InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "It's only time"

i_gotslimed (i_gotslimed) wrote in we_coexist,
@ 2008-10-15 15:39:00

Entry tags:

georgia lass, liz sherman, peter venkman

On the case, pt 2 (tag: Liz, George)
It had been weeks of missed opportunities and schedule conflicts. The Ghostbusters were supposed to meet with this George girl who seemed to be a focal point for the victims of the killing spree. Unfortunately, every time they planned to meet, some other case came up. Vampire dregs, zombies, various harmless cryptids, and more often than not, they arrived at the scene to find someone had done their work for them with little more than stakes and shotguns. The vigilantes of the city didn't have red tape to navigate. They were off the books, and didn't have to fill out twelve forms every time they set foot in a haunted house.

Finally, an opening appeared in the schedule, and they arranged to meet George.

"Yeah, I know, Liz. So far, it's probably not as exciting as your last job," Dr. Venkman encouraged the glum-looking young woman in the passenger seat of the Ecto-1. "But it can't be the end of the world every week. That only happens every ... well, *once*, I guess. So, come on. Buck up, sunshine. We'll get to bust some ghosts pretty soon." He gave her shoulder a vigorous, paternal rub. "Hey, you wanna run the siren?"

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	i_avoidlife 2008-10-16 11:44 am UTC (link)
	The young reaper sat up from her bed, hair ruffled by sleep, and slipping her feet into over sized bunny slippers proceeded to the door. Looking through the peephole, George opened the door a crack. She might have looked a little pretty if her face were capable of showing that it were capable of smiling. "Yes?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_gotslimed 2008-10-16 02:22 pm UTC (link)
	"Hello. I'd like to talk to you about the book of Zuul." His lopsided grin and workman's coveralls belied his attempt at breaking the ice. Venkman was feeling pretty loose after his joyride, but he returned to a more businesslike casual tone. "I'm Dr. Venkman. Georgia Lass, I presume? I believe we spoke on the phone." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_avoidlife
2008-10-16 02:44 pm UTC (link)

George searched her memory of the phone call in question. At the time she'd only been paying half attention. She thought he'd been trying to sell the Book of Zuul, which George thought might be along the lines of the Book of Mormon or something. Annoying but harmless. George found the best way to deal with missionaries was to take their pamphlets politely and then close the door as quickly as possible.

But the people at the door were not missionaries and George realized she was sorely mistaken. And although she'd seen The Ghostbusters as a kid and even enjoyed watching the cartoon spinoff, she didn't recognize the name Dr. Venkman until she recognized him for the Bill Murray doppelganger that he was.

George, while not technically a ghost, was still very technically not alive. Trying to think quickly on her feet, which she'd gotten mildly okay as it was a part of the job description, she blurted an nearly incomprehensible sorry-wrong-apartment and slammed the door.

George turned the regular lock, the deadbolt and the nearly useless chain lock. Running into her room she grabbed the cellphone. Dexter was on speed dial. While waiting for him to pick up she hurriedly put on jeans and a pair of sneakers. She got his voicemail.

"Dexter fuck! Ghostbusters. At my door. Fuck fuck fuck! Pick up!" He didn't and she hung up.

While her apartment didn't have style it did have a fire escape, which George was trying to use right at that very moment.

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i_burn
2008-10-16 09:09 pm UTC (link)

Liz stared at the door for a minute, confused at the response.

"You sure you talked to her before coming? She sure doesn't seem to know we were coming today." Her voice was sarcastic, but she walked up to the door and knocked again.

Loudly Liz called out through the door. "Miss, please answer the door miss. We have some questions regarding some recent... ummm... happenings here in The City."

She turned and looked at Dr. Venkman. "She may be going for the fire escape. And please, next time, we DO NOT wear the stupid equipment when wanting to talk to someone. I think you scared her."

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i_gotslimed
2008-10-17 08:41 am UTC (link)

"Aw, come onnn," he pleaded to Liz, as if she had told him he couldn't wear his cape to school. "Chicks love the uniform." He sighed and took off the proton pack, leaning it carefully against the wall. "All right. You stay here in case she comes back, Liz. I'll go around and see if I can talk to our escape artist."

He thought hauling a 45-pound backpack all over the city would put him in better shape, but even without it, Venkman still came around to the back of the building puffing and clutching his side. "Hahh. (puff) Next time I see the Marlboro man (gulp, puff) I'm gonna knock his moustache *right* off. (puff, puff) How dare he make my death so tasty?"

He looked around for the frightened girl.

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	i_avoidlife 2008-10-18 02:29 am UTC (link)
	The ladder which was supposed to drop down to the asphalt became stuck half way. George dropped the remaining four feet or so and landed on her ass. Her hands which reached were scraped with light abrasions that disappeared almost instantly. At about the same time that she dropped down, Venkman appeared in the alley. "Fuck." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_gotslimed
2008-10-20 01:10 pm UTC (link)

"Woah woah woah," Venkman said with concern, hobbling over. "You all right, sweetheart? I'm sorry, I hope I didn't scare you too bad. See? No proton pack now."

Something in his pocket was beeping more insistently the closer he got to George. It was a simplified PKE meter, more of a proximity alert than a mapping device like the handheld one. He looked around for any spirit manifestations, but all he saw was the girl. Whatever it was, it was close.

Based on Madame Xanadu's account, it seemed George could see entities on the ethereal plane. He knelt down and offered her a hand as a way for her to tell he was a living being. "Hey, come on, George. Let's go inside, huh?"

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i_avoidlife
2008-10-20 05:55 pm UTC (link)

George looked around for the toaster oven looking device that she remembered trapping ghosts. As far as she could tell he didn't have one of those on him either. There was something very Rube-like about his concern.

Reluctantly she took his hand.

He may not be afraid of no ghost, but then he hadn't met a reaper either. His hand would prove he was alive, and while her hand felt warm and corporeal, she also didn't have a pulse. They were just holding hands, he wasn't feeling up her wrist, but the idea made her nervous.

She didn't want to be zapped or trapped in a toaster.

"Why are you here?"

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i_gotslimed
2008-10-21 04:01 pm UTC (link)

Indeed, no pulse. Like Karen, but warmer. That probably explains the proximity alarm, he thought. Jeepers, how many dead people were walking around in this town?

"Just a sec. I'm assuming the door was locked when you slammed it in my face, so unless you have a key on you, we'll have to climb up." It was rarely relevant, but Venkman was fairly tall. He used this advantage and his High School basketball layup to grab the end of the fire escape ladder and pull it down.

As he began to climb, he answered her question. "We're just trying to make sense of things here," he said, unwittingly quoting a police procedural he'd been watching last night. "There were a series of murders a while back, and apparently one of them recalls being drawn to you when she was dead. Now, I'm not saying you were involved in any other way, we just want to find out more about that whole series of events. Helps us sleep better at night."

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	i_avoidlife 2008-10-22 01:30 pm UTC (link)
	George didn't answer at first and only mildly uncommitted grumbling was involved as she reached for the ladder and started to climb. Back through her window she opened up the door for Venkman's fellow ghostbuster. "Hi." She opened up the door wide for her while Venkman came in through the living room window. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_burn
2008-10-23 11:15 am UTC (link)

Liz breathed a sigh of relief when she heard voices on the other side of the door. And she was just as happy when the other woman opened the door to let her in.

"Hi. Glad we were able to catch you. Didn't mean to scare you like that."

Liz already needed a cigarette and they hadn't even gotten started on this interview. And of course her boss would want her to set up all of his weird equipment. At least at the B.P.R.D. there were other people to do that kind of work for you.

She stuck her hand out to the other woman, "I'm Liz Sherman. Nice to meet you."

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i_avoidlife
2008-11-05 10:45 am UTC (link)

"Hi." She was her usual awkward, uncomfortable self by the time she encountered Venkman's partner. George peered at the equipment just behind her, narrowly avoiding the handshake.

"What the fuck is that?"

There could still be that ghost catching toaster looking device in there. George was inherently distrustful of ghost catching toasters. Being undead had a tendency to override one of her favorite childhood franchises.

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i_gotslimed
2008-11-05 03:00 pm UTC (link)

The trap was indeed there, but like most of the equipment, it wasn't currently turned on. No need to waste batteries. It lay atop a pile of electronics carefully balanced on a hand truck, which Peter now wheeled into the apartment. "It's just some of our little toys. Nothing to worry about. We won't use them unless we have to. We're like the cops," he explained. "We're not gonna arrest every wino in Central Park. Sometimes we just need to point them toward KFC." He wasn't sure if George would appreciate being compared to a wino, if she was in fact some kind of ghost.

"Actually," he continued, setting up the sweeper on the kitchen table without asking, "there was this one ghost - the nicest old man you ever met - who didn't like the folks crashing in his apartment. Hippies. They had tons of friends staying with them all the time. I convinced them that if they didn't like finding all their bongs broken in the morning, they should find someplace else to live."

He switched on the sweeper and it began reading the activity in the room. George was *something,* but it wasn't quite a ghost. There were a few small, dark entities scrabbling around corners, staying out of the way. He tried to make sense of the readings.

"What about you, Liz? You make friends with any monsters in your old job?"

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	i_avoidlife 2008-11-05 03:03 pm UTC (link)
	"I'm not a monster," George protested. But in reality the answer would have probably made them feel worse. She worked for Death, which was a little different than being a mere ghost, especially if they thought she might be responsible for their end one day. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_burn
2008-11-05 03:14 pm UTC (link)

Liz eyed her boss. She didn't really want to get personal with him. But then again, maybe it would help this George person to feel better.

"Umm, yeah, you could say that I was friends with some of the monsters. Actually, in my old line of work, you could say that I worked with the monsters."

She was going to need a cigarette soon.

She turned and looked at George. "Can you tell us what happened around the same time that the deaths started happening? That's what we came here to find out. Information only."

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	i_avoidlife 2008-11-05 03:25 pm UTC (link)
	"Not a monster," she repeated. "They came here, they disappeared and everyone was alive again. That's it. I don't know anything else." She crossed her arms, sullen. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_burn
2008-11-05 11:22 pm UTC (link)

Liz nodded. "Sorry, didn't mean to imply you are a monster." She put up her hand and let the flame dance across her fingertips. "I'm the monster, and I've had friends who are monsters. Humans too." She let the flame go out and she looked George in the eyes.

George was upset. This wasn't a good way to start an interview. "Please don't take any offense. It's really important that we find some more information. About how long were they here?"

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i_avoidlife
2008-11-06 12:35 am UTC (link)

"Being a pyrokenetic does not make you a monster," George corrected. She couldn't completely hide her curiosity behind a mask of petulant apathy but she certainly tried. Liz's attempt to make contact did soften a bit of George's social barriers.

"A bunch of them came shortly after they were killed."

The reaper crossed her arms. She wasn't sure if she wanted to give them all the details, and she probably wouldn't have if Dexter hadn't been involved. But these were ghostbusters. Or one was a ghostbuster and one was someone who knew monsters.

George took a deep breath.

"Normally when someone is going to die, I get word from from above. I go to the spot, reap their soul, they die, they move on. But this time no word. No one's there to even do the reaping part, the souls just kinda popped out I guess and they just showed up at my door and didn't leave or move on. And then they disappeared because they were alive again. That's all I know."

She spoke quickly and mumbled hoping that they might miss the part about the reaping business.

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i_gotslimed
2008-11-06 12:37 pm UTC (link)

Dr. Venkman turned from his screen and gazed quizzically at George. "That's funny. You don't look like a psychopomp." Typically a psychopomp - an entity that guides spirits from this plane of existence into another - looked like an animal, or something monstrous draped in robes. This one looked like an average girl, and furthermore she was hanging around on this plane when she didn't currently have any business. "Is that what they're wearing in Limbo this time of year?"

With this new knowledge, Venkman began to casually assemble a hypothesis in his mind. Maybe the serial killer operated outside of the usual laws of spiritual nature, meaning George wasn't notified of the murders in the usual manner. Then the bereaved spirits might be drawn to her, trying to pass on in order to balance the forces that had been disturbed. It didn't quite explain how they were returned to life, however. He guessed that the X-factor at work with the serial killer was likely at work in the resurrections, as well.

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i_burn
2008-11-06 03:17 pm UTC (link)

Liz found herself liking George. Hell, she would have been terrified too if the Ghostbusters had shown up knocking on her door.

What George had said didn't bother Liz a bit. As long as George wasn't planning on taking the world over with tentacled monsters, and as long as no one was being harmed, how souls went to their resting place didn't bother Liz a bit.

Actually, it was kind of comforting to know that in The City, souls were taken with care.

She nodded at the new information. Obviously there was something very, very different about these murders. (Not that people dying and the coming back to life wasn't weird enough.) But since the reaper hadn't known that they were coming, that made this very different.

"Can you tell us the names of some of the people who died and showed up here? We would like to speak with them as well, if possible."

The more information the better and since there were others involved, she wanted to talk with them.

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