Ghost Exterminators

Present Day

            Zack was so lost in thought that he totally missed the fact that his brother had been calling his name repeatedly for the past several minutes. Only when he waved his hand out in front of him did he snap out of his flashback. “Wh…Huh?!”

            “I believe I just set the record for the number of times I’ve said ‘Zack’ for sixty minutes straight,” Cody sarcastically said. “You must’ve been thinking of something awfully good to miss what Mr. Moseby just did.”

            “What? Did he do cartwheels like that time he found out Mr. Tipton was giving him a raise?” Zack asked.

            “No, he just called the only available ghost-hunting team in New York to substitute for the ones that quit last year,” Cody said. “The original Ghostbusters: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy.”

            Zack cringed. “That was the best he could do? Those guys are like the great-grandfathers of ghost hunters.”

            “Well, it was the best we can do. Ajax Ghost Exterminators have been in business for nearly seventy-one years now, and just came out of mid-retirement on their seventieth anniversary last year.”

            “And that’s supposed to make us feel better how?”

            At that moment, someone went through the revolving door at the hotel entrance and was spun around so quickly in it that he flew out and soared several feet, crashing into a nicely decorated table. It turned out that this clumsy figure was Goofy, one-third of Ajax Ghost Exterminators.

            Cody rushed to his aid. “Are you alright?” Cody asked.

            “Relax, dude,” Zack said. “It’s just Goofy.”

            Goofy tipped his green hat to Zack and Cody and said, “Ajax Ghost Exterminators at your service!”

            Cody could barely contain his joy at meeting the animated figure. “Oh, wow! This is a real honor, sir! I’ve never met a living legend before!”

            “Sure you have,” Zack contradicted. “Remember when you freaked out over—”

            “Can we please not go there?!” Cody quickly interjected.

            Soon Mickey and Donald entered the hotel, having quite the opposing expressions on their faces: Mickey’s was more joyous, while Donald was somewhat fierce. “Anybody seen any ghosts?” Mickey asked with excitement, feeling glad to be back in action after so long.

            Mr. Moseby approached the two characters and smiled as he told them, “Welcome! Welcome! We are so glad to have you here! It is always a pleasure to have the greatest American icons here at the Tipton.”

            “Just tell us where the ghost is,” Donald gruffly commanded.

            Despite the duck’s crazy semi-intelligible speech, Moseby knew right away from the look on his face that this was all business with him, not pleasure. “They’re on the rooftop.”

            “C’mon, fellas,” Mickey told his teammates, as he held his shotgun ready. “We’ve got work to do.”

            The three ghost-hunters headed over to the nearest elevator and climbed inside. As the doors closed in front of them, Cody, Zack, and Moseby each gave them a thumb up. Just after the doors closed, Zack uttered, “They’re gonna get annihilated, aren’t they?”

            “They don’t even have a prayer,” Moseby remarked.

            Cody gawked at the both of them and shook his head. “O ye of little faith.”

            “O ye who’re about to get their butts kicked,” Zack bantered, walking off and leaving a hopeful Cody feeling suddenly nervous. As a last minute decision, he rushed over to an elevator that had just opened and climbed in, heading to the rooftop himself.

------------------

            It was a scene almost eerily similar to the event that occurred on the rooftop of the Tipton in 2004. The only exception was that things were ten times more terrifying as blue smoke emerged from beyond the temple doors, which looked as if they had been blown open by dynamite. However, the temple was not there; instead, there was a long, dark stairway leading to a black throne where none other than Hades, Lord of the dead, was sitting and smoking a cigar.

            Mickey, Donald, and Goofy slowly emerged from the doorway leading onto the rooftop; their demeanors had changed almost instantly the moment they made it there. Their ghost-catching “equipment” quivered in their grips as they crept across the smoking atmosphere. They fought hard not to breathe any of the smoke, not knowing what kind of harmful effects it could have on them. Mickey breathed in a little and coughed hard. It smells like brimstone, he thought.

            Hades, seeing the three “Wannabe Ghostbusters,” laughed and said, “I ask for the Superstars of the Supernatural, and they give me just plain old superstars instead?”

            “The jig’s up, Hades!” Mickey exclaimed, doing his best to sound brave.

            “Yeah,” added Donald, also trying.

            “Leave the nice folks in this hotel alone!” Goofy demanded.

            The calm, cool demeanor that had been on Hades’ face quickly started to change into a heavily stressed, twisted look of sheer anger while the cigar in his mouth exploded; coincidentally, his attitude did as well. “I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR ANY MICKEY MOUSE JUNK!”

            His body flamed up and his furious voice echoed throughout the creepy night atmosphere, making the trio in front of him nearly jump out of their skins (literally, in a toon’s case). Between the shivers, Goofy brought himself to say, “I guess ya don’t have time for any Donald Duck junk either.”

            “Will you shut up?!” Donald retorted.

            The flames on Hades’ body began to recede, forcing him to stay calm again. “Okay. Okay. Look. All I want is for you boys to get me the Ghostbusters. That’s all. And I’ll leave your pretty little realm alone.”

            “B-But, Hades,” stammered Mickey, “The Ghostbusters have split up.”

            “They’re retired,” Goofy added.

            Hades chuckled. “I don’t think you guys heard me. I want the Ghostbusters…NOW!” On that last word, his body flamed up again; this time, in the reddish-orange color. “I don’t care if they’re retired or expired…actually, that second one doesn’t sound so bad…but, anyways, I want them here right here, right now!”

            “How’re we supposed to find them?” Mickey asked.

            “You’re the sorcerer…FIGURE IT OUT!” Hades’ flame grew to immense proportions, shooting out towards Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. The three fell back from the staircase and headed back to the doorway.

            As soon as they safely made it away from the rooftop, they took a moment to catch their breath. “Did you get him?” asked a voice that scared the living daylights out of the three exterminators. They turned to see Cody Martin, the boy from downstairs in the lobby, standing in the hall leading to the elevator.

            “No, we didn’t get him!” Donald squawked. “He wants the Ghostbusters! Not us!”

            “The Ghostbusters?” Cody said. “But they’re…”

            “Retired,” said the three exterminators. “We know!”

            Cody was silent for quite a while, and then he curiously asked, “So…what are you guys going to do?”

            “What else?” Mickey hopelessly queried. “Give ‘im what he wants.”

            Cody’s eyes widened in shock and surprise. “But you can’t do that! Hades is the Lord of the Underworld! He’ll destroy us all!”

            “Well, we can’t do anything. He’s way too powerful for either of us,” Mickey said.

            “Gwarsh! If only we had those nifty machines that those Ghostbuster fellers carried around, we’d really be somethin’!” Goofy contemplated.

            “Yeah!” Donald agreed. “Then we’d show Hades!”

            Mickey scratched his chin in curiosity and then snapped his fingers with a look of revelation on his face. “Fellas, that’s it! We’ll just use their equipment! I’m sure there’s some left at their old headquarters.”

            “Of course there is!” Cody cheered. “Zack and I skateboard through there every now and then. It’s barely boarded up, so there shouldn’t be any problem getting in.” Mickey, Donald, and Goofy looked at Cody curiously, making him feel a bit sheepish. “What? It isn’t a crime, if there aren’t any signs.”

Chapter Five: One Year Ago...

Chapter Five: One Year Ago…

            Zack and Cody were bundled up in warm winter clothes, standing right next to Maddie, their mother, London, and Mr. Moseby, all waiting to see how the Ghostbusters were going to take care of the problem in front of them. It was supposed to be the Museum of Natural History standing there; but, instead, it was a shell of purplish slime that, according to Sean Spengler, was reacting to the city’s negative energy.

            Going on this theory, Cody and Maddie encouraged the crowd to come together in singing a couple of uplifting songs to break this “slime shell.” Cody had them singing “Kumbaya” and only managed to open a penny-sized hole in the slime. Maddie suggested they sing “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical, but the slime only opened to (ironically) the size of a basketball.

            “Wonder how it’d respond if we did ‘Bop to the Top’?” Maddie wondered.

            “Maybe we should get Zac and Vanessa here!” London excitedly suggested.

            “What good would that do?” Cody said. “Not even the John Williams London Symphony could crack open this shell.”

            There was a long pause of silence to mirror the hopelessness of the situation and then London asked, “But we could still get Zac and Vanessa over here, right?” Everyone, of course, just gawked at her oddly.

            Close nearby, Genevieve Marie observed the scene, finding it eerily similar in a way to the incident that occurred at the Tipton Hotel a few years back; the only difference being the temperatures. Before it was a moderately warm day; now, she felt like she was freezing her butt off. The things I’d go through just to see my heroes in action, she thought.

            Earlier, she and the others watched the Ghostbusters make an attempt at breaking the slime shell with their particle throwers. Bolts of proton energy struck the hardened slime, but not once penetrated through it. There was a force at work here that the Ghostbusters greatly underestimated. And even as they were still away somewhere, searching for a solution to their dilemma, Genevieve wondered what could possibly be done here. It was obvious by now that this wouldn’t be as easy as the Tipton Hotel.

            Then she heard something in the distance that sounded a lot like singing, followed by heavy thumping noises (causing mild tremors under their feet). As soon as she looked behind her, she noticed a humungous green shape appear around the corner. It was being escorted by the NYPD, who cleared the roads and made sure citizens were held back on the sidewalk by barricades. Soon everyone else noticed this enormous figure as the music got louder and closer.

            They could barely believe their eyes when they realized that this shape was in fact The Statue of Liberty!

            “Whoa! There’s something you don’t see every day!” Maddie exclaimed.

            “I thought I saw something like that the other day,” said London.

            “Was it on television?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Then you haven’t seen it every day.”

            As the enormous statue stomped by them, Genevieve could make out four figures inside the crown, seemingly operating the statue’s movements from there. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that those figures were the Ghostbusters, using Lady Liberty as their secret weapon against the slime shell; but, as an extra boost of power, they had “When You Wish Upon A Star” playing over speakers set up inside the statue.

            From what Genevieve could tell, the song was sung by more than one voice: male voices, to be exact; and it also sounded like it was performed live from within the statue. Whatever the case might’ve been, it was definitely taking effect on the slime shell, as part of its top began to spread and reveal a skylight.

            Kneeling beside the museum, the statue drew back its mighty right arm and smashed the skylight with its torch. This action was met with the thunderous cheer of the crowd of New Yorkers below. Cheering herself, Genevieve watched with great excitement as the Ghostbusters each threw ropes out from the crown and slid down through the broken skylight.

            Whoever they’re busting tonight had better be saying their prayers!

---------------

            “Get away this moment, before you meet your impenetrable doom!” Jafar threatened, while he and Iago hid behind a larger-than-life, full-figure portrait of Vigo the Carpathian, a demented and sadistic sixteenth century despot with an incredibly powerful evil presence.

            The Ghostbusters stood in a perfectly formed line, side-by-side to one another, aiming their Proton Guns and Slime Blowers (a new device, designed and worn by Sean and J.G., complete with a metal tank strapped to their backs and attached sprayers used to project streams of the psychomagnetheric “mood slime” they found below the city, once negatively charged but now positively charged). Their target was supposed to be Jafar, but they were aiming at the painting instead.

            “Get yourself out from behind there, Jaffie!” Natalie demanded. “You’ve been a bad monkey!”

            Jafar cringed at that remark. “Do I look like the type who wears a vest and ridiculously small hat?”

            “Oh, nice comeback, Jafar!” Iago sarcastically said.

            Jacqueline rolled her eyes in despair. “This is so not how I want to spend my New Year’s. First, we got thrown into a mental institution, trying to convince the mayor of the impending danger this city’s facing. And now we’re dealing with a guy who belongs in one.”

            “Yeah,” J.G. uttered, and then added enthusiastically, “Hasn’t this been the best night ever?!”

            While Jacqueline again rolled her eyes, Jafar and Iago peeked out from the left corner of the painting. As soon as she saw the whites in their eyes, Natalie opened fire and forced them to retreat back behind the portrait. The proton stream blew away a large chunk of the painting’s side, leaving a charred hole. Jacqueline looked at the face of Vigo and could have sworn that the portrait cringed as soon after this attack occurred.

            “You pitiful, miserable creatures!” Jafar yelled. “You dare to challenge the power of darkness? Don’t you realize what you are dealing with?”

            The Ghostbusters collectively looked to one another and shrugged as they answered with a passive “No.”

            “Told ya they wouldn’t get it,” Iago whispered to Jafar.

            “HE’S VIGO!” Jafar bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the entire museum. “He’s the supreme sorcerer to conquer all sorcerers! I’ve learned much about dark magic from him! And tonight, after the clock strikes midnight, he will live again in this new century, taking the form of whomever he pleases! You four are like the buzzing of scarabs to him!”

            The Ghostbusters weren’t listening. Instead, they began advancing towards the painting and Jafar, their weapons still aimed in their direction. However, the closer they got to the painting, the more it seemed like the man in it was popping out towards them in a very third-dimensional way.

            It was evident to them that Vigo the Carpathian was actually moving out of the picture and advancing on the Ghostbusters, even towering over them. Their eyes widened, mesmerized by the sudden supernatural event. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” J.G. cried.

            Immediately, Natalie and Jacqueline opened fire on the specter. Unfortunately, their proton stream merely bounced off Vigo’s chest, striking portions of the room instead. Jafar and Iago stepped out from behind the now-blank painting and grinned, watching their adversaries face their doom.

            “This is it, Iago,” Jafar said. “We’ll finally succeed where Hades and his pathetic Gozer the Gozerian failed.”

            The Ghostbusters continued backing away from Vigo, as he opened his mouth wide, a fierce light of fiery blue energy emerging from it. He was about to unleash his incredible power over the Ghostbusters, until the sudden sound of radiant singing interrupted his control, extinguishing the energy inside his mouth and causing him to wince in pain.

            Looking upward towards the skylight, they all noticed three young men standing in the crown of the Statue of Liberty, singing “When You Wish Upon A Star” louder and more jubilantly than before. These three young men turned out to be a group that Jafar and Iago were heavily familiar with.

            “The Jonas Brothers?!” Iago exclaimed. “We’re bein’ defeated by the Jonas Brothers?! Are you kidding me here?!”

            With the distraction in full effect, Natalie and Jacqueline stepped forward and again unleashed powerful proton streams from their guns. The blasts connected with Vigo’s body and sent him reeling back towards the painting.

            As he was being sucked back inside, he reached forward and snatched the first thing that could have been some use to him: Jafar.

            “My Lord! Wh-What are you…?” Jafar cried.

            Iago, seeing was what happening, decided to take advantage of the fact that he had flight capabilities and headed away from his boss. “You’re on your own here, Jafar!” He landed nearby on the head of a statue and watched Jafar’s demise with a hint of interest.

            Spengler and Stantz couldn’t have cared less what happened to Jafar. All they wanted was to defeat Vigo before the Jonas Brothers could have possibly lost their voices. Together, they fired their Slime Blowers and hosed both Vigo and Jafar. Vigo bellowed as he dropped Jafar, and then he fell back into the painting.

            “Whoa! That got ‘im!” Natalie said.

            They watched as the paint melted off the canvas and ran onto the floor, revealing another painting underneath it. The other painting, as it turned out, was a beautiful portrait of two princesses dressed similarly to Cinderella and Princess Aurora (a.k.a. “Sleeping Beauty”) with two princes kneeling down beside them both and taking them by the hands with roses in the other, all while dressed like Prince Charming and Prince Phillip. The princesses bore an uncanny resemblance to Natalie (as Cinderella) and Jacqueline (as Aurora), and the princes looked just like Sean (as Charming) and J.G. (as Phillip).

            “Wow,” Natalie uttered. “Now there’s an image I won’t get outta my head anytime soon.”

            Meanwhile, Iago flew back over to Jafar, who was lying on the floor, covered with slime and humming joyfully to himself with an unusual smile on his face. “Yo, Jafar! You okay? Not that it really matters, I mind ya.”

            Jafar chuckled with glee as he said, “I’m groovy, Iaggy-baby.”

            “Iaggy-baby?!” The parrot remarked with complete confusion.

            “In fact, I’ve never felt better in my life!” Jafar happily exclaimed, as he got to his feet and picked Iago up, giving him an enormous hug. “I love you, little fella! You’re the best friend I’ve ever had!”

            Iago struggled out of Jafar’s embrace and hovered in the air, his entire feathery form covered in slime. He had a disgusted look on his face upon saying, “I really hope they got therapy in prison, ‘cause I’m seriously gonna need some after this.”

            With their mission completed, the Ghostbusters looked up towards the crown of Lady Liberty. Natalie gave them a thumb up and said, “Nice work, boys. You really burnt up that ghost with that song.”

            Joe Jonas had a thoughtful look on his face, scratching his chin and staring off into space. “A song about burnin’ up ghosts? You know, we could make an instant hit with that.”

            Nick and Kevin both gave him odd looks. “Who’d want to hear a song about burning up ghosts?” The former inquired.

            “Who’d want to hear a song about burning up anything?” Kevin stated. “That’s just got ‘wrong’ written all over it.”

            Joe rolled his eyes with exasperation. “It was just an idea, guys.”

            “Well, yeah, and it was a horrible idea.” Kevin retorted.

            As the brothers started to bicker among each other in the head of the Statue of Liberty, the Ghostbusters just gawked at them for a long moment and then turned to each other. Then they looked behind them to see the love-crazed Jafar chasing Iago all around the museum, trailing slime everywhere.

            “Oh, my goodness,” Jacqueline uttered with disgust.

            Spengler took out his P.K.E. Meter and gazed at the readings for a while. He then told the others, “You know, that slime shell disappeared as soon as we stopped Vigo. We can leave at any time.”

            “Awesome idea,” J.G. said.

            “Yeah, I’m with ya’ll on that one,” Natalie acknowledged before the team headed towards the exit and departed from the museum, greeted by the much more soothing sound of their cheering public.

            Once again, the Ghostbusters had saved the day…and the world.

            And, just as before, Genevieve Marie was there to witness it all.

            Unfortunately, it would be the last time she and anyone else would.