Work Text:
A/N: This is un-betaed, and had to be written. I literally woke up with this in my mind and I couldn’t get back to sleep until I had this completely finished. I hope you enjoy this.
GB – GB – GB
A brilliant flash of light lit up the sky outside of the Ghostbusters firehouse. As though thrown by Zeus himself the bolt of lightning zigzagged across the sky before slamming into a tree located across the street from the firehouse. The calamitous boom of thunder shook every window in the firehouse and set off the car alarm of Ecto-1 much to Abby, Patty’s and Erin’s annoyance.
The storm had been raging most of last night and all morning. It had gotten so bad that a safety warning had been issued closing the streets to all non-emergency vehicles. This made sense to every member of the Ghostbuster’s team since their drive into work had been harrowing enough since the sheet of rain kept them from seeing more than five feet in front of them.
Erin had been particularly irritable since she’d almost gotten involved in a collision with a fool that had not bothered to signal before turning in front of her.
No calls had come in and the members of the team were relaxing in their own ways.
Patty was slowly working her way through a thick stack of history books. The increase in pay thanks to a steady business of busting ghosts allowing her the freedom to purchase and pursue a few volumes that she had been wanting for a while but had all been a little too pricy to justify the expenditure.
Abby was making efforts at putting together her next ghost novel. After the team had defeated Rowan the lay lines had remained highly energized thanks to the man’s actions. Though the portal was closed new ghosts were finding enough energy to pierce thru the veil and enjoy their freedom roaming the city and harassing the living. At least until the Ghostbusters were called.
With this increase in paranormal activity accurate and scientific books about ghosts and the study of them had been flying off the shelves. Abby had been particularly pleased when her publisher had called her a week ago asking about a sequel to the book she had co-wrote with Erin.
Erin busied herself with helping Kevin make lunch. While his skills as a receptionist were mediocre at best he had proven himself quite apt in the kitchen. He had unofficially become the Ghostbusters go to cook provided he wasn’t busy answering phones. Which was occurring less and less. Abby had followed thru on her promise to disconnect his phone and only connected it every so often to keep Kevin assuming it was mere technical difficulties and not deliberate when his phone would fail to ring for days at a time while the call went thru to one of the four Ghostbusters desks.
“Have you almost finished making the dressing?” Kevin asked as he briefly paused in putting together the salad.
“Yeah, it’s just taking a little longer than I thought.” Erin replied back without turning to look at the man. The instructions he’d given her were a full page and a half long and went into precise detail about the order to add the various ingredients together, how much needed to be added, how they were to be added, and the time to wait before the next ingredient could be added.
While it was quite a bit of work, and could take at minimum fifteen minutes. It was well worth it though. The salad alone was better than any of them had had at any restaurant.
Satisfied with her answer Kevin checked on the ribs that were cooking in the oven. They had been cooking since yesterday afternoon and the delicious smell of barbecue flooded the firehouse leaving everyone feeling ravenously hungry. Well all but one.
GB – GB – GB
Throwing her head back Holtzmann cackled madly as she raised her hands towards the ceiling. Her yellow tinted goggles covered her eyes casting everything in a yellowish hue. Her hair was in its usual updo, and thanks to the rain appeared to have more volume than normal. Her jacket was cinched tight at the waist and practically bulged with various items and knickknacks that she filled them with.
“They called me mad! Insane! A lunatic who deserved to be locked up! Yet tonight I will show them all my true genius!”
The pelting rain and crash of thunder only served to enhance the mood Holtzmann was going for. Up in the ceiling a set of strobe lights flickered constantly casting the room in a harsh white light and deep black shadows. A pair of proton packs were set upright and were emitting a steady stream of proton energy that curled and snaked along some repurposed TV antennas before blasting harmlessly out an open window into the downpour.
Before her a tray lay its contents covered by a white linen napkin that gave no hint to what they covered.
“Soon they will witness my greatest creation ever. Then those villagers will know true fear. They will never again mock me! No. My name will live on in infamy! For only I Dr. Holtzmann have discovered the key to giving life back to that which is bereft of it!” Another bark of mad laughter came from the woman as someone knocked on the closed door to her lab.
“Holtzmann are you in there?” Kevin’s muffled voice could be heard through the closed door before he opened it. Opening the door he took a look at the scene before him that looked straight out of a black and white horror movie.
“Kevin!” Holtzmann cried out looking at the man before frowning. “Kevin I’m kind of having a moment here.” She said flatly tossing aside the dramatics for a moment. “Remember we discussed this last month?”
The receptionist looked confused for a moment before understanding dawned on his face. Grinning bemusedly he stooped his posture somewhat and leaned slightly to a side so that one shoulder was higher up in the air than the other. “Dr. Holtzmann.” He said in his best attempt at a sniveling lackey’s voice. “The villagers have gotten wind of your experiments. They grow restless and are demanding your presence down in the village post haste.”
Holtzmann grinned at the man as she flung an arm out wide and walked over to him. Clapping a hand down on his shoulder she schooled her features. “Kevin my loyal henchman. You’ve served me faithfully all these years. I know I promised to show you the fruits of my experiments, but I cannot. Your life is in danger if you tarry here long. I want you to leave this place. Take whatever of my funds you can carry and flee for your own safety. If any of the villagers try to stop you tell them they are far to late and that my genius will not be denied any longer.”
Nodding his head Kevin wiped a tear from his eye and straightened “Yes Master. I will do as you command.” Turning he left the room.
“I wasn’t serious about the money though. So you better not raid my stash!” Holtzmann yelled at the man’s back just before the door closed.
Alone once more Holtzmann strode back over to her worktable and yanked the napkin off the conglomeration of food that she had painstaking spent ten minutes assembling into a figure like form. “Soon my creation you shall live once more. Then I shall unleash you upon those cowardly villagers so you can show them why they should have respected my genius for all these years.”
Hooking some chains to the sides of the tray Holtzmann started using the pulley system to raise her creation up high into the air.
GB – GB – GB
“Is Holtzmann coming down?” Erin asked turning to look at Kevin as he descended the stairs.
“She’s currently busy with one of her projects. She should be down shortly to extract vengeance upon us for doubting her genius.” Kevin replied nonchalantly as he made his way over to the stairs leading into the basement.
“Kevin…what do you mean ‘she’s be down to extract vengeance upon us?’” Abby asked looking up from her computer her face a shade whiter than normal.
“Better question, why are you going down into the basement?” Erin asked walking over towards the man before he could disappear from view.
“Oh you know. She’s just in one of her fun moods. As for the basement I was going to see if we had any torches that could be lit on fire. Oh, and maybe a battering ram. We do have one of those right?”
With a sigh Erin started up the stairs and called out to the others “I’ll go talk with her.”
GB – GB - GB
“Jillian what are you doing?”
There was a click and light flooded the room. Up at the ceiling the strobe lights, Holtzmann had painstakingly spent an hour installing, continued to flicker ineffectually against the garish bright light.
Turning from her worktable Holtzmann laid eyes upon Gilbert who stood in the open doorway.
Erin’s hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and the starch white blouse she wore was slightly damp at the collar from the storm raging outside. Her usual bowtie and jacket hung up in the closet downstairs drying out after she’d gotten caught in the unexpected downpour this morning.
Smiling Holtzmann lowered her goggles so they rested around her neck and gave Erin her best seductive wink. Her mind already switching gears she straightened up, tugged on her jacket to straighten out any wrinkles and purred. “Erin good to see you made it to your doctor’s appointment on time. Now if you’ll just hope up on my examination table.” Holtz swept an arm across her workstation scattering unimportant and loose parts all across her lab before patting the metal surface. “Then we can get started with your physical. And don’t worry, I’ll be extra through this time.”
Holtzmann’s efforts were rewarded as Erin turned scarlet and stared off into space. Her mind delving back to last week when she’d indulged Holtz in that little fantasy. Erin said nothing for several long seconds before giving her head a shake and refocusing on the matter at hand.
“You do remember what happened last time you played mad scientist right?” Erin asked an eyebrow raised as she folded her arms across her chest and gave her fellow Ghostbuster her best stern disapproving professor look.
Kevin lounged at his desk in Ghostbuster’s HQ. His feet were planted firmly atop the surface of the oaken desks crossed at the ankles. Beneath his desk his shoes were neatly tucked into a corner where they could easily be reached without having to stand up. A thin trail of drool leaked from his slightly open mouth as he snored.
Walking quietly up beside the slumber hunk Holtzmann leaned down and whispered “Kevin?”
The receptionist said nothing as he continued to sleep soundly oblivious to events transpiring around him.
Holtzmann continued whispering her voice just a hair above silent. “Kevin would you be okay with me putting some makeup on you?”
This time she received a response as Kevin snored loudly and mumbled something that sounded like “Drink…make ancestor’s proud Loki.”
Smiling Holtzmann patted Kevin’s shoulder lightly and wheeled over a metal table laden down with various bits and bobs that she’d scavenged for spare parts to fix up the Ghostbuster’s arsenal as needed.
“You painted his face green and super glued metal bolts to his neck.” Erin continued breaking Holtzmann free of her memory of the incident.
“He gave his consent.”
“He was asleep. You then proceeded to call him ‘Your greatest creation’ for an hour. It took us three hours to convince him that you weren’t his actual biological mother who gave him up for adoption as a baby.”
“Now that.” Holtzmann said her smile growing even bigger “Made it all the more worth it you have to admit.”
A brief awkward silence filled the room as Erin said nothing. She just continued to stare Holtz down till the other woman finally looked away her cheeks having taken on a slight reddish hue.
“Lunch is ready so please stop playing with last night’s leftovers and come down and eat before your food gets cold. Otherwise your baby back ribs are fair game for the rest of us. And you know that Abby and Patty will devour them in minutes.”
“Why should I listen to you again?” Holtzmann jokingly asked.
“Aside from the fact that you’re living in my apartment, sharing my bed while your apartment is being rebuilt after you accidentally blew it up two weeks ago?” Erin countered smirking back at Holtzmann. “Perhaps because you love me, and I promise to make it up to you tonight?” She winked at her girlfriend before turning and heading out the door. Holtzmann would swear she put a little extra sway into her hips before she disappeared from sight.
Grabbing the dangling chain that was suspended from the ceiling Holtzmann lowered the sheet tray that she had placed the leftovers on. It swayed back and forth as it came down thanks to the wind blowing in through the open windows. Even from this angle Holtz could see a few flecks of rainwater had reached the tray and were coalescing into fat drops of water.
Finally the tray reached the work table and lay still. The Chinese noodles that comprised the hair looked more limp and soggy then when Holtzmann had first taken them out of the fridge. The wontons were still lumped together in a vague body like shape. Much of the meat in them having long spilled out forming a small puddle of blood that gathered in one corner of the tray. A pair of beef shish kabobs made up the arms and were pressed into a dumpling that served as the face for Holtz’s creation. While two chicken legs, one partially eaten by Erin as a late night snack, served as legs.
Turning off the proton packs that had been sending a steady stream of energy up the repurposed TV antennas Holtzmann bent down and began picking up some of the spare parts she’d carelessly knocked off the table.
Unseen by her a thin vaporous blue mist rose out of her creation. A chicken leg twitched as one of the shish kabobs scrapped against the tray as the leftover monstrosity tried to sit upright.
Dumping a handful of metal on the worktable Holtzmann eyed the struggling monster with a seemingly bored expression. Reaching into one of the pockets of her jacket she pulled out the proton pistol she always carried with her and quickly blasted her creation back to death.
“Third time this month. Really should get that leak in the containment unit fixed.” She muttered to herself mentally moving it up a few spots on her ‘Need to Do’ list below ‘get laundry done’ and above ‘tell Erin that landlord has terminated the lease on my apartment.’
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. Please let me know if you enjoyed this and if more should be added to this. Feel free to give me ideas, you never know they may just pan out into a story.