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Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 59

We were dodging rubble of all sorts as we sped along the streets of New York. We were busting ghosts on the way and trapping them. “Good thing we have all the traps with us!” called Peter.

“Yeah, but it’s really uncomfortable!” remarked Hongo. We then stopped abruptly.

“What gives, Winston?!” snapped Peter. “We’re only halfway there!”

“Believe me, I DIDN’T want to stop, but a web’s blocking us!” replied Winston. We looked outside to see that Ecto-1 was, as Winston said, blocked by a large spider web.

“What kind of ghost does that?” asked Hongo.

“A ghost from your past!” replied a voice. A humanoid monster then came up to us and attacked Hongo. It had spider fangs, a pair of red antennae, three compound eyes in a triangular shape, a web cape, and claws on his fingers.

“Kumo-otoko!” (Spider-man) snarled Hongo.

“Who’s he?!” asked Peter.

“The first of the Shocker monsters I took down!” answered Hongo. He took off his pack and fought with Kumo-otoko. “Get going!” he called. “Cut the web down!”

“You heard the new guy!” ordered Peter. We threw our streams at the web and burned it.

“Rider…HENSHIN!” announced Hongo. He transformed into Ichigō and attacked Kumo-otoko. Well, tried to, his attacks just went through the monster. I grabbed a PKE meter and got a reading!

“HONGO! HE’S A GHOST!” I yelled as I pointed my wand at the monster. Ichigō then got out of the way as I got Kumo-otoko in the trap. We were about to go, but someone decided to slime the window!

“You again?!” snapped Ichigō as he changed back. It was Slimer. He was spluttering angrily. We were about to fire again, but Egon stopped us.

“I think he’s trying to tell us something,” observed Egon. Slimer slimed the windshield and wrote out what he was saying. “I tried to warn you at the hotel,” read Egon, “but you didn’t listen. My presence there was to relay messages for a ghost resistance against Gozer’s next rise. Zuul and Vinz Clortho have already taken their former hosts and are on top of Spook Central. They’ve already started the ritual and now you’ve trapped the soldiers needed to resist Gozer in the event that a form is chosen for it. It’s not going to be the Stay Puft Marshmallow man again. You idiots have just weakened our only chance of getting through the nightmare of Gozer.” We were stunned.

“I think we better release the ghosts,” suggested Ray.

“This is a one-time deal, spud,” clarified Peter. “After that, it’s business as usual.” Slimer nodded as we opened up the traps. They weren’t too happy, even Kumo-otoko.

“Do you know how cramped it is in there?!” he roared.

“Kumo-otoko,” assured Hongo, “we know your mission here. We made a mistake, but we’re willing to help.”

“Oh, really?” asked Kumo-otoko.

“Help us beat Gozer and we can get you a better place in the afterlife,” replied Xiomara.

“…If you double-cross me, I’ll make you regret it forever,” warned Kumo-otoko. He and the other ghosts joined us as we charged towards Spook Central. We were nearly there when a Subway train came up from beneath us. It blocked our path, so we had to find another way. We soon arrived at the apartment building and found ourselves blocked by ghosts. Slimer spluttered something.

“Those ghosts WANT Gozer to come back,” translated a ghost of the Industrial Revolution. We soon zapped and trapped them. We headed up to see ghosts blocking the hall along with Heather.

“THAT’S THEM!” roared Heather. The ghosts blocked our way as we leveled our wands at them. We started trapping, but Heather blocked our way with the rubble.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted, but this is getting out of hand,” I sighed. I fastened my Vortex Driver back on. Xiomara sighed and did the same. Hongo sighed as well, then he struck his pose as we drew out our i.d tags.

“Rider…” began Hongo.

“Henshin!” we all announced as we donned our Rider personas. We then drew our weapons and converted them into their ranged modes. We aimed and destroyed the rubble, allowing us access to the roof. There was junk food everywhere!

“This looks extraordinarily bad,” reported Egon as he looked at the PKE meter.

“Look at all the junk food!” remarked Peter. We then heard messy eating, coming from Slimer. “Slow down,” directed Peter. “Chew your food.”

“We have bigger problems than Slimer’s eating habits,” gulped Seeker.

“Like what?” I asked.

“Like Dana and Louis in their Terror Dog forms,” replied Seeker.

“WHAT?!” we all yelped as we turned the corner. She was right, Vinz Clortho the Keymaster and Zuul the Gatekeeper were back and ready to serve Gozer. Oh, did I mention Gozer was back as well.

“It’s a girl again,” observed Ray.

“It’s still Gozer,” replied Egon.

“Well, whatever it is,” declared Peter, “it’s gotta get by us again!”

“A task I can do easily now!” boasted Gozer.

“Against three new gods?” I asked.

“You are a god?” quizzed Gozer.

“Oui,” I replied.

“Then…DIE!” roared Gozer as it fired on us. We were nearly blown off the building! As we picked ourselves up, Ray decided to call Winston out.

“Say yes when someone asks if you’re a god, huh?!” he snapped. “That thing nearly roasted us!”

“I shall make sure to completely roast you this time!” declared Gozer.

“Not a chance!” I replied. “ALLONS-Y!” We charged at Gozer, but she leapt over our heads. This time, she was swinging punches. Heather joined in and attacked.

“Give it up!” demanded Heather. “I already got the Pestilence and Famine parts! Let me have the War part!”

“Got to Hell!” shouted Seeker.

“Been there, done that!” replied Heather. She swung a punch, but Seeker ducked. Heather’s punch connected to a pillar that shattered, revealing a lamp. It didn’t have power, but Seeker tricked Gozer into shooting the thing with electricity and pointed it at Gozer. It was blinded, allowing the Ghostbusters to fire. It got away from the streams and sent Zuul and Vinz after us.

“Try not to hurt Zuul!” called Peter. The one with shorter horns leapt onto me.

“What about her trying to hurt me?!” I countered.

“And what about Vinz?!” called Ichigō as Vinz swatted him. I then tricked Zuul into knocking down another pillar to reveal another lamp. As I pointed it at Gozer, it fired again and got blinded again. Gozer destroyed that lamp, then landed on the stone bench, facing us.

“We better go full stream!” remarked Egon.

“THROW IT!” ordered Peter.

“Un momento!” called Xiomara. At that point, we Riders powered down and activated our packs.

“NOW!” I yelled. We all fired at Gozer. It tried to throw up a barrier but it disappeared by our streams.

“We neutronised it!” replied Ray. “You know what that means?! A Complete Particle Reversal!”

“Oh well, them’s the breaks,” sighed Heather. “Still, it was a nice little war. I got what I needed.” She then held up the War part!

“GIVE THAT BACK!” I roared as I leveled my Neutrino wand at her.

“Not a chance, you rifle-dropping coward!” replied Heather. “You and that taco-snorting moron can go to Hell!”

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” screamed Xiomara. We fired, but Heather jumped off the building! We looked over the side but couldn’t find her. She had escaped us. “¡CARAJO!” (Damn) swore Xiomara.

“Is everything alright?” asked a voice. We turned to see a dimensional portal close with Sludgiona with us!

“Are you…?” I ventured.

“I found my people!” burbled Sludgiona. “I no longer have acclimation syndrome! I can travel the multiverse with no ill effects!” At that point, a storm flashed lightning at us and Gozer spoke.

“Sub-creatures! Gozer the Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volgus Zildrohar, the Traveler has come! Choose and perish!” it declared.

“Choose?!” asked Hongo. “I don’t understand!”

“Choose! Choose the form of the Destructor!” demanded Gozer.

“Gozer needs a new form to destroy the world!” I elaborated.

“Whatever we think of, it becomes that!” continued Xiomara. “If we think of Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty will destroy the world!”

“All right, empty them brains!” called Peter. “Come on! Empty, empty, empty! That means you too, Ray!”

“The choice is made!” declared Gozer.

“WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!” shouted Peter.

“The Traveler has come!” boomed Gozer.

“NOBODY CHOOSED ANYTHING!” insisted Peter. He then turned to us and started pointing. “Did you choose anything?!”

“No!” replied Egon.

“Did you?!” asked Peter.

“My mind is totally blank!” answered Winston.

“What about you?!” quizzed Peter.

“Not this time!” assured Ray.

“New guys?!” asked Peter.

“Not me!” I replied.

“I’ve seen this scenario enough times to know better!” remarked Xiomara.

“Don’t look at me!!” insisted Hongo.

“I didn’t choose anything!” declared Peter. At that point, a horrible thought struck us. We turned to Sludgiona, who looked incredibly guilty.

“…I couldn’t help it,” she burbled. “It just popped in there.”

“What?” asked Xiomara. “What just popped in there?!”

“I…I tried to think of the most harmless…” replied Sludgiona.

“LOOK!” shouted Egon. We heard giant footsteps.

“No!” breathed Ray. “It can’t be!”

“What is it?!” asked Hongo.

“It’s impossible!” yelped Sludgiona.

“What did you do, Sludgy?!” snapped Peter.

“Oh, S**T!” swore Winston. Then…we saw it. A sailor hat with the words “Stay Puft” on it.

“…She didn’t!” gasped Xiomara.

“Of course, she did!” I hissed.

“What did she do?!” asked Hongo. “What is that?!”

“…It’s the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man,” explained Ray. Yes, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, fat, made of marshmallows, and wearing a sailor hat and collar.

“Now this is just silly,” sighed Peter.

“I thought such a form would never bring harm!” gulped Sludgiona.

“Well,” mused Ray, “it did once before.”

“And Gozer remembers that form!” called Xiomara. She pointed to the creature as it examined its hands and roared in frustration. It then stepped on a church like a two-year-old.

“STOP STEPPING ON CHURCHES!” shouted Peter. Gozer then turned its head up and gave an evil grin.

“Oh no,” gulped Winston.

“PETER!” we shouted.

“Mother puss bucket!” snarled Peter as he realized his mistake.

“Well, we can start damaging it!” called Ray. “One! Two! Three! ROAST HIM!” We threw our streams, but Gozer wasn’t about to be caught off-guard again. It dodged as it made its way to the building. It climbed all the way up! It then raised a fist!

 “LOOK OUT!” I warned. We got away from the fist as it connected to the roof. It then pulled the fist back and then spat out three globs of marshmallow goo. Something then moved in the goo! Then, they rose out! Human sized Stay Puft Marshmallow Men! “All right, I can’t deal with this!” I hissed as I drew my i.d. tag. Xiomara did the same and Hongo struck his starting pose. “We’ll hold these things; you see if you can roast Gozer!”

“With what?!” asked Peter.

“With the rubble he’s using!” answered Winston as he pointed at a fuel tanker in Gozer’s hand. The Ghostbusters then readied their packs.

“Rider…” began Hongo.

“HENSHIN!” we announced. We transformed and went on the offensive. We Riders kept the Marshmallow Minions of the Ghostbusters while they made the tanker explode. Gozer’s shoulder caught fire while the explosion made Sludgiona reintroduce herself to the real world.

“What am I doing?!” she snapped. “I’m not just a scientist, I’m a Tarlaxian!” She drew her blade, oh mon DIEU! That thing was massive. She joined us Riders as we held off the Marshmallow Minions.

“FIST INCOMING!” warned Ray. We all rolled out of the way of Gozer’s fist. When it finished, Gozer spat out more Minion Spawn pools and made our job harder while Gozer picked up a car. The Ghostbusters fired in the general area of the engine, making it explode. They then fired on Gozer’s head, making it madder than ever and start hurling more rubble. It picked up one more fuel tanker which the Ghostbusters fired on. The explosion made Gozer hit its head on the roof, making it dizzy.

“NOW’S OUR CHANCE!” called Seeker. We Riders then leapt into the air! Rider Kick time!

“RIDER KICK!” announced Ichigō.

“RIDER ARCH KICK!” I called.

“RIDER SEEKER KICK!” yelled Seeker. Our kicks connected with Gozer’s head and it lost its grip with the building.

“Done!” I cheered.

“Not yet,” replied Egon as he pointed to the door.

“Oh, yeah,” I realized. “So, what do we…?” I then saw the look in Egon’s eye. “…No, you can’t…”

“It worked last time,” remarked Egon.

“With just four packs!” reminded Seeker as we cancelled our transformations again.

“I don’t understand,” muttered Hongo.

“We’re crossing the streams,” explained Ray.

“Egon, you said that was bad!” wailed Xiomara.

“How is it bad?” asked Hongo.

“Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously, and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light,” I explained.

“…AND YOU WANT TO DO THAT?!” yelled Hongo as he realized the danger.

“You’re gonna endanger us, you’re gonna endanger the new guys, you’re gonna endanger our client!” supplied Peter. “The nice lady who became a dog again!”

“And we only had a slim chance of survival with just FOUR packs!” reminded Winston.

“I will admit, our chances in that department are a little slimmer,” replied Egon.

“…There’s no choice, is there?” I muttered.

“There is,” mused Ray. “Either die by Gozer’s hand or die saving the world.”

“Truth be told,” sighed Hongo, “I DID have fun as a Ghostbuster.”

“Well, in that case,” I declared, “who wants to live forever anyways?”

“Let’s do it,” resolved Xiomara. We leveled our wands at the door and warmed the packs up.

“Good luck,” bid Sludgiona.

“Mesdames et Messieurs,” I declared, “if we don’t make it, au revoir.”

“Adios,” bid Xiomara.

“See you guys on the other side!” replied Ray.

“THROW ‘EM!” ordered Peter. We fired our streams and brought them together. The door glowed as the combined stream started heating it up. We heard a roar, indicating that Gozer climbed back up to see us destroying the door. At that point, both the door and Gozer exploded. We were soon buried in rubble and marshmallow goop. It took a few minutes for me to get up and examine myself. My hands ran over my face to reveal my makeup had been ruined.

“Well, better that than my molecules exploding,” I sighed.

“You’re taking it rather well,” called a voice with a Castilian accent. I saw Xiomara come up; her hair was all disheveled. She was holding the remains of the scrunchie that held her bun in place. Hongo got up and pushed a groaning Peter off. Ray and Egon were helping Winston up while Sludgiona was trying to break open Zuul’s petrified remains. Soon, Dana’s hand came out.

“WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS?!” wailed a muffled voice. We heard someone fall and turned to see Louis Tully wearing Vinz Clortho’s head.

“Don’t worry,” I answered. “We’ll have you out before you can say ‘I ain’t afraid of no ghost!’” We got the head off and saw that Louis’ glasses were broken.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“New guys,” replied Xiomara.

“Temps that must, regrettably,” I continued, “cut our employment short.”

“You’re leaving?!” yelped Peter.

“Lo siento,” (I’m sorry) replied Xiomara, “but we’re still at war with Vortech. We got preoccupied with Heather’s antics and need to quell her ambitions before we have TWO disasters on our hands.”

“That doesn’t mean we had to leave you guys once Heather did,” I continued. “A hero doesn’t do that. Now, I DO have a question. Ms. Barrett, how did Zuul possess you again?” Dana immediately blushed.

“I’ll just say it involved me being drunk and Zuul offering a drink,” she mumbled.

“Never mind,” realized Xiomara, “I think I can piece the story together. We’ll just go back to the firehouse and return the packs and suits.”

“No, keep those,” countered Peter. “We’re a bit overstocked. You can keep them as a memento.”

“Er, what about their paychecks?” asked Ray.

“Will these help?” asked Louis as he drew out a drawstring pouch. The contents jangled.

“Most likely,” I mused, “if I’m right.”

+CONTENTS OF THE BAG+ reported my belt +ARE STUDS IN THE TOTAL OF 425,000+

“We’ll figure out the total when we get back,” I resolved. I then contacted Vorton. “X-PO, we need a ride.”

“Summoning a ride,” called X-PO.

“Don’t you want to say ‘hi’ to the crowd below?” asked Winston as the portal opened.

“No, thank you,” replied Hongo, “we’ll just slip out quietly. Sayonara.”

“Adios,” bid Xiomara.

“Au revoir,” I called. “And thank you for the adventure!” We then went into the portal and left the Ghostbusters.

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 58

Our destination, Madame Megumi, was at the library, specifically, the basement. Xiomara, Hongo, and I had landed on each other. As we got off of each other, we heard voices. “This is hot, Ray,” called a voice, Egon’s voice, to be exact.

“They’re here?” asked Xiomara.

“Time to catch up with friends,” I declared.

“I don’t understand you, sometimes,” muttered Peter’s voice. “Why do you keep ghost snot?” We turned to bump into the Ghostbusters, sans Winston.

“Bonjour,” I greeted.

“Emmanuel! Hongo! Xiomara!” cheered Ray. “Good to see you! We got a call here that one of the ghosts that escaped is back here.”

“It WOULD happen after Winston took some time off to see family,” griped Peter.

“Listen!” whispered Ray. We stayed silent. “Do you smell that?” Hongo tried to puzzle that out, then gave up. We went through the maze of bookshelves to see the library ghost again! She was talking to Heather. “Two ghosts!” called Ray as he snapped pictures.

“Stop that!” snapped Peter as he smacked the camera down. The library ghost heard us and put a finger to her lips.

“All right, let’s see you boys in action!” whispered Xiomara. She then noticed something. “Er, where are your packs?”

“The Head Librarian was against having our packs here,” replied Egon.

“So, you went to a job unprepared?!” I hissed.

“So, what do we do?” asked Peter.

“Okay, I have a plan,” declared Ray. “I know exactly what to do.” We huddled and heard his plan. They DID have a trap but needed our help. When the plan was outlined, we got into position, ready to transform.

“Rider…” whispered Hongo. We WERE in a library.

“Henshin!” we all whispered. As we changed, we were shushed again.

“Okay! 1! 2! 3! GET THEM!” shouted Ray. The Librarian went scary again as we charged at Heather and her. Seeker and I swapped i.d tags for the Ghost one

“Ghost Steel!” announced our belts.

“KAIGAN! ORE! Let’s go! Kakugo! Go, go, go, GHOST! Go! Go! Go! Go!” called the Ghost Driver’s voice as the wardrobes changed us. The Librarian tried to phase through me, not a chance. I managed to grapple her and spin her around, flinging her into the bookshelves. She then regained control for a moment until Heather was thrown into her by Seeker. They squabbled for a sec until Heather noticed something and fled. The Librarian, on the other hand, was caught in the trap under her and sucked in. The trap shut and we all gathered around.

“The first seen in the box!” cheered Ray.

“Ready to go!” continued Egon.

“We be fast,” Seeker went on.

“AND SHE BE SLOW!” we all said. We then heard a scream. It was the Head Librarian. He looked at the mess we made. Peter then opened his mouth.

“Now, there WAS a second ghost,” he said. “So, until we get her, the bill will…”

“WHAT BILL?!” roared the Head Librarian as he grabbed an axe. “YOU IDIOTS TRASHED STORAGE!! I’M NOT PAYING A SINGLE CENT! YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!”

“Yes, it means goodbye!” yelped Egon. We all ran out of the library, screaming!

“It’s on us, then!” called Peter as we went out the door and into Ecto-1. Ray turned the ignition on and we sped back to the firehouse.

“I am positive you broke several speed limits,” I panted as we got out.

“Would YOU like to return to a crazed Librarian?” asked Seeker as she cancelled her transformation. Ichigō and I followed suit.

“Hey, guys, what’s all the racket?!” burbled a voice as Sludgiona came up from the basement. She clapped eyes on us. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Emmanuel, Hongo, and Xiomara.”

“Hola!” called Xiomara. “How are things?”

“Doing all right, given the circumstances,” replied Sludgiona. She then turned to her current landlords. “Egon, I think I may have something.”

“On my way,” answered Egon as he took the trap. As they descended, Peter pulled Xiomara, Hongo, and I aside.

“Okay, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“We’re trying to stop a girl from coming back to life via destructive means,” replied Xiomara. “The necessary part for her is in this universe. Have you seen a quarter-circle around here?”

“Not in a while,” answered Ray.

“Sorry,” supplied Peter.

“Oh well,” I sighed. “Maybe Egon and Sludgiona saw it.”

“We’ll see ourselves down,” assured Xiomara. We headed down to see Sludgiona and Egon working on something.

“How about Coordinates 29 by 13 by 7?” asked Egon.

“Checking,” reported Sludgiona. She ran the data through and they waited for results. The screen flashed red. It read that the universal bio-print didn’t confirm with the one she was looking for. “DAMN IT!” swore Sludgiona. “The dimensional timeline…!”

“Looked similar,” interjected Egon, “but that’s most likely because it’s a parallel universe. It’s not one your people would inhabit. I think you would prefer to be with your people and not in a similar world.”

“It’s getting so that I may have to settle for that!” burbled Sludgiona. “Vortech traveled the multiverse to find Foundation Prime, most likely passing the one my people currently live in, yet, even with the blueprints I stole from him before I was enslaved, we can’t seem to find it!”

“We HAVE sent probes into other universes to collect even more possibilities,” called Hongo as he announced our presence. “We’re creating quite the map of the multiverse.”

“I’m only interested in ONE point on that map, and that’s where the Tarlaxians moved to,” hissed Sludgiona as she recovered from her startled state. “What brings you down here?”

“We need to ask you to help us find an Apocalypse Driver part,” answered Xiomara.

“Doesn’t Death’s student possess the complete Apocalypse Driver?” asked Sludgiona.

“The Four Horsemen made back-up parts in case one was damaged,” I explained. “Now, we have someone gathering the parts to resurrect herself.”

“And bringing doom onto the multiverse!” gulped Sludgiona.

“So, you know the implications,” I observed.

“Of course,” burbled Sludgiona. “I helped build the original parts. I’m willing to help in any way I can.”

“Très Bon,” I replied. “In the meantime, we need to navigate your universe. Dr. Spengler, do you think your team is willing to accept a few temps in terms of using the packs?”

“You mean practical Ghostbusting?” asked Egon. “We could use the help, since Winston is visiting family.”

“What’s this about temps?” asked Peter’s voice. He came down with Ray.

“Emmanuel and his team are requesting temporary jobs,” answered Egon. “I vote yes.”

“Well, we need the help,” replied Ray.

“Good, you three are hired,” called Peter. “There’re spare uniforms up top. They may be a little snug. Hope you can carry the packs.”

“We’ll manage,” assured Xiomara. We headed upstairs and got ourselves changed. You know me, I HATE pants. They are, how you say, restrictive as all get out! Still, I get to wear the Ghostbusters’ uniform! Any fan would LOVE to get into one of them! When we stepped out, we headed over to the spare packs. We tested them out, they were rather heavy. Still, we could manage, as Xiomara guessed. While we examined each other, Janine got a call.

“Hello, Ghostbusters,” she began. “…Yes, of course, they’re serious. …You again?! …Him again?! …Okay, just refresh my memory on the address. …Uh huh. …Yes, they’ll be discreet this time. …Okay, no problem. Goodbye.” She hung up. “SLIMER’S HAUNTING THE SEDGEWICK HOTEL AGAIN!” she shouted as she rang the alarm.

“Again?” protested Peter as we got into Ecto-1.

“Maybe he died there,” I suggested.

“He could have been a chef that died of a heart attack,” theorized Egon.

“Or a patron that clogged his arteries,” remarked Ray.

“Can we save the speculation until we get the spud again?” asked Peter. We arrived at the hotel and were met by the manager.

“Well, doing business with you again, this is great!” cheered Ray.

“I wish I could say the same,” hissed the manager. “I just hope we can take care of this quietly!”

“Yes, sir. Don’t worry, we handle this kind of thing all the time!” assured Ray. Slimer then knocked the manager over as our bosses fired their packs. We got them to stop soon enough.

“What the hell are you doing?!” asked a cleaning lady.

“Nous sommes désolés!” (We’re sorry) I called. “We thought you were a ghost.”

“You know,” remarked Ray, “it’s just occurred to me. We REALLY haven’t had a completely successful test of the temps’ equipment.”

“Oh, I see!” I snapped. “Give the new guys the potentially volatile equipment!” Slimer then shook his butt at us and went through the door. At that point, more ghosts blocked our path. We threw our streams at the ghosts and ensnared them quickly. Ray then threw the trap and I was given the honor of opening it. The ghosts were sucked in and we tried the door. It was locked.

“Only one option,” remarked Peter. He then used his stream to cut a hole in the door!

“Peter!” protested Egon.

“We need to get the spud quickly!” argued Peter. We went inside to find a clean ballroom. “Split up!” whispered Peter. We all headed in a separate direction. Egon and I were in the kitchen. Xiomara investigated the ballroom with Peter. Hongo and Ray started their search at the bar. After a few minutes, Egon and I heard the streams being thrown. Slimer then flew through a wall and hovered over the stove.

“Slimer, you KNOW the Sedgewick Hotel is off limits!” called Egon. “Come on, back to the Firehouse.” Slimer made various spluttering noises and shook his head a lot. “Slimer! Home! Now!” demanded Egon. I pulled out the walkie-talkie.

“Who shot at Slimer first?” I asked on an open channel.

“That would be Peter,” replied Xiomara. “We lost sight of him.”

“Egon’s arguing with him right now,” I reported.

“You know,” mused Xiomara, “I never realized how much of an ugly booger he was until I met him.” Slimer glared in my direction.

“I think he just heard that ‘booger’ comment,” I gulped.

“Don’t move,” instructed Xiomara. “He won’t hurt you!”

“No, but he’s gonna slime me!” I yelped as Slimer charged at me. He phased through me and…oh, mon DIEU! I have never felt so filthy! It’s a good thing I wasn’t in my dress. I was dripping in Slimer’s…you know what. Ugh! Egon collected a sample before helping me up.

“I’ve never known Slimer to be this agitated,” he muttered. “I’ll need to study his behavior once we get him back.”

“Does anyone have eyes on Slimer?” I called over the radio.

“He’s back in the ballroom, judging by the PKE meter,” replied Hongo. “We can’t see him.”

“We’ll converge there,” directed Egon. We did so and searched the place. Ray then looked up.

“There he is! On the ceiling!” he called. We saw Slimer flying around a chandelier, making a gooey mess of it.

“And he’s making a table float,” observed Hongo.

“Pardon?” I asked, looking around. Hongo was right, Slimer was making a table float.

“He’s never done THAT before!” yelped Peter.

“Something’s wrong,” muttered Egon. “We need to get him down!” We threw our proton streams at the chandelier, making it fall and making Slimer run while summoning another horde of ghosts. We got them trapped and went around the floating table. Slimer was inhabiting another table and hurling food at us.

“NOW WHAT?!” I shouted, getting frustrated. I then saw Xiomara bringing a cake to him! “What are you, a waitress?!”

“Well, back home, yes,” replied Xiomara. “Besides, Slimer can’t resist the sweet stuff.”

“Good point!” I said, realizing her plan.

“We distract him, then we trap him?” guessed Hongo.

“That’s right!” confirmed Xiomara. “Keep me covered!” We did so as Xiomara successfully delivered the cake. Slimer stopped his assault and started eating.

“All right!” called Peter. “THROW IT!” We did so, but Slimer escaped and started hiding in the covered serving trays. They rotated, but I kept my eye on the one Slimer hid in. I shot it and he fled to the bar, in a blender.

“Okay, I know this is mean to the little guy, but…” I snickered. I then switched the blender on. Slimer came out of the top, throwing it away, and fled into a portrait while the slime he left behind scattered everywhere! As soon as I managed to turn it off, we got covered in slime.

“…Very clever,” hissed Hongo, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Sorry!” I sighed. Another ghost horde surrounded the painting. We got rid of them and fried the painting. We then fired on Slimer, who was getting worn out as he fled to a table and possessed it.

“That last shot took something out of him!” called Ray. “But, he’s gonna move! I need some room to put the trap down!” We turned the table into splinters as Slimer slowly moved up. “THROW IT!” shouted Ray. We did so and successfully ensnared Slimer! “All right, start bringing him down! Start bringing him down! You got him! Don’t cross the streams!”

“Hongo, shorten your stream!” directed Xiomara. “I don’t want my face burned off!”

“All right, I’m opening the trap now!” called Ray. “Don’t look directly into the trap!”

“Sorry, I looked at the trap, Ray!” I replied. Slimer was then sucked in and the trap shut itself.

“Well,” panted Ray, “that wasn’t such a bad first job for you guys, was it?” We were catching our breath at the time. We then picked up the trap and headed out.

“We came!” boasted Peter to the manager as he met us. “We saw! We kicked its ass!”

“Was it the same one?!” asked the manager.

“Unfortunately, yes, sir,” replied Ray. “And he brought friends.”

“I thought there was only one!” wailed the manager.

“Well, there wasn’t,” answered Peter. “Now, we took care of them and will still charge you the usual fee of $4,000, since the equipment is no longer new, but…” here comes the price gouging, “we had new guys working with us, so, an extra $1,000 dollars will get them started in future paychecks.”

“$5,000?” asked the manager. “I had no idea you would still use that absurd price. I won’t pay this time!”

“Oh, that’s quite all right,” I replied. “We can just put him back. He seems to love it here.” I made a move to open the trap.

“WAIT!” yelped the manager. He made out a check for $5,000.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” I called as we boarded Ecto-1.

“Well, that was an exciting experience,” chuckled Hongo. “Maybe I should convince Takeru to go into the business.”

“Oh boy,” I shuddered. “Let’s not go there.” We arrived at the firehouse and unloaded the ghosts into the containment unit. Sludgiona was down in the basement, talking with someone on her radio.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked. Emily’s voice came up.

“Of course!” replied Emily. “The bit of stuff you left on Megumi’s dress should be altered enough that it will cure you! You’ll be able to go home!”

“I WOULD like that,” sighed Sludgiona. She then saw us. “Ah, back already, I see. Emily told me you have a cure with you?”

“Oh, almost forgot. Pardon,” I apologized as I headed up to my locker. I took out a vial of Sludgiona’s ooze and headed back down. “Here,” I called as I handed it to her. She opened it and emptied the contents onto herself. She looked herself over.

“I don’t…feel any different,” she muttered. “Do I LOOK any different?”

“…Not particularly,” I replied. “I guess the test is if you can survive the rift energies.”

“That can wait,” declared Sludgiona. “At the moment, I’m expecting a call.”

“Okay, I’ll let you go,” replied Emily. “Hope to see you in person!” The call ended.

“Honestly, she’s a genius in the medical field,” muttered Sludgiona, “but I can’t believe she nearly broke rule 1 in Jurassic World!”

“You can explain why she couldn’t use her belt back there?” asked Xiomara.

“It was the fact she had a Foundation Element on her person!” answered Sludgiona.

“You mean, the Omnitrix?” I asked.

“Exactly!” confirmed Sludgiona. “While Azmuth may not know it, his greatest invention puts out energy that can overload machinery if it is used at all! Thank goodness, I installed various safety features in that regard! If the Vortex Drivers are within the user’s arm length of a Foundation Element and the user uses the Element’s power, the belt will shut down so the Element, a greater source of power, can be used safely.”

“Did you tell her that?” I asked.

“Of course,” replied Sludgiona. “I’m a genius. Now, if you don’t mind, I must wait for a call from Ms. Barrett.”

“Ms. Barrett?” asked Xiomara. “Dana Barrett?”

“The same,” confirmed Sludgiona. “She said she saw a Terror Dog in her fridge again.”

“Er…again?!” I gulped.

“You don’t think it’s Zuul again, do you?” asked Xiomara.

“Impossible,” I muttered. “She was beaten along with Gozer!”

“What ARE you talking about?” asked Sludgiona.

“Zuul the Gatekeeper is a worshipper of Gozer the Destructor,” explained Xiomara. “Since the host was Dana Barrett, it is believed that Zuul is a female. Vinz Clortho, the Keymaster usually accompanies her. Gozer, itself, is a force of destruction, with only one goal, to destroy the world. Last time Gozer was around, it took the form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. The Ghostbusters stopped its plans and saved humanity.”

“Wait, you said that this Zuul possessed Dana, right?” asked Sludgiona.

“I did,” replied Xiomara.

“…………DR. VENKMAN!” shouted Sludgiona. The Ghostbusters came rushing down.

“You didn’t tell them?!” I protested.

“Tell us what?!” asked Peter.

“Zuul’s back in Dana’s fridge!” answered Xiomara. “And SOMEONE didn’t research that creature enough!”

“Dana’s in trouble?!” yelped Peter.

“I’m sure we can take care of it tomorrow,” remarked Ray. “It’s probably stress. In the meantime, I gotta get some sleep. I’m dying.”

“True, you don’t look good,” observed Peter.

“I don’t?” asked Ray.

“Well, you looked better,” replied Peter. “I guess you’re right. Dana can fight Zuul off now.”

“She’s developed a resistance to supernatural possession,” revealed Egon.

“Then, in that case, Zuul may be wasting her time,” I sighed in relief. At that point, we heard a voice upstairs.

“…Cease and desist all commerce order! Seizure of premises and chattels! Ban on the use of public utilities for non-licensed waste handlers! And, my favorite, a federal entry and inspection order!” declared the voice.

“Oh no, not again!” wailed Peter.

“Peck?” I guessed.

“…Do you want some, er, coffee?” said Janine. Peck growled and shoved his way downstairs. We then got into a brawl with him and his men as they tried, yet again, to shut down the containment unit.

“Pecker,” I snapped, “I must question your sanity!”

“My name is Peck!” snarled the agent.

“You shut that thing down,” warned Peter, “and we are NOT going to be held responsible for whatever happens!”

“This time, you WILL be held responsible!” argued Peck.

“I sincerely doubt that!” growled Xiomara.

“Shut it off!” ordered Peck.

“Don’t touch!” I shouted as I grabbed a pipe, intending to swing it at the man. “I’m warning you!” Janine and another workman were just having coffee.

“I’ve quit better jobs than this,” sighed Janine.

“I must say,” remarked the workman, “I’ve always wanted to see your operations and I will admit, I’ve never seen anything like this before.” He leaned on a lever, the shutdown lever! The ghosts came out again!

“Not again!” wailed Peter. At that point, we heard another voice.

“WHERE’S THAT IDIOT, PECK?!” it bellowed. A woman came downstairs with Winston behind her. “WALTER PECK!” bellowed the woman.

“Mrs. Samson,” replied Peck, “I’m ready to make a full report on these clowns!”

“No, you’re not!” roared Mrs. Samson. “Didn’t you see the men clearing out your office?!”

“They told me they were moving me to a better office,” answered Peck.

“No, they were packing your belongings to get you out of our offices!” corrected Mrs. Samson. “The Environmental Protection Agency will no longer have you in our organization. You are to collect your belongings and empty your desk before 7:00 tonight.”

“…That can’t be right!” hissed Peck. “I want an explanation!”

“The EPA has noticed that you seem to harbor a vendetta with the Ghostbusters,” replied Mrs. Samson. “Yet, they comply with current environmental standards and…”

“Ma’am, they caused an explosion when I came to shut these snowball artists down!” snarled Peck.

“Walter Peck, I heard the reports from the men in attendance that day,” hissed Mrs. Samson. “YOU were the idiot that started that explosion, releasing spirits that these men have caught. Your vendetta is childish, your emotions are all over the damn place, and your repeating actions have caused us to question your mental stability. You are a poor excuse of a man and agent, Mr. Peck. You have no place in my offices or the Environmental Protection Agency.” She snapped her fingers. “Get this lunatic out of here. I need to turn this matter over to the experts.” Walter Peck was led away.

“Suit up?” guessed Winston.

“Yes, and head over to 55 Central Park West,” replied Egon.

“Spook Central again?!” yelped Peter.

“Well, it WAS where Zuul first started this mess,” I mused. “Shall we?” Winston got suited up and we all piled into Ecto-1. “Okay, whose hand’s in my eye?!” I snapped. It was really crowded.

“PKE arm, sorry!” replied Ray as we headed out.

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 46

When we entered Ghostbusters HQ, a particularly ugly ghost took out the stairs. “We should try the basement,” figured Gandalf. “That is a potential source of the ghosts.”

“Change that from potential source to actual source,” corrected Emmanuel as ghosts came up from the basement.

“Great, the stairs going down there are blocked,” I hissed.

“Allow me,” called Wyldstyle. She built a laser cutter and cut a hole into the floor. “Away we go!” she cheered. We jumped into the basement and found the containment unit.

“The undead seem to be flowing from this red tomb,” mused Gandalf. “It is ruptured, perhaps it could be sealed.”

“I see a chroma disc,” I called. It was the blue one and an elderly ghost was floating at a bookshelf near the stairs her spectral kin were flying up towards. She had no legs and wore an old librarian’s dress, her hair in a stern bun.

“Her again?” whispered Arch.

“The old Librarian?” asked Seeker.

“Who is it?” I quizzed.

“That’s the first ghost we see in the first movie,” replied Seeker. “This was way before Winston joined.”

“So, what do we do?” I whispered.

“We have to succeed where Peter and the others failed,” answered Arch, “and make contact.”

“You’re right,” muttered Batman. “Someone needs to speak with her.” We then turned to Wyldstyle.

“…NO!” she whispered harshly. “I refuse!”

“But this may get you over your fear!” I countered.

“There’s a realm called the Haunted Forest where I’m from,” argued Wyldstyle. “Whenever I go there, something happens that makes me change my underpants!”

“Well, maybe this is the one that won’t do so,” I guessed. “Go on, maybe you’ll get a new name!” Wyldstyle looked at us, then sighed.

“Just so you know,” she hissed, “if I do have to change my underpants, you owe me fresh ones.” She got up and got to talking distance. “Hello!” she called. “I’m Wyldstyle.” The Librarian didn’t respond. “Where were you from, originally?” The Librarian shushed her! Wyldstyle slowly closed her eyes. “Does…anyone else have a bright idea?” she asked.

“I have one,” whispered Ghost. “Stay close, everyone. This needs timing!” He got low as if he were about to pounce. “Ready? 3! 2! 1! GET HER!”

“NO!” shouted Seeker. Too late. The Librarian morphed into a scary version and roared. We all screamed as she flew around the bookshelf and set it on fire before joining the other ghosts. As we recovered, I started laughing.

“Get her?!” I then snapped as I slammed my fist onto Ghost’s head. “That was your brilliant idea?!”

“Give me a break!” protested Ghost as he massaged his head. “I punched ghosts in my day. I didn’t talk to them!”

“Well, you better put that fire out!” I snapped.

“That was the ghost’s fault!” argued Ghost.

“But YOU provoked her!” I countered.

“I can supply Ghost with the tools needed,” called Gandalf. “Elemental Keystone, activate! Element of water, Ghost!” Ghost was surrounded in a blue aura. He formed a water stream in his hands. While he put out the fire, Ichigō led me to a vent system that I could fix as a giant.

“Scale Keystone, activate!” he announced. “Enlarge scale of Royal!” I then put my right fist into the air while putting my left fist at my hip. I then grew. I patched up the vent. “Lessen scale of Royal!” said Hongo. I shrunk and crawled into the vent. I tried climbing, but to no avail.

“Dang it!” I hissed. “If only I could crawl like Spider-Man!” Then, I realized I was still in my Ghostfreak armor. “…Megumi, you can be an utter idiot sometimes,” I said. I flew to the end of the vent to find a bunch of wires and circuitry. “Well, as long as I have the i.d tag,” I mused. I then activated the icon ring and selected another form.

“Ben 10 Grey Matter Steel!” announced Vortoranii. My suit changed to have a grey helmet and green armor.

“GREY MATTER!!” I shouted. The natural intelligence of the Galvan species then flowed into my head. “So, we just connect this wire here to stabilize the Isolated Ecto-grid, swap out that circuit with this one to bypass the redundant Spectrum Differentializers, and link the new circuit with this wire to expose the Spectragrasmic generators to a small 1.2 ectojam dose of Ectoplasm.” I heard a DING. “And I did whatever I did!” I cheered. I popped out of the vent.

“Normalize scale of Royal,” announced Ichigō. “You just exposed a chroma lock design above the leak. Ghost just put out the fire and Gandalf fixed the yellow chroma disc with a dancing toaster with slime in it.”

“Sounds as weird as what I did in there,” I replied as I swapped out Ben’s i.d tag for my own. “Before you ask, no, I no longer remember what I did, I couldn’t begin to tell you how I did it.”

“All that’s left is the red disc,” mused Ghost.

“I see it in that box,” replied Batman, “but the way to open it is closed.”

“Not while I’m here,” boasted Gandalf. “Elemental Keystone, activate! Element of Earth, Batman!” Batman was surrounded in a green aura and pointed his hand to the ground near the advanced box opener. A large vine then opened the area and we pushed the box into it. The box opened, and the disc came out. Wyldstyle got a good look at the Chroma lock design I revealed to her. Yellow left L shape, red circle, and blue right L shape.

“Chroma Keystone, activate!” announced Wyldstyle. “Chroma lock, reveal!” The lock design appeared on the floor. “Chroma! Red! Ichigō! Chroma! Yellow! Batman! Chroma! Blue! Ghost!” The three people got themselves painted and they jumped into their respective places. The Chroma lock activated tech that activated some sort of vacuum cleaner for ghosts and was preparing a secondary wall.

“That did it!” reported Batman. “The ghosts are clearing out. Whatever this thing is, it certainly is impressive technology.”

“That’s not yours to take,” I teased. “Now, let’s head back upstairs. We need to fix the way to the roof.” We headed upstairs and were greeted to Sludgiona looking around the place. She clapped eyes on us.

“Ah, the killer is here,” she remarked.

“Hiro committed suicide!” I protested. “He went with a rather messy way, instead of seppuku.”

“He’s no samurai,” countered Ichigō. “And I doubt anyone would want to watch or help him die quickly.”

“Fair point,” I conceded. “In any case, our business does not concern you, Sludgiona. Leave in peace.”

“Not a chance!” burbled Sludgiona. She then grabbed me and I felt myself getting weaker and weaker by the second.

“What’s…happening…to…?” I gasped before she flung me aside.

“The sludge that makes up my body drains a person of mana, their life energy,” revealed Sludgiona. “Any hit that is given to me, I simply take a bit of mana to heal myself.” She then started slugging my friends. True to her word, she absorbed some mana from Arch, Xiomara, Ichigō, Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf. She then decked Ghost hard, then knelt down with her hand above his head. “Don’t worry, I promise I will be quick.” She then placed her hand on Ghost’s head, then something crackled and she was flung back from energy discharge. She splattered against the wall and dripped down to the floor. When she reformed, she was confused. “Anti-Mana discharge?” she yelped. “HOW?!” Ghost started chuckling.

“You said that mana is life energy, right?” he asked.

“Yes, and a living being is saturated in the stuff!” answered Sludgiona.

“Not when you have a Ghost Driver on your waist,” remarked Ghost.

“That does not negate the fact that you’re alive!” gurgled Sludgiona. “The only way you could generate a discharge like that is if you have no mana to absorb! That only happens when I touch a ghost!”

“Why do you think I’m called Kamen Rider Ghost?” asked Ghost. “My Ghost Driver allows me to be a ghost, even though I’m alive! When I’m in my Rider form, I have no mana to absorb! And now, I can easily beat you!” Sludgiona’s hand hovered over my head.

“Move one single muscle against me,” she warned, “and I reduce her to a shriveled husk!”

“Not an effective threat,” I remarked as I knocked her aside. I then ran up to Ghost and touched him, gaining his i.d tag. I inserted it and selected his base form.

“Ghost Steel!” announced Vortoranii.

“KAIGAN! ORE!” called the Ghost Driver’s voice. “Let’s go! Kakugo! Go, Go, Go, Ghost! Go! Go! Go! Go!” My armor changed to look like Ghost. Sludgiona scoffed.

“You’re alive!” she bubbled “A simple makeover won’t save you!” She punched but got a discharge. “NOT YOU TOO!” she screamed.

“Now, the REAL test is if my Ectonurite armor will protect me too,” I remarked as I went through the whole sequence of selecting Ghostfreak.

“Ben 10 Ghostfreak Steel!” announced Vortoranii.

“GHOSTFREAK!” I shouted. When I finished, Sludgiona punched me again and got the discharge again. “I knew it!” I cheered. “Say, Sludgiona, have you heard of this saying? ‘Possession is nine tenths of the law!’” I then phased into her body and controlled her movements. “YAHOO!” I said through her mouth. “MEGUMI IS AWESOME!” I then used her arms to slap her face. “Stop hitting yourself! Dude, stop hitting yourself! Why are you hitting yourself?!” I then made her dance. “Loo dee doo, I’m dancing!” I sang. “Because I’m Sludgiona, the mana vampire! Hey, my slave chip is making me work for Lord Vortech! It’s really uncomfortable! Kick it off of me!” Ghost volunteered to do that. He pulled the lever and pushed it.

“DAI KAIGAN!” (Eyes wide open!) announced the Ghost Driver. “ORE OMEGA DRIVE!”

“Inochi, moyasu ze!” (My life is burning bright!) declared Ghost as he leapt into the air with an orange eye glyph behind him. He then stuck his feet out and flew towards Sludgiona. I got out and Ghost kicked the slave chip off. Sludgiona then collapsed into a puddle of sludge after spasming uncontrollably.

“And that, as they say, is that,” I sighed happily.

“MEGUMI, YOU UTTER DUNCE!” roared Vortoranii.

“Excuse me?!” I hissed.

“Destroying her slave chip was the thing the list said NOT to do!!” elaborated Vortoranii.

“What?!” I asked.

“Sludgiona had implanted that chip so she can survive going to other universes,” explained Vortoranii. “She has a rare condition called Acclimation Syndrome. For some reason, some universes are so different in their physical laws that some people may die or be assimilated into that universe. Once you do, it’s a lot harder to get back to your own unless you have some sort of anchor.”

“And that slave chip was her anchor?” I realized.

“Originally, it was a declamation chip, but Vortech heavily modified it,” replied Vortoranii. “It was the only thing keeping her from dying or being trapped in one universe or on Vorton. The physical laws on Vorton are adaptive to each individual life-form, so you CAN’T die or be acclimated. And making an anchor is hard to do, even in your home universe.”

“And, by destroying the chip,” gulped Ghost as he realized our mistake, “we just ensured she can never go home.”

“What have we done?” I murmured. “I gotta do something, apologize or help her!”

“Oh, yeah, I’m SURE she’d accept an apology or help from you!” snarked Vortoranii.

“Well, I have to do something!” I protested. “I…” Ghostbusters HQ’s shaking interrupted my train of thought.

“Table that for later,” suggested Batman. “We need to get to the roof!”

“I better take care of this,” I muttered. “Locate Keystone, activate! Initiate rift detection!” I found it near the stairs. “Identify source of rift!” The info beamed into my head. “Locate help from T-H-3-L-3-G-0-M-0-V-1-3!” I called. Some weird bunk bed style couch came up in place of the stairs.

“Emmet’s Double-Decker Couch?” muttered Wyldstyle. “I didn’t know he kept it.”

“It’s one of his creations,” I recalled.

“Fair point,” conceded Wyldstyle. We got onto the top couch and headed to the top floor, finding another set of stairs leading to the roof. Zod had fixed the ship and it was hovering above the ground. We got into a fighting stance as we saw that a Kamen Rider based on the rhino beetle was on the ground.

“JŌ!” called Ichigō.

“Shigeru Jō?” I asked.

“You know him?” quizzed Ichigō.

“Death talked about him during my reception,” I explained “So, that’s Kamen Rider Stronger.”

“I’m amazed you know him,” rasped a voice. “But, it takes an inferior being to know one.” A humanoid creature came out of the shadows. It had large, metal, red, three-fingered claws and a grey triangular head.

“Metalran!” snarled Vortoranii.

“He’s…not showing up on the list,” I observed.

“He’s a renegade,” replied Vortoranii. “He’s joined Vortech to accelerate his plans to conquer the multiverse.”

“Oh, dear, another evil maniac,” I sighed.

“Evil?” hissed Metalran. “Maniac? No, VISIONARY! I am so much more than the others. I am SUPERIOR! The Tarlaxians are content with a provisionary Empire with a puppet like Scorpainia on the throne. They bow and scrape to lesser beings like you to get new technology and reverse-engineer what they begged like dogs for! But, we DID create the Vortex Driver and its subsequent upgraded versions, my sister, Sludgiona, specifically. Yet, she’s still content with bowing to the puppet, bending and upgrading others technology!” He then grabbed the cannon on Zod’s ship. He started glowing as smaller versions of the cannon sprouted from his forearms and shoulders. “I, on the other hand, do not upgrade other’s technology! It upgrades ME! And I will upgrade myself with my sister’s greatest creation!” He pointed to my belt.

“I can’t begin to tell you how that’s NOT gonna happen!” I declared. “Super Charge!” My armor bulked up and changed color. “Dai Super Charge!” I announced.

“Electro KICK!” called a voice. Stronger then flew in, kicking Metalran and making him dizzy. Metalran shook his head to clear it.

“What the?” he quizzed.

“The heavens call… The earth cries out… The crowds roar… All calling on me to strike back against evil,” announced the attacker. “Now listen up, villains! I am the warrior of justice, Kamen Rider Stronger!” Stronger was ready to fight!

“Kamen Rider Arch!” Arch continued. “My skills outdo Robin Hood!”

“Kamen Rider Seeker! It’s not gold I seek, but your end!”

“Kamen Rider Vortex! Evil will ultimately bow to me!”

“I am Gandalf the Grey! Prepare to see some fireworks!”

“I’m Wyldstyle! Time to think outside the box!”

“I’m Batman! The Dark Knight rises!”

“Kamen Rider Ghost! Inochi, moyasu ze!”

“I am the start of a group of warriors! I am Kamen Rider!”

“An impressive performance,” laughed Zod, “for such insignificant forms of life. However, you find yourselves between me and a glorious new Krypton. So, I’m afraid that your particular species is about to become extinct!”

“An evil Superman, great,” muttered Wyldstyle. “What else could go wrong?”

“Must you?!” I protested.

“His ship has laser cannons,” reminded Batman.

“Yeah, thanks!” snarked Wyldstyle.

“Kneel before Zod!” roared Zod. He then got into his ship and activated the guns.

“Zod’s laser is open to attack while it charges!” called Batman as he pointed out a weak point.

“On it!” I replied. Well, I WAS on it until some sort of sludge hit me from the side and pinned me to the wall. Ghost ran after Metalran and swapped his Eyecon for a yellow one.

“EYE!” announced the Ghost Driver. “Batchiriminā! Batchiriminā!” He pulled the lever and pushed it as a new white parka with yellow trim came out. “KAIGAN! EDISON!” The parka Ghost was wearing vanished while the new parka landed on him and changed the face plate to a yellow lightbulb with twin electric stems. “Ereki! Hirameki! Hatsumei-ō!” (Electricity! Ideas! Invention king!) Ghost then summoned a large sword and took half the blade off, reversed it, tilted the handle down, and put the blade bit back, turning it into a gun. While that was going on, the sludge formed Sludgiona’s head, and a rather angry one at that.

“I can’t go home, thanks to you!” she roared. “I can’t see my queen! My friends! My husband and wife!”

“Sludgiona!” I gulped. “I know about your condition! I made a mistake down there! A ghastly, horrible mistake, because I let my zeal to free your people get to me without considering the consequences. I’m sorry.”

“A bit late for sorry, now!” snarled Sludgiona.

“But, I have various resources to help you!” I assured. “I even have a science team with an intimate understanding of rift creation technology and Tarlaxian biology! Rusty, Emily, Lukas, Sir Alistair, Elphaba, and Chell, they all can help you!”

“A haywire Dalek,” began Metalran as he shoved Ghost aside while releasing his Ghost Driver and tossing a red Eyecon in the air, “a fat rose nerd, a quiet four eyes, a senile fool playing Cyborg soldier, a green-skinned witch, and a mute?!” He was crossing the line, insulting my friends. “Those people couldn’t make water if you stuck them in an over-iced freezer with a blow torch! Look, Dear Sister, we’ve had our differences, but you cured me of MY condition. I’m sure I can cure yours.”

“I can’t promise success, but we can at least get other scientists started on a cure for your condition,” I argued.

“I CAN promise success!” countered Metalran.

“How do I know either of you is actually looking out for me?!” burbled Sludgiona as Batman finally got past the ship and hit its weak spot. I then moved my hand through Sludgiona’s mass and cancelled my transformation. I then took off my belt and showed it to her.

“Take it back,” I offered. “Use your creation to free your people and cure you of your curse.” Sludgiona looked at me, then Metalran, then me, then she released me and got whatever stains were on my dress off. She handed my belt back.

“You can warp to your Vortex form,” she explained. “Just say the code you assigned. You fulfilled the power of the prophecy I was trying to obtain myself. You need it more than I do.” She turned to Metalran. “As I recall, you killed our parents. I see no reason to side with you!” Metalran got angry and made a warped version of the Ghost Driver appear at his waist. He opened it and inserted the Eyecon he was tossing. When he closed it, his belt spoke in a darker tone than Ghost’s.

“EYE! Batchiriminā! Batchiriminā!” He pulled and pushed his lever. “KAIGAN! MUSASHI!”

“Musashi?!” I gulped as I went back into Vortex.

“And this Musashi is…?” asked Arch.

“A rōnin that developed a duel-wield sword style,” explained Batman as he hit the weak spot again. “I studied from his works.”

“Rōnin is a samurai with no master,” I elaborated.

“Kettō! Zubatto! Chō kengō!” (Duel! Piercing! Super Swordsman!) sang Metalran’s knock-off Ghost Driver. Two versions of Ghost’s sword appeared in each hand.

“Any idiot who opposes me will be destroyed!” snarled Metalran. He started swinging the swords, albeit, not with the same skill as Miyamoto Musashi. Still, he held his own. Ghost got out of the way and let Sludgiona and I handle him. He held his multipurpose weapon to the Ghost Driver.

“DAI KAIGAN!” (Eyes wide open!) it announced. It then looped on “Gan Gan Minaa!” (Watch out!) He leveled his gun at the weak point. “OMEGA SHOOT!” He pulled the trigger and a large electrical shot hit the ship. It then crashed into a building as Zod flew out.

“My ship!” he roared. “Are you trying to provoke me?!” He surrounded himself with ghosts as he fired his heat vision. Metalran, meanwhile, was pushing me and Sludgiona back.

“He’s really strong!” I gulped.

“He’s not,” countered Sludgiona. “It’s the tech that’s doing that. He can only mimic, no original thoughts in his skull.” I then got an idea.

“Can you distract him for a while?” I asked.

“My pleasure,” obliged Sludgiona. She fired off several balls of her biomass, causing Metalran to swat them away, while I went to Batman and pointed out a grapple hook. Batman nodded as I changed i.d tags.

“Batman Steel!” whispered Vortoranii. We fired our grapple guns and released the Ghostbusters. They tumbled to the roof.

“You okay?” Ray asked Egon.

“I’m all right,” assured Egon. “Are you all right?”

“All right,” replied Peter. “You?”

“I’m all right, you?” gasped Winston. The process went on for a while until I broke it up.

“ALL RIGHT!” I shouted. “We’ve got ghosts surrounding that mook up there!”

“Let me handle him,” called Ghost as he got the Musashi Eyecon back. He went into his Ore form and spoke to Zod. “I am Tenkūji Takeru, Kamen Rider Ghost!” he announced. “I order you to leave this part of reality and return to your own universe, or a nearby one, forthwith, and make an oath never to pester this universe again!” His tone was shaky.

“Nice, Ghost-san,” I muttered. “He’s really shaking now.”

“Are you a god?” asked Zod.

“…Well, no, but…” replied Ghost. Judging by the facepalming of the Ghostbusters, Seeker, and Arch, that was not something to say.

“Then, DIE, as you deserve to!” roared Zod as he fired his laser vision. We were tossed into the air and landed hard on the roof. As we picked ourselves up, Arch grabbed Ghost’s horn.

“Ghost, when someone asks you if you’re a god, you say YES!” snapped Arch.

“Throw it!” called Peter. The Ghostbuster fired on the ghosts and got them away from Zod. Zod punched the roof as he landed.

“Pathetic!” he boasted. “You puny humans cannot hope to stand in my way!” He then flew over a water pipe with a valve!

“Gandalf!” I called.

“The Elemental Keystone WOULD help out here, for sure,” replied Gandalf. “Elemental Keystone, activate! Element of lightning, Vortex!” I was surrounded in a cyan aura and headed to the pipe Zod was hovering over.

“You know, I’m willing to bet that there are certain laws you can’t help BUT to obey,” I quipped as I turned the valve, dousing him in water. “One such law must be the one about electricity!” I zapped the water, thus dousing him in electricity. He got away and recovered.

“Ouch,” he said, mockingly. He then allowed himself a short laugh. “Is that all you have?” He hovered over a gas pipe.

“Well, as Americans put it,” mused Arch, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” He turned the valve and doused him in gasoline. “Gandalf, fire, if you please.”

“Element of fire, Arch!” announced Gandalf. Arch was surrounded in a red aura and unleashed flames on Zod.

“Fire?” laughed Zod. “You think fire, alone, can harm me?” He tore out the gas pipe and threw it onto the street. He then flew over a dirt patch.

“Okay, that’s MY profession,” called Seeker.

“Element of Earth, Seeker!” announced Gandalf. Seeker was surrounded in a green aura as she made a large Venus Fly Trap grab him.

“What do you think you are doing?!” snarled Zod. We Riders then jumped into the air while Ghost pulled and pushed his lever again.

“DAI KAIGAN! ORE, OMEGA DRIVE” called the belt. He then leapt into the air and kicked with us.

“RIDER KICK!”

“RIDER SEEKER KICK!”

“RIDER ARCH KICK!”

“ELECTRO KICK!” announced Stronger.

“RIDER VORTEX KICK!” We kicked the Fly Trap Zod was trapped in. He was tossed into his ship and surrounded by green crystals.

“Kryptonite,” observed Batman. He then strode to Zod as he lay weakened amongst the Kryptonite. “I’ll take that,” he said as he took the PKE meter. The Ghostbusters then threw their trap and sucked all the ghosts in. Metalran saw the entire thing.

“Blast, another failed excursion,” he hissed. He then sprouted wings and jet engines.

“Metalran, help me!” called Zod.

“You’re on your own,” dismissed Metalran as he opened a rift. He went through as Zod glared at Batman.

“One solitary Foundation Element won’t help you much when Lord Vortech comes for you!” he snarled. “You are as doomed as I.”

“We’ll see,” replied Batman. A rift opened beneath Zod while another one opened behind us.

“Good!” sighed Wyldstyle. “I have had ENOUGH of spooks!”

“They aren’t all bad,” mused Gandalf.

“I have grave doubts,” joked Wyldstyle. Gandalf chuckled.

“Nice one!” he said.

“I may develop those same doubts,” muttered Sludgiona. I remembered that she was trapped in this universe

“I wasn’t lying,” I assured her as we Riders cancelled our transformations. “With the resources we have, we’ll get you back to your people, help you survive the trip, and cure your condition.”

“And we can help as well, with our knowledge of other planes of existence,” supplied Peter. “Besides, we could use someone like you here. You’d like our pet ghost, Slimer.”

“Why would you help me?” asked Sludgiona. “I’ve caused nothing but trouble for you!”

“Because I don’t think of you as an enemy,” I answered. “I think of you as a friend. And, you don’t leave friends hanging, you help them.” I held out my hand for a handshake. She stared at my hand, then glared at me.

“I’m not ready to call you my friend,” she snarled. “I wouldn’t need your help if you didn’t destroy my declamation chip! However, I will need your help.” She then headed to the stairs. “I’ll be downstairs, cleaning up,” she told her current landlords, the Ghostbusters.

“Well, that’s pleasant,” snarked Peter. He then turned to us. “Are you guys also from another universe?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered. “I’m Megumi Hishikawa, Queen of the Feudal Nerd Society.” Peter and I shook hands. “I apologize for dumping Sludgiona on you guys, but she has no place else to go. If she tried to go home now, she’ll die.”

“We’ll work on her condition here,” replied Egon. “And I’d like to ask some questions of Ghost here.”

“It’s just Takeru,” corrected Takeru. “And I’m afraid I need to get home.”

“As do I,” replied Jō. “Yuriko is worried about me. It’s clear that I’m not suited for this sort of thing.”

“Jō, you’re a Kamen Rider,” reminded Hongo. “As long as you live…”

“It’s that ‘live’ bit that I’m failing at,” interrupted Jō. “See this mark on my brow?” He pointed to a yellow ring on his head. “This is my halo. I’m dead.”

“…Dead?” asked Hongo.

“It was at the hands of a Black Satan remnant,” replied Jō. “They were about to blow up Tokyo. I made the explosive detonate too early and died in the process.”

“…Oh,” sighed Hongo, sadly.

“Don’t worry, I died as I lived, fighting evil wherever it was,” assured Jō. Hongo gave a sad smile.

“That’s the best death a Kamen Rider can ask for,” he remarked. He then embraced Jō. “I will miss you, old friend.”

“And I, you,” replied Jō. Black mist then came out of the shadows as the PKE meter in Batman’s hands spiked rapidly. The mist coalesced into Death. The Ghostbusters readied their packs, but Death raised a hand.

“I’ve never seen her before in Tobin’s Spirit Guide!” yelped Ray.

“This is Death,” answered Emmanuel. “Do not be alarmed, she is a friend.”

“You’re friends with the Grim Reaper?!” gulped Winston.

“And I know a lot about you, especially you, Winston Zeddemore,” whispered Death. “An Air Force Police Captain, before you joined the Ghostbusters.” His colleagues turned to him.

“Why would the Grim Reaper have an interest in you?” asked Egon. Winston sighed.

“I was in Vietnam, early in my career,” he explained. “I only told Janine that steady paycheck bit because I wanted to play it safe. I figured you had other crazies coming in for my position before me, claiming to see ghosts.”

“And you actually saw some when you were deployed?” asked Ray.

“Okay, let’s not go too much into it,” stopped Peter. “We can afford to believe him.”

“Thanks,” appreciated Winston.

“Now, Jō, dear, it’s time to go,” whispered Death.

“See you later,” called Jō to Hongo.

“Farewell, old friend,” replied Hongo. Jō faded with Death into the black mist and vanished.

“We better get going as well,” I sighed. “Farewell! We’ll look you up if we need some ghosts busted! Take care of Sludgiona!”

“See you around!” bid Peter as we went into the portal. “Keep in touch!”

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 45

After the coronation and Death’s recent news about Igura taking a weapon that could wipe us out, I decided it was time to grab another Foundation Element. Everyone gathered in the Gateway room. Batman, Hongo, Gandalf, Wyldstyle, and I took our places while the rest of the Vortex Riders gathered in a circle. The Rider Chance music played, scaring a few of our newcomers. Ben looked disturbed. “I am not sure this is a pleasant thing,” gulped Rook.

“We’re not entirely comfortable with this, either,” replied Lukas.

“And today’s riders are…” announced X-PO as the hands rotated. They stopped on “Xiomara!”

“Yes!” she cheered.

“And Emmanuel!” called X-PO.

“Très bon!” replied Emmanuel. They took their places on the Gateway Platform.

“Good luck!” wished Mr. Babineaux.

“Come back safe, Your Majesty!” called Michael. Everybody made their farewells.

“Everyone,” I said to my team once the farewells were completed, “CHARGE!” We went through the rift and arrived in 80’s era New York. There was chaos going on and strange lights in the sky. See-through people was terrorizing the citizens, in various states of decay.

“HEY!” protested Gandalf as he was slimed and robbed of his hat. “Accursed Pilfering Phantasm!” He zapped the creature, making it drop his hat.

“Ghosts?” asked Batman.

“G-g-ghosts?” stammered Wyldstyle.

“Surely, you’re not scared of a few specters?” chuckled Xiomara.

“I ain’t afraid of no ghosts,” replied Batman.

“The dead don’t rise from their graves without good reason,” mused Hongo. “We should find out what it is.”

“Agreed,” I affirmed.

“They look like they’re coming from over there,” observed Batman. I saw the building Batman was pointing to.

“Xiomara, Emmanuel, does that look familiar?” I asked. I pointed to a light up sign with a ghost trapped in the “NO” symbol. Their faces lit up.

“Ghostbusters HQ!” called Emmanuel.

“Come on!” cried Xiomara. We then heard something in the sky.

“Is that…screaming?” I muttered.

“Up there!” answered Emmanuel as he pointed upwards. “It looks like…A MAN AND AN ICE CREAM TRUCK FALLING OUT OF THE SKY!!”

“LOOK OUT!” warned the man. We got out of the way as the man landed on his back and the Ice Cream truck falling away from him. “My back!” he groaned. We went to help him up. Hongo’s eyes went wide when he saw the man’s face.

“Takeru?!” he yelped.

“You know him?” asked Batman.

“Tenkūji Takeru,” introduced Hongo, “Kamen Rider Ghost. He helped me fight Shocker and Shocker Nova.” Takeru then got over his pain and saw Hongo.

“Hongo-san!” cheered Takeru.

“Good to see you, Takeru!” replied Hongo. “What brings you here?”

“A fight with Igura,” answered Takeru.

“You met her again?!” yelped Hongo.

“This was back home,” elaborated Takeru. “I was enjoying a nice 20th birthday with my friends, and a celebration of coming back to life, when she attacked the temple. She started demanding a Hero Eyecon, but I wasn’t about to surrender them. I fought her off, then she made a blue vortex and threw me in there which got me here. Ever since then, I’ve been fighting these ghosts.”

“I don’t think that’s what she was talking about,” replied Hongo. “She may have been talking about an Eyecon with her lover’s soul, Hiro Adachi.”

“Never heard of him,” remarked Takeru.

“Former Shocker scientist, my biological father,” I explained. “I’m Megumi Hishikawa, Queen of the Feudal Nerd Society. This is Lady Xiomara.”

“Hola!” cheered Xiomara.

“Emmanuel,” I continued.

“Bonjour,” greeted Emmanuel.

“Batman,” I went on.

“And not the Shocker monster,” answered Batman.

“Wyldstyle,” I continued.

“Not a DJ,” clarified Wyldstyle.

“And Gandalf,” I finished.

“Pleasure to meet you,” greeted Gandalf.

“We’re heading to the source of all these ghosts,” I explained. “Want to tag along?”

“Sure!” replied Takeru.

“Let’s go!” I called. We walked a few blocks to see a green blob possess another Ice Cream truck and make it go across purple goo and fly away.

“Okay, there’s no way that goo is safe,” remarked Wyldstyle.

“Agreed,” I muttered. “We need to find a way over.” I then got an idea. “Takeru-san, do you still have ghostly powers?”

“Yes, my belt keeps them. Why?” asked Takeru.

“Because we can fly everybody over the goo,” I replied. I then drew out my i.d tag. “Henshin!” I announced. Takeru was surprised when he saw me suit up.

“A Kamen Rider?!” he yelped.

“Kamen Rider Royal,” I answered. “And I have more surprises. Time to test the new Ben 10 i.d tag.” I drew out said i.d tag and swapped mine with that one. Because of the aliens Ben turns into, the icons circled. “You know, I think we should blend in with the ghostly crowd,” I mused.

“Just pay attention to it,” advised Batman.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured. “Look.” I selected an icon. “Boom, armor based off of Ben’s Ectonurite form.”

“Ben 10 Jetray Steel!” announced Vortoranii.

“What?!” I yelped. The wardrobe closed on me and altered my armor. I gained yellow horns, a red color scheme, and had flight suit wings under my arms. The wardrobe vanished as I felt something seize my vocal cords. “JETRAY!” I called. I then sighed and glared at my belt. “I asked for Ghostfreak, not Jetray!” I complained “Are you seriously gonna act like the Omnitrix?!”

“Hey, you’re the one who turned her head when Batman talked!” snapped Vortoranii. “That’s your fault. Besides, you can fly now, so quit complaining!” I sighed again.

“Emmanuel, get on my back,” I directed. “Xiomara, Gandalf, I’ll have to pick you up by my feet. Hongo, Wyldstyle, Batman, you’re with Takeru.” Emmanuel got on my back and I took off into the air. When I landed on the other side, I heard something say “EYE!” I turned to see a black parka with orange trim and orange eyes dancing around Takeru. He was wearing a belt that looked like an eye covered in slime. It had an orange grip that he could pull and push. The belt was saying “Batchiriminā! Batchiriminā!” (Watch out!) He then made various hand signs before putting his right pointer and middle finger in front of his face.

“Henshin!” he announced. He pulled the handle, the pushed it back in. The eye closed, then opened again.

“KAIGAN! ORE!” (Eyes open! It’s me!) called the belt. A suit similar to those of Tron: Legacy formed as the parka landed on him and made an orange faceplate with black eyes and a single horn. “Let’s go! Kakugo! (Dead Set!) Go, Go, Go GHOST! Go! Go! Go! Go!” continued the belt. Takeru pulled the hood back and allowed Hongo onto his back. He then grabbed Wyldstyle and Batman’s wrists and took off, landing on my side of the goo.

“That’s your persona as Kamen Rider Ghost?” I muttered. “Looks like a Tron suit.”

Tron?” asked Ghost.

“I’ll explain later,” I replied. We went up a street to see four men in a tricked-out hearse. It had all sorts of gadgetry on the roof and was white with red trim. The men had some sort of technological backpacks with rifles connected by a tube to the backpack. The rifles were spitting out orange streams of light with blue streams of light circling the orange ones. The streams were ensnaring the ghosts. When they did so, they threw out metal boxes and opened them with a foot pedal.

“This concentration of spectral activity is too large for us to handle!” called one of the men, wearing glasses. “We need to return to base and recharge the packs!”

“Egon, I thought you said we’d be dead before the packs run out of juice!” remarked another man, going a little bald.

“Egon’s right!” supplied a portly man. “The PKE is actually messing up the packs’ half-life! We need to head to base so we can deal with the source of these ghosts!”

“Base IS the source of these ghosts!” reminded the final man, a black man with a moustache. “Remember?! Peck shut the containment unit down again!”

“Again?” sighed Emmanuel as we stayed out of sight. The recent ghost the men had snared started dragging them and their hearse along. They followed, screaming.

“…Well, that was weird,” I muttered

“Standard fare for those men,” replied Xiomara.

“Who were they?” I asked.

“The balding one is Peter Venkman, the de facto leader,” explained Emmanuel. “The black man is Winston Zeddemore, the mechanic. The man with the glasses is Egon Spengler, the brains of the group. The portly man is Ray Stanz, the handy man. Together, those men make up the Ghostbusters.”

“And this ‘Peck’ they mentioned?” I ventured

“Walter Peck, an EPA representative that harbors a distaste for the Ghostbusters,” replied Xiomara.

“And what did he shut down?” I asked.

“The containment unit for the ghosts the Ghostbusters catch,” explained Xiomara. We then heard a fire escape ladder come down, thanks to Gandalf.

“I believe a higher vantage point will help us,” remarked Gandalf.

“Good idea,” I said. We headed to the fire escape when some ghosts started causing trouble. They messed with the traffic lights and caused a 20-car pile-up at the intersection.

“Oh, these wicked spirits are fiendish!” hissed Gandalf.

“Get them out of there!” I shouted. We got the people out of the cars and checked them over. Surprisingly, they weren’t hurt.

“Now, how are we gonna get past that?!” asked Ghost as he cancelled his transformation.

“With the Chroma Keystone!” replied Wyldstyle. “Batman, the red disc is above us on the fire escape!”

“Got it!” said Batman. He fired his grapple gun at the ladder above us and yanked hard. It didn’t move. He yanked again, but nothing happened. “Er, Megumi, a little help?” he asked.

“Did he just…?” realized Wyldstyle.

“No!” said Batman, hurriedly.

“Stop the presses, I can see it now!” teased Emmanuel. “A headline in the Gotham Newspaper, ‘Batman Asks for Help!’”

“Quit teasing him!” I giggled as I swapped out the Ben 10 i.d tag for Batman’s.

“Batman Steel!” announced Vortoranii. My suit changed, and I fired a grapple gun. Together, we yanked the ladder down. When we made it to the top, we pushed the disc down. Wyldstyle leapt onto the roof of a nearby diner and got the yellow disc down to the street. All that was left was the blue one. We found it in the trunk of one of the cars in the pile-up.

“My turn!” called Wyldstyle.

“Not yet!” I stopped. “We need the Lock design!” My left arm started buzzing. “And I think I can get us that. Locate Keystone, activate! Initiate Rift detection!” I found the rift opening near a pile of goo. “Identify source of rift!” The info beamed into my head. “That one again?” I muttered. “Oh well. Locate help from W-1-Z-4-R-D-0-F-0-Z!” The Wizard of Oz’s podium appeared on top of the goo.

“Master build senses, tingling!” giggled Wyldstyle.

“Have at it!” I directed. Wyldstyle punched the podium, turning it into Lego bricks, and built a large speaker out of them. The ghosts nearby saw this and possessed it, making it move to the pile-up and turn around to make a Chroma Lock design appear. The left L was green, the circle was blue, and the right L was red.

“Now, my turn,” called Wyldstyle. “Chroma Keystone, activate! Chroma lock, reveal!” The lock design appeared. “Chroma! Red! Takeru! Chroma! Yellow! Emmanuel! Chroma! Blue! Batman!”

“What does she…?” began Takeru before I shoved him into the red paint. “HEY!” he snapped.

“It’ll evaporate soon,” I assured. Emmanuel and Batman went into their respective colors. Batman entered the circle, making blue, before heading to the left L. Emmanuel joined Batman and I led Takeru to the right L. The speaker attracted more ghosts before it started playing a snatch of a song.

Who’re you gonna call?

GHOSTBUSTERS!

The sound blew the pile-up out of the way before the speaker fell apart. We went on our way, avoiding streets with goo blocking the path, and went up one to see the Ghostbusters still being dragged along. The street was blocked by goo at the other end. “Looks like we’re flying,” I mused. I swapped out the current i.d tag for the Ben 10 one again. The alien icons scrolled by. “This time, I want Ghostfreak!” I selected his icon.

“Ben 10 Ghostfreak Steel!” announced Vortoranii.

“Thank you!” I remarked as the wardrobe closed on me. My armor changed into that of a stereotypical ghost with lines all over me. “GHOSTFREAK!” I said. I grabbed Batman, Hongo, and let Wyldstyle onto my back.

“EYE!” called Takeru’s belt. “Batchiriminā! Batchiriminā!”

“Henshin!” announced Takeru. He then pulled and pushed the lever.

“KAIGAN! ORE! Let’s go! Kakugo! Go, Go, Go, Ghost! Go! Go! Go! Go!” continued his belt. Ghost allowed Emmanuel onto his back and grabbed Xiomara and Gandalf. We went over the goo and turned right. We went down some more city blocks and flew over more goo. When we went to another intersection, the Statue of Liberty walked by. The Ghostbusters’ hearse dodged the feet. We followed the hearse to see a rift opening, allowing a dropship in police colors to fly into this universe. A billboard advertising the Ghostbusters fell on one advertising Stay Puft Marshmallows and they tumbled onto the street.

“These specters are truly restless,” muttered Gandalf. “And, rather bothersome!”

“I’ve got an idea,” called Batman. “I need to get onto the roof of that building.”

“I got you!” I replied. I flew Batman up to the rooftop to see a crane over the police dropship.

“Shift Keystone, activate!” announced Batman. “Yellow, on the same rooftop as me! Blue, on the crane! Magenta, above the dropship, same height as the crane arm! Shift! Megumi! Blue!” I arrived on the crane and found the controls. I used them to swing the crane arm over the dropship, under the magenta portal. “Shift! Gandalf! Magenta!” Gandalf appeared on the arm. He made the hook go down and latch onto the dropship. The pilot tried to get away but ended up making the dropship spin around the arm and smash the billboards, allowing us passage. We went to the alleys and arrived at Ghostbusters HQ to see a rift open up near the battered Ghostbusters. A small attack ship came out and a man with military style hair, black clothing, and a full beard flew out of the rift.

“Now, that’s what I call a Phantom Zone,” chuckled the man. He approached Egon, who waved some device over him.

“Ray, this looks extraordinarily bad!” reported Egon.

“The Foundation Element!” cheered the man. “Good!” He swiped the device from Egon’s hands.

“The PKE meter is a Foundation Element?!” gulped Xiomara.

“And PKE means…?” I asked.

“Psychokinetic Energy,” clarified Emmanuel. “The stuff ghosts are made of!”

“Your cooperation is noted,” boomed the man that stole the PKE meter. He then threw the Ghostbusters into his ship.

“Are you sure that’s needed?” burbled a voice. Sludgiona then popped up from the sewers.

“Without the Ghostbusters,” boasted the man, “the pitiful residents of this planet won’t stand a chance! New Krypton will rise from their ashes! All will kneel before Zod!” He flew up to his ship and Sludgiona headed into the Ghostbusters HQ, a firehouse refurbished.

“Krypton?” hissed Batman. “This is the one time I’d be happy to see Superman.”

“What’s General Zod doing, working for Vortech?!” asked Xiomara.

“Not so fast, Zod!” called Batman as he threw a batarang at one of the ship’s wings. It crashed onto the roof of Ghostbusters HQ. “We have to get that Foundation Element before they can escape!” declared Batman.

“Indeed!” replied Gandalf. “Although, I suspect we may encounter some otherworldly resistance!”

“Xiomara, Emmanuel, Hongo, suit up,” I directed. “We’re going in hot!”

“Understood!” replied Emmanuel.

“Rider…” began Hongo.

“Henshin!” called the three. They transformed, and we headed into the lion’s spectral den.