With one of my favorite holidays coming up, I thought it would be a
good idea to offer up a Halloween Fic Challenge.
All it has to include are: 4400 characters, someone using an ability (not nessacarily a familiar character),
costumes, candy, NTAC, fun, maybe a scare or two, and other
traditional Halloween fun I can't think of right now.
No limit on words and no deadline, but it would be cool to have these to read by Halloween.
I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.
Full Version: Halloween Fic Challenge
This sounds like fun. I've all ready got some idea in mind.
Cool beans SW. Any other takers? Common, any type of halloweenie thing will do.
Here's a sneak peek at mine:
Here's a sneak peek at mine:
Spoiler:
Don't know how to write fanfics but I am ready to read them.
Life of the Party
Ep S5E07
Broadcast Date: 310907
It had been a few months since the promicin outbreak in the Greater Seattle area, and by now, people had settled back into their usual routines. Jordan Collier, the self-appointed mayor of Promise City, made the city the beacon of progress, employing P+s and 4400s alike in the reconstruction and betterment of Seattle. Still, there was bad blood between P-s and the P+s.
While no physical harm befell any of the P-s, Jordan and his followers instituted city-wide policies that made P-s feel unwelcome and discriminated against. For his part, Jordan denied such allegations, but he also made no secret of his preference for an all-promicin plus city. As a result, many P-s had left the city in search of sanctuary.
In an effort to diffuse any left over tension, Jordan took to the airwaves in a message of reconciliation. "I have heard the cries of the P-s, and I will not be silent in their distress. Promicin makes us special, but it should not make us arrogant or uncaring. We have a gift, my positive brothers and sisters, and we should use it for the delight of everyone. That is why for the next month, each 4400 and P+ will seek out a P- and help them in anyway you can. Anyone caught not using their powers for good will be punished by CTAC (Collier Threat Assessment Center).
Over at NTAC, Meghan, Tom, Diana, Marco, and Garrity were sitting around, shaking their heads in disbelief. "Now we’re a charity case", Diana said, enraged.
"What’s wrong with Jordan encouraging everyone to do good? I mean, isn’t that what all the major world religions do anyway?", Marco asked.
"Sure, it sounds good now, but I guarantee that we’ll be forced to clean up the mess Jordan’s making", Tom answered. "You should know by now, Marco, nothing good ever comes from Promise City."
Marco grumbled something about Tom being a perpetual pessimist.
Meghan heard the phone ring in her office and slid up off the table. "Ok, Marco, you keep monitoring Jordan’s speech for something we can charge him with. Diana and Garrity, you go and get our lunches. If you need me, I’ll be in my offices making orchids out of Bics and explaining to Washington for the millionth time why they don’t need to invade Seattle."
Everyone started shuffling away from the Theory Room to accomplish their assigned tasks, except Tom. Tom yelled out to Meghan, "And what exactly am I supposed to do?"
Meghan yelled back, "I have a special mission for you. Come by my office in twenty minutes."
In the background, Tom could hear Marco and Garrity snicker.
Meanwhile, back at Jordan’s speech, Jordan had decided to take questions from the audience.
Jordan (pointing at the perky brunette): Yes, you.
Brunette: Pauline Sanders, for NBC News. You claim that you wish for P+s and P-s to live together in harmony, but what have you done for the P-s specifically?
Jordan (to himself): I haven’t killed them.
Jordan: I allow them the fruits of the Promicin harvest without toiling the earth.
Pauline: What kind of answer is that?
Jordan (ignoring her): Next.
Blonde haired girl with glasses: Mr. Collier, first of all, let me thank you for all that you have done for Promise City. You have been such an inspiration to me, especially after I found out that I could see right through things, like you know, a human X-ray. I felt like everyone was hiding things from me, that I was unworthy of love. But you inspire me, Jordan, to know that I am special and part of a plan.
(blushing) I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time...
Jordan: No, no, child, never be ashamed of voicing your concerns. Promise City is a place of love and acceptance. Did you have a question, dear?
Little Girl: What is your favorite KYCO product?
Jordan: I love the Oxford striped shirts they have. And the man-satchels aren’t that bad looking either.
In the audience, murmurs of the little girl being a plant swirled. Jordan, unfazed, pointed to the next person to ask their question.
Man with purple beard: Mr. Collier, if you are serious about everyone living in harmony, what about throwing a city wide party? Halloween is coming up, so why not have a costume party, that way no one would know who’s a P+ or P-?
Jordan thinks about the man’s idea, eventually deciding he likes it.
Jordan: Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. As an extra incentive to everyone, I’m going to have Promise City throw a costume party. Everyone is invited, and I expect to see everyone there.
Jordan then leaves the podium to attend to other town business.
At the Ferrell Middle School, Maia and her classmates listened on as the teacher discussed the Mendel genetic trait distribution table. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
The teacher opened the door and was handed a notice from one of the office aides. She went to the front of the room and read the announcement. Apparently, Jordan wanted every last citizen of Promise City to attend his shin-dig and cancelled classes for the rest of the week.
The students in the class cheered, all except for Maia Skouris. The teacher noticed her sad mood and pulled her aside after class.
"Maia, what’s wrong?", the teacher inquired.
"I’ve never been to a Halloween before. We never really celebrated where I came from, and even when Diana adopted me, she wouldn’t let me go out that night. Said it was too dangerous."
"Maia, there’s nothing to worry about. Halloween is all about fun and mischief, candy and fantasy, costume and mystery. Besides, with Jordan making sure the city’s safe, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about."
Maia’s head hurt as she had a vision. The teacher asked if Maia was going to be okay.
"I’m just thinking that this party might not go as well as everyone wants."
When Diana arrived home that night, Maia was sitting at the table eating a grilled tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese sandwich. "Hi honey, is everything all right? You’re usually not up this late."
"Today, at school, I had a vision", Maia said.
"Would you like to tell me about it?", Diana wondered, as she grabbed a bite of Maia’s sandwich.
"Well, today in class, the teacher told us that Jordan cancelled classes for the rest of the week after Halloween so that we could all attend his big party."
"And?"
"You know I’ve never been to a big Halloween celebration, so I was a little down. I guess Miss Lancaster noticed and pulled me aside after class. We started talking about Halloween and how Jordan would make it all safe for the children to have fun."
Diana rolled her eyes at that comment. She made a private note to have Maia transferred to another science teacher.
"Then, I had another vision."
"What was it of?", Diana inquired of Maia as she wrapped her arms around her teen daughter.
"I saw a sea of ghosts roaming the streets of Seattle. There was a man in the front of them, like he was leading them, but he acted as if he was sick. Part of the time, the ghosts acted as if they harmless, but other times, they violently attacked anyone in their vicinity."
"When was this supposed to happen?"
"At Jordan’s party."
Diana knew exactly what to do. She opened her phone and started dialing Meghan’s phone number.
An hour later, Meghan, Marco, Garrity, Tom, and Abigeek had arrived at Diana’s apartment and were sitting around on her cushy sofas.
"Diana, what’s the hold-up? It’s late and I have Marco’s outfit to arrange for tomorrow. We can’t having him wearing stripes and polka dots, now can we?", Abigeek whined.
Marco blushed in embarrassment, but everyone admitted that Marco did dress better now that he was dating Abigeek.
"Sorry, but we’re waiting on one more person", Diana replied. A few moments later, a knock was on the door. "I think that’s him now."
Meghan jumped up and raced for the door. "I think it’s great that Ben came back. I’ve been wanting to meet him."
The Garrity twins snickered at Meghan’s comment, but Meghan’s icy cold stare shut them right up. When Diana opened the door, the room filled with jaw-dropping silence.
"Diana, why are you letting this monster into the house?", Tom yelled, demanding an answer from her.
"Well, hello to you, too, Tom", Jordan said sarcastically, as Diana moved to let him in.
Jordan casually strolled into the room. He was greeted with silent hostility from the rest of the assembled guests. Maia heard Jordan’s footsteps from her bedroom and raced into the living room. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug.
Jordan accepted the hug willingly, and for once, Jordan felt good inside. "I’m glad to see someone still loves me."
"So, what’s Mr. Messiah himself doing here?", Garrity barked.
"Yeah, what’s Mr. Messiah doing here?", Garrity’s double egged on.
Diana gave the Garrity clones one of her patent-pending, trademarked stares and they instantly shut up.
"Everyone, I brought you all together because Maia has had another vision. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t give Jordan the time of day, but since it also involves him I thought it best he also be here."
Maia then recounted her vision. The group was horrified by the vision.
"See what happens when you hand out promicin willy-nilly, Jordan?", Tom snapped.
"Upset Gay Jordan didn’t pick you in last night’s episode of the Gay 4400, eh, Tom?", Jordan retorted.
"Mmm... Gay Jordan."
The gang looked over at Diana. "What? That Gay Jordan is extremely hunky", she said, shrugging her shoulder.
"You know, Diana, we can always go back to my place and play Superwoman and Her Kryptonite."
"Jordan, don’t make me shove this gun somewhere you wouldn’t like."
Meghan whistled loudly into the air. "It’s not going to help anyone if we go around blowing each other’s brains out. I think Maia’s vision represent a real threat and we’re going to have to work together. I don’t think Washington will sit idly by if Seattle goes into chaos again."
"You mean Promise City..."
All eyes focused in on Jordan. Though nothing was said, the message from the room was to shut up.
Meghan continued. "Marco, Abigeek, I want you to go through our database and see if you can find any of the 4400s that have abilities similar to what Maia described. Tom, Diana, I want you to go over to the Ferrell-Burkhoff Center for the Study of Promicin and see if Kevin can give you any information about what kind of disease this man might be suffering. I, of course, will be watching foreign films in my office and fending off Washington."
Jordan stretched and got out of the chair. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door. "Thank you, Diana, for your hospitality. I’ll get CTAC to work on identifying any of our P+s that have powers similar to Maia’s description. We’ll also beef up our security forces, especially the week of Halloween."
Tom, Meghan, Marco, and Abigeek grabbed their coats and prepared to leave. Garrity simply sat there, sulking. "Meghan, what am I to be doing during all of this?"
Meghan thought for a moment, but before she could say anything, Maia spoke. "I see an extended visit to the bosses office in your future."
Meghan winked and left, followed by the rest of the Scooby gang.
The next day, Diana and Tom made their way to the Ferrell-Burkhoff Center. Shawn answered the door, surprised to see anyone from the government at their doors. Ever since Jordan took over the city, Shawn had been able to continue his healing without interference.
"Uncle Tommy, please tell me there isn’t a promicin plague... again. I couldn’t take it if more people died from promicin."
Tom wrapped his arms around Shawn. "Don’t worry, Shawn. We’re not the Gay 4400. We don’t recycle storylines on a whim."
Shawn relaxed. "So who do you think Gay Jordan will pick as his lover?"
"Mmm... Gay Jordan."
Shawn and Tom started busting out laughing. "Maybe the writers of the Gay 4400 aren’t that far off."
Diana blushed. "If I know the writers of the Gay 4400, it will probably be the one person nobody would suspect."
"Rebecca Parrish?", Shawn wondered aloud.
"Marco?", Tom absently suggested.
"Isabelle Tyler?", Diana joked.
"Speaking of Isabelle, how is Kyle handling the whole situation? I know he was pretty torn up about her departure", Shawn asked Tom, concern etched on his face.
Tom shook his head. "Not good, Shawn. He took off on a White Light Prophecy Tour to spread the good news about promicin. I suspect he only took the assignment so he could hunt down Isabelle. He’s actually convinced the poor girl is still alive." Tom sighed. "I think that’s Kyle’s way of dealing with things. Running away. Then again, I haven’t been the best role model, brooding over Alana’s disappearance almost every night."
Diana rubbed her hands against his shoulders. "You’re a good father, Tom. A damn good father."
"So is there anything I can help you guys with? I’m sure you didn’t drive all this way out to discuss family issues or the Gay 4400."
"Maia had another vision. In it, the guy acts normal part of the time, but other times, he acts sick, almost demented. We wanted to see if Kevin could give us medical information we could use to track this person down", Diana explained.
Kevin walked by as the trio were discussing Maia’s vision. Shawn waved him in, and Diana and Tom quickly informed him of the situation. "Diana, as much as I would love to help you, I can’t give you much. It could be anything from brain cancer to multiple personality disorder. Get him here, and I’d be glad to give you a complete medical workup."
A voice came over the intercom, calling for Kevin to report to the lab. Kevin apologized for leaving so soon, but his work on promicin compatibility came first.
"You know I’ll help you anyway I can. Just let me know", Shawn said, leaving for his office.
Diana and Tom returned to NTAC without any really useful information other than the symptoms pointed to a possible mental condition. Meanwhile, Marco and Abigeek’s searches yielded no hits. And even Jordan couldn’t find someone who matched the description from Maia’s vision.
Meghan ordered everyone into the Theory Room. "Are we getting anywhere on Maia’s vision?"
"Kevin says it might be a condition connected to the brain, but can’t say anything more conclusive without an examination", Tom said.
"Marco, Abigeek, ", Meghan said.
"We know."
Marco and Abigeek’s searches yielded no new clues. Meghan, desperate to keep Washington off their backs, fired off an email to her team telling them that they would be in fact attending Jordan’s Halloween bash. In official capacity, of course.
The night finally arrived, and everyone gathered over at NTAC. Maia wore a princess costume, while her mother Diana arrived wearing a black Kyco vest. Shawn wore a Speedo and swimming goggles. Meghan went as Catwoman. Marco came dressed as Richard Kahan, while Abigeek came dressed as Paris Hilton. Garrity arrived as both the Pope and Satan.
Everyone was waiting for Tom because Jordan would meet them in the P+ Quarter. Finally, Tom came in huffing and puffing, dressed as a monkey in a suit. Along with him was Kyle.
"Hi, Kyle!", Shawn said, running up and hugging him. "When did you get into town?"
"A few hours ago. Jordan asked me to come back because of Maia’s vision."
It was then that the group noticed Kyle’s costume. Kyle was decked out in a dog collar, with nothing else but a pair of leather pants. His ears were weighed down in metal and his hair was black and spiked.
"Dude, what’s with the costume?", Garrity asked.
"Just admitting what I’ve always believed. I’m Cassie’s slave."
They all looked at each other. "Who’s Cassie?"
"Cassie’s my ability, you guys", Kyle whined.
"Sure, if you say so", the gang said, laughing afterwards.
A half hour later, the merry group were among the crowds of people enjoying Jordan’s hospitality. Everything seemed peaceful, and even grumpy old Tom was having a good time. Maia was having a blast playing all the games and getting all the candy she could handle. She looked up and saw the Ferris wheel with all the carriages shaped like pumpkins and wanted to ride.
"Mom, can I, please?", she pleaded.
She looked torn. Part of her wanted to grant her daughter’s request. How much harm could a little ride cause? But the other part knew that she couldn’t. She was there at Jordan’s Halloween festival to hunt down the guy from Maia’s vision, not have fun.
Meghan saw Diana’s face and had pity on her. "Diana, don’t you and Tom have a break due?"
"What break?", Diana said, oblivious to Meghan’s intent. Then, in a moment where one could almost see the lightbulb go off in her head, she smiled and replied, "Yeah, yeah, I do. Come on, Maia, we’re going to have some fun."
Maia cheered and started racing for the line to ride the Ferris wheel.
"Just remember, if you and Tom see anything, let us know."
It had just turned ten o’clock when a large sea of people started running for the exits. "Ghosts!", Meghan heard one person screamed. "Zombies!", Marco heard another yell. Garrity pointed off to the distance where a sea of ghosts and zombies were headed towards them.
"Damn!", said Meghan, "I was hoping for this whole vision thing to be a bust so I could get some free overtime."
She grabbed a daisy off the ground and made a .45.
Meghan, Marco, Abigail, and the Garrity twins made their way through the crowds, trying to find out what was happening.
Meanwhile, Diana and Tom had been chasing down the suspect and had chased him into the Seattle Art Museum. Tom motioned with his hand to Diana to split up, that maybe they could surround him.
Then Tom saw her.
Alana.
She bent her fingers to suggest that he follow him. Deep into the museum they went until they stopped in front of her portrait.
"Thomas, I missed you."
Tom leaned in to kiss her. She was corporal.
."How is this possible?"
"Shh!", Alana said, "let us enjoy the time we have together."
Alana took Tom into a dream world, one where they were both together and happy. The suspect snuck up behind Tom and grabbed his gun. He cocked it, ready to fire.
Diana held a gun to the man’s head.
"I don’t think you want to do that if I were you", Diana said.
"What does it matter if I die at your hand or God’s?", he replied.
Then he conjured up some zombies from spirits that resided in the museum. She was easily overwhelmed and pulled off of the man.
But, unfortunately for the man, all the noise in the real world had translated in holes in Tom’s dream world and Tom wished himself out. Tom surprised the suspect and easily knocked him out cold. When he did so, all the ghosts and zombies disappeared.
A few minutes later, the rest of the gang arrived to take him into custody, spurred on by a new vision by Maia.
A few days later.....
Marco was in front of the group in the Theory Room explaining the results of the tests Marco and Kevin had ran.
"After we did the scan on his head, we determined that Erik Osmond was suffering from brain cancer. We also found something even odder though. He was a chimera."
"A chimera?". Tom asked.
"Yes, after digging through his medical records, we found out that he was originally an identical triplet. Both of his brothers died in utero, but his body eventually absorbed their DNA."
"How come we never knew any of this before the little incident at the festival? Jordan’s security said over 500 people died, many from being trampled on by others", Meghan inquired.
"Because of his ability. Or rather abilities."
"Abilities? How is that possible? I thought promicin only gave one ability per person", Garrity said.
"Ordinarily, yes. Erik’s ability is to be able to turn into a ghost at will. But, remember, he is a chimera, a combination of the DNA’s of three different people, and according to Kevin, all promicin tolerant. His second ability was that he can raise the spirits of those in his immediate area and give them human form. His third ability was to be able to control the spirits while they roamed the earth. Luckily, the last two abilities only work for one week a year."
"Let me guess: the week of Halloween", Diana said.
"Then how did he get his hands on promicin to begin with?", Garrity asked.
"He was at the hospital the day Danny visited his mother."
"So why wasn’t he there when we were cataloging the survivors?", Meghan demanded.
"He told Shawn that the nurse told him his insurance wouldn’t pay for his brain surgery, and he left to go get money from his bank. He left just as Danny was coming in. And when he returned with the down payment for his surgery, we had barricaded it off, so he just turned around and left."
"Is he on the inhibitor now?", Garrity’s clone wondered. Marco nodded.
"Once Shawn healed away the cancer, his abilities weakened greatly. It seemed the cancer was feeding off of the promicin in his system and, in turn, advancing the cancer far beyond its capabilities. Had Shawn not healed him when he did, Erik would have died within another week."
Tom looked off in the distance. "Would it be possible to get him to bring her back?"
Meghan was confused. "Did something happen back there?"
"Erik lured us into a trap by using the spirit of Alana trapped in the painting to get to Tom."
"Oh?", Meghan said, her face trying not to show the pain she felt inside.
"Next year, if he’s not snatched up by the FBI or some other Homeland Security department. I'm sure his primary ability would be useful in some spying capacity", Marco shrugged.
The next Halloween....
Tom arrived at the museum dressed in a tuxedo and escorting Erik Osmond in handcuffs. "Ok, do your thing."
Alana appeared before Tom, beautiful as ever. "Thomas, I missed you. The time we spent together last year was far too short."
"Don't worry. This year we have all night."
Tom looked over at Erik. "And you, don't think of escaping. Those cuffs are specifically formulated to your body's unique vibrations. One attempt to go ghosty, and you'll be burnt to a crisp."
Tom turned back to Alana. "Ok, I'm ready."
Fin.
Ep S5E07
Broadcast Date: 310907
It had been a few months since the promicin outbreak in the Greater Seattle area, and by now, people had settled back into their usual routines. Jordan Collier, the self-appointed mayor of Promise City, made the city the beacon of progress, employing P+s and 4400s alike in the reconstruction and betterment of Seattle. Still, there was bad blood between P-s and the P+s.
While no physical harm befell any of the P-s, Jordan and his followers instituted city-wide policies that made P-s feel unwelcome and discriminated against. For his part, Jordan denied such allegations, but he also made no secret of his preference for an all-promicin plus city. As a result, many P-s had left the city in search of sanctuary.
In an effort to diffuse any left over tension, Jordan took to the airwaves in a message of reconciliation. "I have heard the cries of the P-s, and I will not be silent in their distress. Promicin makes us special, but it should not make us arrogant or uncaring. We have a gift, my positive brothers and sisters, and we should use it for the delight of everyone. That is why for the next month, each 4400 and P+ will seek out a P- and help them in anyway you can. Anyone caught not using their powers for good will be punished by CTAC (Collier Threat Assessment Center).
Over at NTAC, Meghan, Tom, Diana, Marco, and Garrity were sitting around, shaking their heads in disbelief. "Now we’re a charity case", Diana said, enraged.
"What’s wrong with Jordan encouraging everyone to do good? I mean, isn’t that what all the major world religions do anyway?", Marco asked.
"Sure, it sounds good now, but I guarantee that we’ll be forced to clean up the mess Jordan’s making", Tom answered. "You should know by now, Marco, nothing good ever comes from Promise City."
Marco grumbled something about Tom being a perpetual pessimist.
Meghan heard the phone ring in her office and slid up off the table. "Ok, Marco, you keep monitoring Jordan’s speech for something we can charge him with. Diana and Garrity, you go and get our lunches. If you need me, I’ll be in my offices making orchids out of Bics and explaining to Washington for the millionth time why they don’t need to invade Seattle."
Everyone started shuffling away from the Theory Room to accomplish their assigned tasks, except Tom. Tom yelled out to Meghan, "And what exactly am I supposed to do?"
Meghan yelled back, "I have a special mission for you. Come by my office in twenty minutes."
In the background, Tom could hear Marco and Garrity snicker.
Meanwhile, back at Jordan’s speech, Jordan had decided to take questions from the audience.
Jordan (pointing at the perky brunette): Yes, you.
Brunette: Pauline Sanders, for NBC News. You claim that you wish for P+s and P-s to live together in harmony, but what have you done for the P-s specifically?
Jordan (to himself): I haven’t killed them.
Jordan: I allow them the fruits of the Promicin harvest without toiling the earth.
Pauline: What kind of answer is that?
Jordan (ignoring her): Next.
Blonde haired girl with glasses: Mr. Collier, first of all, let me thank you for all that you have done for Promise City. You have been such an inspiration to me, especially after I found out that I could see right through things, like you know, a human X-ray. I felt like everyone was hiding things from me, that I was unworthy of love. But you inspire me, Jordan, to know that I am special and part of a plan.
(blushing) I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time...
Jordan: No, no, child, never be ashamed of voicing your concerns. Promise City is a place of love and acceptance. Did you have a question, dear?
Little Girl: What is your favorite KYCO product?
Jordan: I love the Oxford striped shirts they have. And the man-satchels aren’t that bad looking either.
In the audience, murmurs of the little girl being a plant swirled. Jordan, unfazed, pointed to the next person to ask their question.
Man with purple beard: Mr. Collier, if you are serious about everyone living in harmony, what about throwing a city wide party? Halloween is coming up, so why not have a costume party, that way no one would know who’s a P+ or P-?
Jordan thinks about the man’s idea, eventually deciding he likes it.
Jordan: Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. As an extra incentive to everyone, I’m going to have Promise City throw a costume party. Everyone is invited, and I expect to see everyone there.
Jordan then leaves the podium to attend to other town business.
At the Ferrell Middle School, Maia and her classmates listened on as the teacher discussed the Mendel genetic trait distribution table. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
The teacher opened the door and was handed a notice from one of the office aides. She went to the front of the room and read the announcement. Apparently, Jordan wanted every last citizen of Promise City to attend his shin-dig and cancelled classes for the rest of the week.
The students in the class cheered, all except for Maia Skouris. The teacher noticed her sad mood and pulled her aside after class.
"Maia, what’s wrong?", the teacher inquired.
"I’ve never been to a Halloween before. We never really celebrated where I came from, and even when Diana adopted me, she wouldn’t let me go out that night. Said it was too dangerous."
"Maia, there’s nothing to worry about. Halloween is all about fun and mischief, candy and fantasy, costume and mystery. Besides, with Jordan making sure the city’s safe, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about."
Maia’s head hurt as she had a vision. The teacher asked if Maia was going to be okay.
"I’m just thinking that this party might not go as well as everyone wants."
When Diana arrived home that night, Maia was sitting at the table eating a grilled tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese sandwich. "Hi honey, is everything all right? You’re usually not up this late."
"Today, at school, I had a vision", Maia said.
"Would you like to tell me about it?", Diana wondered, as she grabbed a bite of Maia’s sandwich.
"Well, today in class, the teacher told us that Jordan cancelled classes for the rest of the week after Halloween so that we could all attend his big party."
"And?"
"You know I’ve never been to a big Halloween celebration, so I was a little down. I guess Miss Lancaster noticed and pulled me aside after class. We started talking about Halloween and how Jordan would make it all safe for the children to have fun."
Diana rolled her eyes at that comment. She made a private note to have Maia transferred to another science teacher.
"Then, I had another vision."
"What was it of?", Diana inquired of Maia as she wrapped her arms around her teen daughter.
"I saw a sea of ghosts roaming the streets of Seattle. There was a man in the front of them, like he was leading them, but he acted as if he was sick. Part of the time, the ghosts acted as if they harmless, but other times, they violently attacked anyone in their vicinity."
"When was this supposed to happen?"
"At Jordan’s party."
Diana knew exactly what to do. She opened her phone and started dialing Meghan’s phone number.
An hour later, Meghan, Marco, Garrity, Tom, and Abigeek had arrived at Diana’s apartment and were sitting around on her cushy sofas.
"Diana, what’s the hold-up? It’s late and I have Marco’s outfit to arrange for tomorrow. We can’t having him wearing stripes and polka dots, now can we?", Abigeek whined.
Marco blushed in embarrassment, but everyone admitted that Marco did dress better now that he was dating Abigeek.
"Sorry, but we’re waiting on one more person", Diana replied. A few moments later, a knock was on the door. "I think that’s him now."
Meghan jumped up and raced for the door. "I think it’s great that Ben came back. I’ve been wanting to meet him."
The Garrity twins snickered at Meghan’s comment, but Meghan’s icy cold stare shut them right up. When Diana opened the door, the room filled with jaw-dropping silence.
"Diana, why are you letting this monster into the house?", Tom yelled, demanding an answer from her.
"Well, hello to you, too, Tom", Jordan said sarcastically, as Diana moved to let him in.
Jordan casually strolled into the room. He was greeted with silent hostility from the rest of the assembled guests. Maia heard Jordan’s footsteps from her bedroom and raced into the living room. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug.
Jordan accepted the hug willingly, and for once, Jordan felt good inside. "I’m glad to see someone still loves me."
"So, what’s Mr. Messiah himself doing here?", Garrity barked.
"Yeah, what’s Mr. Messiah doing here?", Garrity’s double egged on.
Diana gave the Garrity clones one of her patent-pending, trademarked stares and they instantly shut up.
"Everyone, I brought you all together because Maia has had another vision. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t give Jordan the time of day, but since it also involves him I thought it best he also be here."
Maia then recounted her vision. The group was horrified by the vision.
"See what happens when you hand out promicin willy-nilly, Jordan?", Tom snapped.
"Upset Gay Jordan didn’t pick you in last night’s episode of the Gay 4400, eh, Tom?", Jordan retorted.
"Mmm... Gay Jordan."
The gang looked over at Diana. "What? That Gay Jordan is extremely hunky", she said, shrugging her shoulder.
"You know, Diana, we can always go back to my place and play Superwoman and Her Kryptonite."
"Jordan, don’t make me shove this gun somewhere you wouldn’t like."
Meghan whistled loudly into the air. "It’s not going to help anyone if we go around blowing each other’s brains out. I think Maia’s vision represent a real threat and we’re going to have to work together. I don’t think Washington will sit idly by if Seattle goes into chaos again."
"You mean Promise City..."
All eyes focused in on Jordan. Though nothing was said, the message from the room was to shut up.
Meghan continued. "Marco, Abigeek, I want you to go through our database and see if you can find any of the 4400s that have abilities similar to what Maia described. Tom, Diana, I want you to go over to the Ferrell-Burkhoff Center for the Study of Promicin and see if Kevin can give you any information about what kind of disease this man might be suffering. I, of course, will be watching foreign films in my office and fending off Washington."
Jordan stretched and got out of the chair. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door. "Thank you, Diana, for your hospitality. I’ll get CTAC to work on identifying any of our P+s that have powers similar to Maia’s description. We’ll also beef up our security forces, especially the week of Halloween."
Tom, Meghan, Marco, and Abigeek grabbed their coats and prepared to leave. Garrity simply sat there, sulking. "Meghan, what am I to be doing during all of this?"
Meghan thought for a moment, but before she could say anything, Maia spoke. "I see an extended visit to the bosses office in your future."
Meghan winked and left, followed by the rest of the Scooby gang.
The next day, Diana and Tom made their way to the Ferrell-Burkhoff Center. Shawn answered the door, surprised to see anyone from the government at their doors. Ever since Jordan took over the city, Shawn had been able to continue his healing without interference.
"Uncle Tommy, please tell me there isn’t a promicin plague... again. I couldn’t take it if more people died from promicin."
Tom wrapped his arms around Shawn. "Don’t worry, Shawn. We’re not the Gay 4400. We don’t recycle storylines on a whim."
Shawn relaxed. "So who do you think Gay Jordan will pick as his lover?"
"Mmm... Gay Jordan."
Shawn and Tom started busting out laughing. "Maybe the writers of the Gay 4400 aren’t that far off."
Diana blushed. "If I know the writers of the Gay 4400, it will probably be the one person nobody would suspect."
"Rebecca Parrish?", Shawn wondered aloud.
"Marco?", Tom absently suggested.
"Isabelle Tyler?", Diana joked.
"Speaking of Isabelle, how is Kyle handling the whole situation? I know he was pretty torn up about her departure", Shawn asked Tom, concern etched on his face.
Tom shook his head. "Not good, Shawn. He took off on a White Light Prophecy Tour to spread the good news about promicin. I suspect he only took the assignment so he could hunt down Isabelle. He’s actually convinced the poor girl is still alive." Tom sighed. "I think that’s Kyle’s way of dealing with things. Running away. Then again, I haven’t been the best role model, brooding over Alana’s disappearance almost every night."
Diana rubbed her hands against his shoulders. "You’re a good father, Tom. A damn good father."
"So is there anything I can help you guys with? I’m sure you didn’t drive all this way out to discuss family issues or the Gay 4400."
"Maia had another vision. In it, the guy acts normal part of the time, but other times, he acts sick, almost demented. We wanted to see if Kevin could give us medical information we could use to track this person down", Diana explained.
Kevin walked by as the trio were discussing Maia’s vision. Shawn waved him in, and Diana and Tom quickly informed him of the situation. "Diana, as much as I would love to help you, I can’t give you much. It could be anything from brain cancer to multiple personality disorder. Get him here, and I’d be glad to give you a complete medical workup."
A voice came over the intercom, calling for Kevin to report to the lab. Kevin apologized for leaving so soon, but his work on promicin compatibility came first.
"You know I’ll help you anyway I can. Just let me know", Shawn said, leaving for his office.
Diana and Tom returned to NTAC without any really useful information other than the symptoms pointed to a possible mental condition. Meanwhile, Marco and Abigeek’s searches yielded no hits. And even Jordan couldn’t find someone who matched the description from Maia’s vision.
Meghan ordered everyone into the Theory Room. "Are we getting anywhere on Maia’s vision?"
"Kevin says it might be a condition connected to the brain, but can’t say anything more conclusive without an examination", Tom said.
"Marco, Abigeek, ", Meghan said.
"We know."
Marco and Abigeek’s searches yielded no new clues. Meghan, desperate to keep Washington off their backs, fired off an email to her team telling them that they would be in fact attending Jordan’s Halloween bash. In official capacity, of course.
The night finally arrived, and everyone gathered over at NTAC. Maia wore a princess costume, while her mother Diana arrived wearing a black Kyco vest. Shawn wore a Speedo and swimming goggles. Meghan went as Catwoman. Marco came dressed as Richard Kahan, while Abigeek came dressed as Paris Hilton. Garrity arrived as both the Pope and Satan.
Everyone was waiting for Tom because Jordan would meet them in the P+ Quarter. Finally, Tom came in huffing and puffing, dressed as a monkey in a suit. Along with him was Kyle.
"Hi, Kyle!", Shawn said, running up and hugging him. "When did you get into town?"
"A few hours ago. Jordan asked me to come back because of Maia’s vision."
It was then that the group noticed Kyle’s costume. Kyle was decked out in a dog collar, with nothing else but a pair of leather pants. His ears were weighed down in metal and his hair was black and spiked.
"Dude, what’s with the costume?", Garrity asked.
"Just admitting what I’ve always believed. I’m Cassie’s slave."
They all looked at each other. "Who’s Cassie?"
"Cassie’s my ability, you guys", Kyle whined.
"Sure, if you say so", the gang said, laughing afterwards.
A half hour later, the merry group were among the crowds of people enjoying Jordan’s hospitality. Everything seemed peaceful, and even grumpy old Tom was having a good time. Maia was having a blast playing all the games and getting all the candy she could handle. She looked up and saw the Ferris wheel with all the carriages shaped like pumpkins and wanted to ride.
"Mom, can I, please?", she pleaded.
She looked torn. Part of her wanted to grant her daughter’s request. How much harm could a little ride cause? But the other part knew that she couldn’t. She was there at Jordan’s Halloween festival to hunt down the guy from Maia’s vision, not have fun.
Meghan saw Diana’s face and had pity on her. "Diana, don’t you and Tom have a break due?"
"What break?", Diana said, oblivious to Meghan’s intent. Then, in a moment where one could almost see the lightbulb go off in her head, she smiled and replied, "Yeah, yeah, I do. Come on, Maia, we’re going to have some fun."
Maia cheered and started racing for the line to ride the Ferris wheel.
"Just remember, if you and Tom see anything, let us know."
It had just turned ten o’clock when a large sea of people started running for the exits. "Ghosts!", Meghan heard one person screamed. "Zombies!", Marco heard another yell. Garrity pointed off to the distance where a sea of ghosts and zombies were headed towards them.
"Damn!", said Meghan, "I was hoping for this whole vision thing to be a bust so I could get some free overtime."
She grabbed a daisy off the ground and made a .45.
Meghan, Marco, Abigail, and the Garrity twins made their way through the crowds, trying to find out what was happening.
Meanwhile, Diana and Tom had been chasing down the suspect and had chased him into the Seattle Art Museum. Tom motioned with his hand to Diana to split up, that maybe they could surround him.
Then Tom saw her.
Alana.
She bent her fingers to suggest that he follow him. Deep into the museum they went until they stopped in front of her portrait.
"Thomas, I missed you."
Tom leaned in to kiss her. She was corporal.
."How is this possible?"
"Shh!", Alana said, "let us enjoy the time we have together."
Alana took Tom into a dream world, one where they were both together and happy. The suspect snuck up behind Tom and grabbed his gun. He cocked it, ready to fire.
Diana held a gun to the man’s head.
"I don’t think you want to do that if I were you", Diana said.
"What does it matter if I die at your hand or God’s?", he replied.
Then he conjured up some zombies from spirits that resided in the museum. She was easily overwhelmed and pulled off of the man.
But, unfortunately for the man, all the noise in the real world had translated in holes in Tom’s dream world and Tom wished himself out. Tom surprised the suspect and easily knocked him out cold. When he did so, all the ghosts and zombies disappeared.
A few minutes later, the rest of the gang arrived to take him into custody, spurred on by a new vision by Maia.
A few days later.....
Marco was in front of the group in the Theory Room explaining the results of the tests Marco and Kevin had ran.
"After we did the scan on his head, we determined that Erik Osmond was suffering from brain cancer. We also found something even odder though. He was a chimera."
"A chimera?". Tom asked.
"Yes, after digging through his medical records, we found out that he was originally an identical triplet. Both of his brothers died in utero, but his body eventually absorbed their DNA."
"How come we never knew any of this before the little incident at the festival? Jordan’s security said over 500 people died, many from being trampled on by others", Meghan inquired.
"Because of his ability. Or rather abilities."
"Abilities? How is that possible? I thought promicin only gave one ability per person", Garrity said.
"Ordinarily, yes. Erik’s ability is to be able to turn into a ghost at will. But, remember, he is a chimera, a combination of the DNA’s of three different people, and according to Kevin, all promicin tolerant. His second ability was that he can raise the spirits of those in his immediate area and give them human form. His third ability was to be able to control the spirits while they roamed the earth. Luckily, the last two abilities only work for one week a year."
"Let me guess: the week of Halloween", Diana said.
"Then how did he get his hands on promicin to begin with?", Garrity asked.
"He was at the hospital the day Danny visited his mother."
"So why wasn’t he there when we were cataloging the survivors?", Meghan demanded.
"He told Shawn that the nurse told him his insurance wouldn’t pay for his brain surgery, and he left to go get money from his bank. He left just as Danny was coming in. And when he returned with the down payment for his surgery, we had barricaded it off, so he just turned around and left."
"Is he on the inhibitor now?", Garrity’s clone wondered. Marco nodded.
"Once Shawn healed away the cancer, his abilities weakened greatly. It seemed the cancer was feeding off of the promicin in his system and, in turn, advancing the cancer far beyond its capabilities. Had Shawn not healed him when he did, Erik would have died within another week."
Tom looked off in the distance. "Would it be possible to get him to bring her back?"
Meghan was confused. "Did something happen back there?"
"Erik lured us into a trap by using the spirit of Alana trapped in the painting to get to Tom."
"Oh?", Meghan said, her face trying not to show the pain she felt inside.
"Next year, if he’s not snatched up by the FBI or some other Homeland Security department. I'm sure his primary ability would be useful in some spying capacity", Marco shrugged.
The next Halloween....
Tom arrived at the museum dressed in a tuxedo and escorting Erik Osmond in handcuffs. "Ok, do your thing."
Alana appeared before Tom, beautiful as ever. "Thomas, I missed you. The time we spent together last year was far too short."
"Don't worry. This year we have all night."
Tom looked over at Erik. "And you, don't think of escaping. Those cuffs are specifically formulated to your body's unique vibrations. One attempt to go ghosty, and you'll be burnt to a crisp."
Tom turned back to Alana. "Ok, I'm ready."
Fin.
Hi Bubba here, wow, that story had a little bit of everything.
Awesome story! Lol, "grabbed a daisy and turned it into a .45"
A Promicin Halloween Theme
1
Diana looked at her watch as she waited for her daughter by the car. In the heart of Promise City, Kyle Baldwin had proposed the idea of having a Halloween Party as a way for people to lighten up even if it was just for the night. Jordan Collier thought that would be an excellent idea so all were invited.
Diana Skouris wasn't too keen on going since she would be surrounded with 4400s and Promicin Positives; then again was their a distinction between the two since the 4400 had Promicin within them as well? And she wasn't too keen on having Maia go either; however she relinquished her powers when Tom said that he would be going since it would give him a good excuse to see his son. Still though, the thought of being surrounded by so many of them was enough to get her a little uptight and antsy. She couldn't decide if it was because she always kept her distance from them to begin with or if it was because now she knew she had a resistance to Promicin and could never develop an ability; leaving her as the only one on the planet without an ability. At least if others took the shot they had a chance of death or survival- Diana Skouris didn't face that situation at all. Was this a hint of jealousy, maybe so. Everyone at NTAC had begun to develop abilities as well, even her own partner had when Kyle told him it was time to do so. From what she knew, Tom had been hesitant but he trusted his son and if Kyle said he would survive, then he would survive and sure enough he had.
Interrupting her thoughts, a car moved up and parked in a spot next to Diana. It was Tom. He got out of his car and walked over to Diana.
"Hey," she said to him, "I thought we were going to be picking you up."
"That was over an hour ago. I got tired of waiting so I thought I would just come by and we'd all go together."
"Sorry, Maia is just taking so long getting ready, I thought she'd be done by now."
"Do you want to go check up on her?"
"No, I think we can spare her a few more minutes. Where's your costume?"
"I'm wearing it," Tom replied. "In case you've forgotten, these were the clothes that Marked Tom was wearing when he had that little show down and you shot me."
"Oh so trying to stir up bad memories?"
"Not really, more of of a dry humor sort of thing."
"Yeah, just don't let Megan know what you are?"
"Are you kidding, I plan to scare her out of her mind tonight and turn all sinister on her. She's gonna freak."
Diana laughed, "You've got that right."
Tom shrugged, "It's Halloween so I'm allowed. So what are you supposed to be?"
Diana smiled, "An NTAC Agent."
"You know you're probably gonna get jumped then, right?"
"Well if bad goes to worse, then you can snap your fingers to stop time and get me out of there."
"Well in that case I'll be constantly snapping my fingers to make sure nothing happens to you. I don't think Ben would like it if you got killed on Halloween night. Where is he anyways?"
"He's now in Egypt, he figured it was time he start taking some shots of the pyrimids during the sunsets."
"He'd rather be there than with his fiance and soon to be daughter."
"Soon to be, he hasn't actually proposed yet."
"Do you think he will?"
"I don't know."
With the next question, Tom looked Diana straight in the eye, "Do you want him too."
Diana looked back into his eyes without giving an answer.
"I'm ready," Maia announced.
Diana and Tom turned their gaze away from each other and to Maia.
"Oh my God, Maia, what are you wearing?" Diana asked motioning to her daughter's costume; a leather bandana, fake tattoos running up along her arms, a leather vest, and black t-shirt.
"Isn't it cool," Maia asked.
"Is this what was in the box your aunt April sent you?" Diana asked.
"Mhm," Maia answered. "She wanted me to have a cool costume instead of a dorky one like a scientist."
"Hey," Diana said her tone raising a bit. As a kid, Maia's age, Diana had dressed up as a scientist for Halloween. Now with Maia's appearel it was clear April didn't want Maia to follow in her mother's footsteps.
"I don't know about this Maia," Diana said moving her head a little to the side.
"Aw come on mom, please. What do you think, Tom?"
Diana looked at Maia. Clever, putting her partner on the spot like that. Diana looked at Tom.
"Well," he said, "It does look cool and it is just for tonight."
"Tom!" Diana said as he just shrugged. Diana looked back at her daughter. She knew that if Maia had to go change she would most likely be angry at her most of the night and she also knew that Tom had a way of spoiling Maia which is why he agreed to her outfit. Diana took a deep breath and said, "All right, you can wear it but you have to make me a promise that you're not going to grow up and get any real tattoos. One Aunt April is enough."
"I promise," Maia said hugging her mom, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, come on lets get in the car."
The three of them got in the car with Diana at the wheel.
2
When the three of them arrived, they were surprised to see a lot of people; then again they shouldn't have been all that surprised since Jordan and Kyle had invited everyone. People were all over the place.
A young girl spotted Maia and she quickly ran over. It was Lindsey Hamond.
"Maia!" she said excitedly.
"Lindsey, hey! Wow great costume," Maia said looking over Lindsey's vampire queen outfit.
"Thanks, I like yours too. It's very rebel. So are you ready to go, they're waiting for you."
"Who's waiting for you?" Diana asked Maia.
"Oh, just some friends," Maia lied. She had yet to tell her mom about some guys ability to bring back parents from the past. "Can I go, mom?"
"I don't see why not but be sure to check in with me every half hour."
"Mom," Maia said dragging the word.
"Maia," Diana said sternly.
"All right fine, can I go now?"
"Yes, go have fun."
"I will," Maia said all ready running off.
Tom and Diana started walking towards the lake where they saw a few friends from work. They see Jed Garrity who is in a Star Wars clone trooper outfit- very appropriate considering there are two of him due to his ability.
Marco appeared in front of them a few seconds later dressed in an astronauts uniform.
"Do I even have to ask where you've been?" said Diana.
"Sorry," replied Marco taking off the helmet, "I was looking at some photos of the resent shuttle launch and I was thinking back to when I was a kid. Be careful what you wish for right?"
"Hey, have any of you seen Megan yet? I so want to freak her out," said Tom.
"How do you plan to do that?" replied both Jed's.
Diana smiled, "By pretending he's one of the Marked."
They hung around and a few moments later, Megan joined the group dressed up as a wood nymph.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"It's very green," replied Clone Garrity.
"Tom, you okay?" Megan asked refering to the stern look on his face.
Tom just shook his head. "You're all so pathetic you know that? Pretty soon Halloween won't even matter. You're gonna be so busy screwing up this world that there won't be time to dress up."
"Okay Tom, stop fooling around," said Megan starting to get a little weary.
"Who's fooling around Megan? The world is still spinning out of control and no matter how hard you guys try, the Promicin Positives won't be able to fix it, we're still going to allow the catastrophe to happen."
Tom then looked to Diana, "You know, you're just so bad at this," she said to him and then started laughing and the other's joined in.
Megan playfully hit Tom on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry," said Tom trying to contain his laugh, "I had to do it."
"You had to freak me out by pretending you were one of the Marked again?"
"Come on," Tom replied, "You have to admit it was pretty funny. You should have seen the look on your face."
"I have to admit," Diana said, "That it was pretty funny."
"You knew he was going to do this?"
"He talked about it a little."
"Skouris, Baldwin, just because it's Halloween, I'm gonna let this one slide but for future reference don't play the Marked card again. Once was bad enough."
The NTAC agents continued to joke around which was something that they rarely did. A few moments later, Maia came over and was holding Kyle Baldwin's hand. Jordan Collier trailed behind them.
"Hey Tom, look who I found," Maia said to him.
Tom and the others turned and were surprised to see Kyle and Jordan.
"Kyle," was all Tom could say.
"Hey dad, I'm glad you could come."
"So am I," he said as the two embraced.
"Where's Shawn?" asked Kyle.
"I wish I knew, he's been so distant lately. I haven't seen him in a few weeks."
"Well I suppose that's to be expected considering everything he's been through."
"Yeah I know but considering you and I are the only family he's got left, I wish he wouldn't turn away."
"Well," said Collier, "Who would have thought that we would all be here together on common ground with no wars raging between us and NTAC."
"You did," replied Kyle.
"Maybe so," said Collier, "But part of me had my doubts. At least this is a start to a better world."
"And what better world is that?" asked Diana.
"A world towards healing. I heard about your immunity to Promicin, agent Skouris, I'm terribly sorry but the fact that you're here must show that you believe in this movement."
"I'm here because this is where my co-workers and my daughter want to be here. It has nothing to do with me."
"Of course it does, even though you're immuned, you still will play a crucial role in this momement." Collier looked to the others, "As long as you're here, I'm sure Kyle wouldn't mind showing you around and show you all the new changes that have been made. I have to make more rounds to the other guests."
Everyone nodded their consent and followed Kyle. Diana straggled behind wondering what role she could play in the movement. She was defective and she knew it, what could Collier have in store for her? Sure she was here only as a favor to her daughter and co-workers but deep down she stil held onto her own beliefs that Seattle would be restored and that things would go back to being how they once were. She didn't have an ability and she was fine with that- at least it gave her some normalcy and consistancy in her life.
She saw Maia turn to her, "Mom, are you coming?"
Diana didn't say anything but instead walked to Maia and took her hand. "You're gonna like what they've done here," Maia said to her. "And there's something that I personally want to show you."
"Really, and what's that?"
Maia had a huge grin on her face, "My mom and my dad."
Diana looked at her daughter curiously and a whole other set of questions aroused in her mind. Maia's parents- her real biological parents- how could that be? Diana settled her thoughts and just decided to go with the flow. At least for now until Halloween was over and she could get back to her life at NTAC.
1
Diana looked at her watch as she waited for her daughter by the car. In the heart of Promise City, Kyle Baldwin had proposed the idea of having a Halloween Party as a way for people to lighten up even if it was just for the night. Jordan Collier thought that would be an excellent idea so all were invited.
Diana Skouris wasn't too keen on going since she would be surrounded with 4400s and Promicin Positives; then again was their a distinction between the two since the 4400 had Promicin within them as well? And she wasn't too keen on having Maia go either; however she relinquished her powers when Tom said that he would be going since it would give him a good excuse to see his son. Still though, the thought of being surrounded by so many of them was enough to get her a little uptight and antsy. She couldn't decide if it was because she always kept her distance from them to begin with or if it was because now she knew she had a resistance to Promicin and could never develop an ability; leaving her as the only one on the planet without an ability. At least if others took the shot they had a chance of death or survival- Diana Skouris didn't face that situation at all. Was this a hint of jealousy, maybe so. Everyone at NTAC had begun to develop abilities as well, even her own partner had when Kyle told him it was time to do so. From what she knew, Tom had been hesitant but he trusted his son and if Kyle said he would survive, then he would survive and sure enough he had.
Interrupting her thoughts, a car moved up and parked in a spot next to Diana. It was Tom. He got out of his car and walked over to Diana.
"Hey," she said to him, "I thought we were going to be picking you up."
"That was over an hour ago. I got tired of waiting so I thought I would just come by and we'd all go together."
"Sorry, Maia is just taking so long getting ready, I thought she'd be done by now."
"Do you want to go check up on her?"
"No, I think we can spare her a few more minutes. Where's your costume?"
"I'm wearing it," Tom replied. "In case you've forgotten, these were the clothes that Marked Tom was wearing when he had that little show down and you shot me."
"Oh so trying to stir up bad memories?"
"Not really, more of of a dry humor sort of thing."
"Yeah, just don't let Megan know what you are?"
"Are you kidding, I plan to scare her out of her mind tonight and turn all sinister on her. She's gonna freak."
Diana laughed, "You've got that right."
Tom shrugged, "It's Halloween so I'm allowed. So what are you supposed to be?"
Diana smiled, "An NTAC Agent."
"You know you're probably gonna get jumped then, right?"
"Well if bad goes to worse, then you can snap your fingers to stop time and get me out of there."
"Well in that case I'll be constantly snapping my fingers to make sure nothing happens to you. I don't think Ben would like it if you got killed on Halloween night. Where is he anyways?"
"He's now in Egypt, he figured it was time he start taking some shots of the pyrimids during the sunsets."
"He'd rather be there than with his fiance and soon to be daughter."
"Soon to be, he hasn't actually proposed yet."
"Do you think he will?"
"I don't know."
With the next question, Tom looked Diana straight in the eye, "Do you want him too."
Diana looked back into his eyes without giving an answer.
"I'm ready," Maia announced.
Diana and Tom turned their gaze away from each other and to Maia.
"Oh my God, Maia, what are you wearing?" Diana asked motioning to her daughter's costume; a leather bandana, fake tattoos running up along her arms, a leather vest, and black t-shirt.
"Isn't it cool," Maia asked.
"Is this what was in the box your aunt April sent you?" Diana asked.
"Mhm," Maia answered. "She wanted me to have a cool costume instead of a dorky one like a scientist."
"Hey," Diana said her tone raising a bit. As a kid, Maia's age, Diana had dressed up as a scientist for Halloween. Now with Maia's appearel it was clear April didn't want Maia to follow in her mother's footsteps.
"I don't know about this Maia," Diana said moving her head a little to the side.
"Aw come on mom, please. What do you think, Tom?"
Diana looked at Maia. Clever, putting her partner on the spot like that. Diana looked at Tom.
"Well," he said, "It does look cool and it is just for tonight."
"Tom!" Diana said as he just shrugged. Diana looked back at her daughter. She knew that if Maia had to go change she would most likely be angry at her most of the night and she also knew that Tom had a way of spoiling Maia which is why he agreed to her outfit. Diana took a deep breath and said, "All right, you can wear it but you have to make me a promise that you're not going to grow up and get any real tattoos. One Aunt April is enough."
"I promise," Maia said hugging her mom, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, come on lets get in the car."
The three of them got in the car with Diana at the wheel.
2
When the three of them arrived, they were surprised to see a lot of people; then again they shouldn't have been all that surprised since Jordan and Kyle had invited everyone. People were all over the place.
A young girl spotted Maia and she quickly ran over. It was Lindsey Hamond.
"Maia!" she said excitedly.
"Lindsey, hey! Wow great costume," Maia said looking over Lindsey's vampire queen outfit.
"Thanks, I like yours too. It's very rebel. So are you ready to go, they're waiting for you."
"Who's waiting for you?" Diana asked Maia.
"Oh, just some friends," Maia lied. She had yet to tell her mom about some guys ability to bring back parents from the past. "Can I go, mom?"
"I don't see why not but be sure to check in with me every half hour."
"Mom," Maia said dragging the word.
"Maia," Diana said sternly.
"All right fine, can I go now?"
"Yes, go have fun."
"I will," Maia said all ready running off.
Tom and Diana started walking towards the lake where they saw a few friends from work. They see Jed Garrity who is in a Star Wars clone trooper outfit- very appropriate considering there are two of him due to his ability.
Marco appeared in front of them a few seconds later dressed in an astronauts uniform.
"Do I even have to ask where you've been?" said Diana.
"Sorry," replied Marco taking off the helmet, "I was looking at some photos of the resent shuttle launch and I was thinking back to when I was a kid. Be careful what you wish for right?"
"Hey, have any of you seen Megan yet? I so want to freak her out," said Tom.
"How do you plan to do that?" replied both Jed's.
Diana smiled, "By pretending he's one of the Marked."
They hung around and a few moments later, Megan joined the group dressed up as a wood nymph.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"It's very green," replied Clone Garrity.
"Tom, you okay?" Megan asked refering to the stern look on his face.
Tom just shook his head. "You're all so pathetic you know that? Pretty soon Halloween won't even matter. You're gonna be so busy screwing up this world that there won't be time to dress up."
"Okay Tom, stop fooling around," said Megan starting to get a little weary.
"Who's fooling around Megan? The world is still spinning out of control and no matter how hard you guys try, the Promicin Positives won't be able to fix it, we're still going to allow the catastrophe to happen."
Tom then looked to Diana, "You know, you're just so bad at this," she said to him and then started laughing and the other's joined in.
Megan playfully hit Tom on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry," said Tom trying to contain his laugh, "I had to do it."
"You had to freak me out by pretending you were one of the Marked again?"
"Come on," Tom replied, "You have to admit it was pretty funny. You should have seen the look on your face."
"I have to admit," Diana said, "That it was pretty funny."
"You knew he was going to do this?"
"He talked about it a little."
"Skouris, Baldwin, just because it's Halloween, I'm gonna let this one slide but for future reference don't play the Marked card again. Once was bad enough."
The NTAC agents continued to joke around which was something that they rarely did. A few moments later, Maia came over and was holding Kyle Baldwin's hand. Jordan Collier trailed behind them.
"Hey Tom, look who I found," Maia said to him.
Tom and the others turned and were surprised to see Kyle and Jordan.
"Kyle," was all Tom could say.
"Hey dad, I'm glad you could come."
"So am I," he said as the two embraced.
"Where's Shawn?" asked Kyle.
"I wish I knew, he's been so distant lately. I haven't seen him in a few weeks."
"Well I suppose that's to be expected considering everything he's been through."
"Yeah I know but considering you and I are the only family he's got left, I wish he wouldn't turn away."
"Well," said Collier, "Who would have thought that we would all be here together on common ground with no wars raging between us and NTAC."
"You did," replied Kyle.
"Maybe so," said Collier, "But part of me had my doubts. At least this is a start to a better world."
"And what better world is that?" asked Diana.
"A world towards healing. I heard about your immunity to Promicin, agent Skouris, I'm terribly sorry but the fact that you're here must show that you believe in this movement."
"I'm here because this is where my co-workers and my daughter want to be here. It has nothing to do with me."
"Of course it does, even though you're immuned, you still will play a crucial role in this momement." Collier looked to the others, "As long as you're here, I'm sure Kyle wouldn't mind showing you around and show you all the new changes that have been made. I have to make more rounds to the other guests."
Everyone nodded their consent and followed Kyle. Diana straggled behind wondering what role she could play in the movement. She was defective and she knew it, what could Collier have in store for her? Sure she was here only as a favor to her daughter and co-workers but deep down she stil held onto her own beliefs that Seattle would be restored and that things would go back to being how they once were. She didn't have an ability and she was fine with that- at least it gave her some normalcy and consistancy in her life.
She saw Maia turn to her, "Mom, are you coming?"
Diana didn't say anything but instead walked to Maia and took her hand. "You're gonna like what they've done here," Maia said to her. "And there's something that I personally want to show you."
"Really, and what's that?"
Maia had a huge grin on her face, "My mom and my dad."
Diana looked at her daughter curiously and a whole other set of questions aroused in her mind. Maia's parents- her real biological parents- how could that be? Diana settled her thoughts and just decided to go with the flow. At least for now until Halloween was over and she could get back to her life at NTAC.
SW, where's the rest???? It can't end there! What where Jordan and Kyle dressed up as? Did Shawn end up going to? Where's Abigeek, was she a scientist? What did Diana do when she saw Maia's parents?
More more more!
More more more!
I've not read the others yet, but here is my contribution.
4400 Halloween Challenge
Must include: 4400 character, someone using an ability, candy, costumes, a scare or two, and NTAC.
It was dark. In fact, it was the darkest night Jordan had ever experienced. There was no moon in the sky, and the city lights seemed subdued by the pressing blackness. Not much phased the leader of Promise City, but a disconcerting feeling nagged at the back of his mind.
"Brilliant costume, Jordan," said Kyle Baldwin, as he stepped through the sliding glass door, from the commissary onto the patio. "Zorro looks good on you."
Jordan wore black, head to toe, the Zorro mask, hanging at his collar and the round hat resting atop the cape that draped from shoulders.
"Thank you, Kyle," he replied, glad that the costume did not look foolish. "What is this Indian get up you're sporting?"
Kyle's face fell in momentary disappointment. "I'm a Shaman, Jordan."
Jordan eyes lit in recognition to the White Light reference. "Ah, yes, of course. It suits you. Though, I'm not sure about the feather."
Kyle fingered the feather protruding from his headband, but did not remove it.
"I think it works," Kyle replied. "Can I get you a drink, or some cake? Candy?"
Jordan smiled, gratefully. "No, I'm fine. I just need a moment."
Kyle searched Jordan's eyes, looking for anything he should worry about. "Is everything okay, Jordan?"
"I'm fine, Kyle. Go enjoy the party."
When Kyle had gone, Jordan's preoccupation with the darkness returned. The City lights were even more dim that before, and were getting lower as he watched. The blanket of complete darkness seemed to be coming toward him, covering everything in sight.
He did not run from it; he sensed it do no good.
All light disappeared. Jordan Collier stood in complete darkness, the disconcerting feeling now morphing into full blown concern. He could not see himself, his hand in front of his face. There were no walls, nothing he could touch or feel. He took a few steps and stumbled, anticipating the stairwell that led to yard below. It was not there.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. They came from all around him.
"Hello?" he said, absently, his concern nowhere in the boldness of his voice. "Show yourself."
"Hello Jordan," said Tom Baldwin, raising the light only enough that the two could see each other.
"Tom Baldwin?" Jordan said, puzzled.
"That's me," Tom replied, matter of fact. "Surprised?"
"That's an understatement."
"A little dramatic, isn't it," Tom said. "The whole creeping darkness thing. It scared the hell out me the first time."
"What is this about, Tom?" Jordan said, suspiciously. "Are you kidnapping me? Are you going to thrown me into some NTAC hole so that I'll never be heard from again?"
"You know that isn't me, Jordan. I just popped into let you know I took the shot…and that I can call a meeting like this one anytime I deem it necessary, with anyone I deem necessary."
"Don't do me any favors."
"Don't worry. I have better things to do that harass you. Though, it has been fun."
Tom turned away from Jordan as if looking for something in the darkness.
"Tell Kyle I said hello. Oh, and one more thing, Zorro doesn't suit you…at all."
4400 Halloween Challenge
Must include: 4400 character, someone using an ability, candy, costumes, a scare or two, and NTAC.
It was dark. In fact, it was the darkest night Jordan had ever experienced. There was no moon in the sky, and the city lights seemed subdued by the pressing blackness. Not much phased the leader of Promise City, but a disconcerting feeling nagged at the back of his mind.
"Brilliant costume, Jordan," said Kyle Baldwin, as he stepped through the sliding glass door, from the commissary onto the patio. "Zorro looks good on you."
Jordan wore black, head to toe, the Zorro mask, hanging at his collar and the round hat resting atop the cape that draped from shoulders.
"Thank you, Kyle," he replied, glad that the costume did not look foolish. "What is this Indian get up you're sporting?"
Kyle's face fell in momentary disappointment. "I'm a Shaman, Jordan."
Jordan eyes lit in recognition to the White Light reference. "Ah, yes, of course. It suits you. Though, I'm not sure about the feather."
Kyle fingered the feather protruding from his headband, but did not remove it.
"I think it works," Kyle replied. "Can I get you a drink, or some cake? Candy?"
Jordan smiled, gratefully. "No, I'm fine. I just need a moment."
Kyle searched Jordan's eyes, looking for anything he should worry about. "Is everything okay, Jordan?"
"I'm fine, Kyle. Go enjoy the party."
When Kyle had gone, Jordan's preoccupation with the darkness returned. The City lights were even more dim that before, and were getting lower as he watched. The blanket of complete darkness seemed to be coming toward him, covering everything in sight.
He did not run from it; he sensed it do no good.
All light disappeared. Jordan Collier stood in complete darkness, the disconcerting feeling now morphing into full blown concern. He could not see himself, his hand in front of his face. There were no walls, nothing he could touch or feel. He took a few steps and stumbled, anticipating the stairwell that led to yard below. It was not there.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. They came from all around him.
"Hello?" he said, absently, his concern nowhere in the boldness of his voice. "Show yourself."
"Hello Jordan," said Tom Baldwin, raising the light only enough that the two could see each other.
"Tom Baldwin?" Jordan said, puzzled.
"That's me," Tom replied, matter of fact. "Surprised?"
"That's an understatement."
"A little dramatic, isn't it," Tom said. "The whole creeping darkness thing. It scared the hell out me the first time."
"What is this about, Tom?" Jordan said, suspiciously. "Are you kidnapping me? Are you going to thrown me into some NTAC hole so that I'll never be heard from again?"
"You know that isn't me, Jordan. I just popped into let you know I took the shot…and that I can call a meeting like this one anytime I deem it necessary, with anyone I deem necessary."
"Don't do me any favors."
"Don't worry. I have better things to do that harass you. Though, it has been fun."
Tom turned away from Jordan as if looking for something in the darkness.
"Tell Kyle I said hello. Oh, and one more thing, Zorro doesn't suit you…at all."
QUOTE (Ashramsgrl @ Oct 17 2007, 12:51 PM) 
SW, where's the rest???? It can't end there! What where Jordan and Kyle dressed up as? Did Shawn end up going to? Where's Abigeek, was she a scientist? What did Diana do when she saw Maia's parents?
More more more!
More more more!
You want more, okay. Originally I was just gonna leave it at those two chapters because I wasn't sure if I was gonna have it up in time for Halloween since I've been so busy with school. But I suppose I can add on a few more. Just don't know when I'll have time to do the rest but I have that part up for now so it should suffice until I am allowed more time. Until then you all can just speculate.
But I do promise I'll do more.
dying to know if what I wrote was any good...
*goes to read, and is sorry about not responding sooner* Dadadada...
Jordan as Zorro totally works for him. I can see his Kyco Vest collection being used all over the place. Kyle as a Shaman...a little YMCA but I like it.
Jordan as Zorro totally works for him. I can see his Kyco Vest collection being used all over the place. Kyle as a Shaman...a little YMCA but I like it.
Did anyone like mine? 
QUOTE (Promicinjunkie @ Oct 19 2007, 08:06 AM)
Did anyone like mine?
I thought I responded to yours. M'orry PJ. Yours had the most action in it, and a compelling plot. I loved the originial characters too. As Bubba said a nice bit of everything.
Very well done.
It kinda makes me wish for a whole season so we could have holiday themed episodes.
PJ, I'll get to yours today. It's long! 
Ok, just checking. I wasn't sure if the comments people were saying were compliments or just being polite. 
Ok ok, I admit it. I'm officially full of it. Even though I posted this thread and asked for stories by Halloween, my own is turning out to be longer than I thought and I started a brand new full time job that's not giving me alot of time outside of the weekends.
So I am working my butt of this story so I can have it done in time, but please forgive me if it's not.
So I am working my butt of this story so I can have it done in time, but please forgive me if it's not.
Why are you worrying, hun? According to the rules:
No limit on words and no deadline, but it would be cool to have these to read by Halloween.
So the way I see it, if it's finished by the bewitching hour, sweet!, but if not, it's still okay.
I'm also working on one myself, but I'm not sure how long it will take. Also, if it will be Halloween-y enough.... *le sigh*
No limit on words and no deadline, but it would be cool to have these to read by Halloween.
So the way I see it, if it's finished by the bewitching hour, sweet!, but if not, it's still okay.
I'm also working on one myself, but I'm not sure how long it will take. Also, if it will be Halloween-y enough.... *le sigh*
Here's the first half of my fic. First of all I want to thank Rockingmule. Without you I would have never actually had a plot. Thanks so much!
Disclaimer: I own nothing from the 4400
Rating: NFY- Not for youngin's
Characters: Everybody
Author's Note: Far far away in a land of make-believe called Seattle, there was a neighborhood called Promise City...nah I kid. This is a bit of an AU where Isabelle's kill switch failed so she's alive, and Danny learned how to control his ability only after the outbreak. Oops and double oops. This story takes place after NTAC finds out about what's left of them being P+ and also after Jordan's speech at City Hall.
Trick or Treats
October 29th
Jordan looked around the room in utter disbelief. Paper pumpkins, candy corn structures, goblins, ghouls, skeletons and all other festive decorations hung from the ceiling and just about sat on the heads of anyone over six feet tall. The more crude decorations where cut and colored in by children, adults had also pitched in and their designs were artistically spooky. The more prominent Promise City artists pitched in as well with food decor and garland and scary fun house preparations.
When Jordan offered the bunker as a fun distraction, he never expected this. He was about to leave when he heard the punch bowl begin to make burping sounds. Jordan turned to it, slowly, he saw it merge upwards and let loose a long low burp and one huge bubble. The red thick liquid nearly overflowed the bowl before settling down again. With very leary movements he looked around, to make sure that no one saw him, then he stuck his finger in it and tasted.
“Mmm, berry. Hmph.” Nope, he didn't expect this at all. “I wonder what else they did.”
As he walked out of the room, he saw that there was a laser he had tripped. A whirring picked up somewhere in the walls, and waves of stage fog came out of the vents filling the room with an even more eerie presence. Jordan smirked when he pulled the door shut. Looks like there were tricks abound this Halloween.
~*_*~
Meghan looked around the new Theory Room at what was left of her NTAC staff. Not much. Sure the regulars where there, but their heavy recruiting process turned up squat. Two months and not a single new officer to replace the twenty four that were lost. Morale was low, and as their leader Meghan was determined going to do something about that.
“Alright everyone. Look here. I know we've had a really tough time with adjusting. No one expected this, and no one could ever be prepared. I don't know what to say to soften the blow of this upheveal, but I can say this. From now on, we have to change our approach on Positives and on Positive lifestyle. Arresting, shooting, threatening these people didn't work before, and sure as hell isn't going to work now. I haven't got the official word from DC, yet, but I have an idea that may make the transition of this new world far smoother than what it could be.”
Everyone looked around at each other nervously. Meghan's good ideas were usually out of the box of normality, way out of the box. Sometimes they weren't even near the box. Sure they were good, just out of the norm. Diana rolled her eyes. There was no such thing as normalcy anymore. She nudged Tom and pointed at the big pumpkin headed pin that Meghan was using and snickered at it. Tom merely shrugged as if to say, so what. Meghan walked to each person in the room and handed out small pieces of paper that she had been writing on.
“What are these,” Diana asked impatiently. She opened it up and on the inside read an odd job. Hers happened to say Trick or Treater. Tom's also had Trick or Treater. Abigail frowned at hers. Jed asked why he seemed to be the only one with two jobs. Marco seemed to be the only person who throughly enjoyed his job.
“Meghan, what's going on,” Tom asked this time with a urgency that everyone was feeling.
The Chief Officer sighed and sat down. “Collier is opening up Promise City for Halloween as a sign of good faith. He wanted all of us to work together again, this time with no life threatening activity going on. Frankly, I have to agree. This is a great opportunity to see Promise City and how it works. Obviously they're doing something right and this is a way to find out what it is. And yes, this has to be done in costume.” The moans and groans of displeasure could be heard throughout the entire building.
~*_*~
Heather slumped down in a student's seat in her classroom. Today had been rough. Sure her ability helped children to focus, but trying to get them to pay attention when a weekend of fun and treats was just minutes away was impossible, even for her.
But that didn't mean she wasn't going to let the free time slip away. She knew that most of her children were going to the parade and party in Promise City, and she wanted to be there. Being able to represent the open hospitality of the 4400 Center would be a nice gesture.
She wasn't going to go for the free food at all. Nope nope nope. Not even the gourmet treats she had hears so much about. Apparently someone had the ability to cook and make everyone enjoy it. Heather quickly checked her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling. After she cleaned up her classroom, she grabbed a large garment bag that was a gift from a student and headed upstairs. She knew that there was one person here at the Center who wasn't all too excited about Halloween.
After changing into what was in the bag, she marched straight upstairs and knocked on the executive suit door.
~*_*~
Shawn glanced at the door when he heard it knock and casually went back to refining his platform. He knew that political options were in a desperate need. Challenging Jordan to a debate might be futile, but it was the right thing to do. He wasn't going to back down. The last time he caved on a promicien issue nine thousand people died. This wasn't a matter of being right or stubborn.
Or was it? It was about options and choices. Shawn began to wish for his own time machine. Before he could even begin to muster the thoughts of time travel, he heard someone knocking on his door again. This time he called his secretary.
“Brenda, what's going on? Who's that at my door, and shouldn't you at least tell me someone is here to see me?”
“First of all, Shawn, how many times do I have to tell you to ask me one question at a time. Second, I really think you should come and see this.”
Shawn reluctantly stood up and grumbled his way to the door. When he opened it, his mouth dropped.
There greeting him at his threshold was Heather Toby as the Good Witch Glinda. She was decked out completely with the glittery two and a half foot wand, pale pink ball gown with all the lace and thrills, shoulder pads to give a linebacker envy or to have a starring role in Dynasty, as well as a tiara that was fit for the biggest showoff of the Royal British Crown. He couldn't help it. The corner of his mouth perked up without his consent.
“Ha,” Heather said triumphantly, “I knew you'd like it. That's why I brought you this.” And with that she shoved another garment bag into his hands while simultaneously shoving herself inside to make sure he changed into it, whether he wanted to or not.
~*_*~ October 30th
Maia looked at herself in the mirror, and smiled. This would so rock. Wait, rock? She shook her head. Did that come from Aunt April or Lindsey? She made a note to herself to expand her social circle and to improve her vocabulary. She adjusted her pig tails one last time and fluffed up the layered undercoats of her costume. Before she left, she made sure her shoes her as shiny as they could be. After all, they were the focal point of her costume. She smiled. Everything looked great and fit. She packed it all away in her overnight bag. She had more thing to take care of, and for that she needed her neighbor.
After she picked up her yipping accessory, she suddenly had a vision. A chandelier, candles, a flowing gold gown... Maia wrote it down and something else too, an address. She left both for her mother along with a quick note about sleeping over her friend's for a weekend of Halloween fun. Maia hoped that not specifying that it would be in Promise City wouldn't come back to haunt her.
~*_*~
Later that night:
Jordan walked to the open air forum and saw people working on a turntable, lights, a dance floor going down and all sorts of other activity. Even in his smooth nonchalance, he couldn't wait for the party to get started. That's when a woman in a hurry nearly knocked him over in her rush.
“I'm sorry,” she said with a quick glance behind her. She stopped in her tracks when she recognized the man. “Oh my god, Jordan Collier. This is just so cool.”
“I haven't seen you around here before.”
“Oh, I guess you haven't. I don't get to come here to often. Work too damn much.”
Before he could ask her more about that, someone setting up the audio equipment came up to her and whispered something her ear. She vehemently shook her head yes, and turned her attention back to Jordan. “I'm sorry. What were you saying?”
“Your name? I don't feel right not knowing who is who when they help.”
She looked at him quizzically with a practiced raised eyebrow. “Hmph, I guess it is your business to know who's who around here.” She held out her hand and offered a strong grip. “My name is April Skoris. Yes, I am Diana's sister. Don't be surprised. She makes it a point in her life not to talk about me. And to answer your other question, I am dj'ing tonight.”
“Are you sure you're related to Diana,” he asked looking at her exposed tattoos, black lace, and platform boots.
April gently touched his forearm. “Don't worry about it.”
“I worry about everything.”
“You make it look easy.”
“If you need any more equipment or help, just let someone know. And make sure you've got a costume too.”
April nodded in agreement as she watched him walk away, all the way, until he turned the corner. She smiled. Maybe she should be making more trips to Promise City.
~*_*~ Meanwhile
“What do you mean, no?”
“It means uh uh.”
“I'm gonna find out sooner or later. You should just make it sooner.”
“Kyle! I said no.” Isabelle said even though she had a huge grin on her face. “Did I ask you about yours?”
“No, but I know you want to,” Kyle bravely strode away from her and slowly browsed through her open closet. Not finding anything unusual, he frowned at it and gave her a pout too. He knew that she was giving him her absolute best poker face. It never worked. She was just as curious as he was. “Oh well, at least I tried. I gotta go and make sure some of the final touches are ready. See ya later.”
Before he left, he made sure to slowly saunter up to her while she seemed to be stuck in place wondering what he was up to now. He held her face still with both of his hands, and planted small kisses on her forehead and nose. She tilted her head back with her eyes closed and revealed in the affectionate intimacy.
Kyle smiled and revealed dimples and a few crows feet despite his youth. “Beautiful,” he said purposely not saying much else. He gave her one last quick kiss and left her there still in a bit of bliss. If he had known how close she was to revealing all of her secrets, including what she had finally decided to wear for a costume tonight, he would have stayed.
~*_*~
Tom stood in front of his answering machine and barely paid attention as he chugged his beer. Bill collector, service call, Meghan, the Ex, Kyle, Jordan (wtf), and Diana. The last call caught his attention because it was something he had forgotten all about. He really wanted to go home and become couch broccoli, but had overtime tonight with Jordan's stupid party and Meghan's crazy idea.
And then there's the costume. He stood up abruptly. “Oh crap!” He listened to his partner's message again and gave her a call back. The phone rang and rang and then was finally picked up by her voicemail.
“Um, hi Diana. I was just returning your call.” Before he could finish, he heard a mad amount of scuffling and a few curses before Diana picked up her phone. “Looks like someone is screening their calls.”
“Yea yea, make fun all you want, but April is back and I just didn't feel like giving out any favors.”
“I thought that she finally got herself together.”
“Woah there Tom. Just because she has a job and a good one, doesn't mean that she herself is put together. Whatever, I didn't call to talk about April, this is about our new assignment.”
He sighed, “I was trying to forget.”
“No chance, but listen, Maia gave me an address of a man who still had some costumes left, and not the cheap kind either, and with it being so close to the 31st he's going to give us a great deal. Meet me at this address.”
Tom wrote it down, grabbed his keys, and hopped in his car. He truly hoped that nothing bad would happen tonight. He'd see his son, work security, scowl at Meghan, learn more about Promise City, and walk away unscathed. Just like always.
Wait a minute, stuff like that never happened!
When they arrived, they were greeted by an unexpected site. Instead of a small Mom and Pop business district, they came to a lavish home in the middle of suburbia. Diana did a double take and checked what she wrote down against the street name and house number. Sure enough it was all a match.
The house itself was monstrous. Ornate pillars held up the front, while it's massive wings spread out, making it look as if it were ready for flight. The gate they were behind even looked typically foreboding and generally creepy. Both Tom and Diana shared a look that asked, “Is this for real?”
An old raspy female voice came out over the loud speaker. “Excuse me, Ms. Skoris and Mr. Baldwin?”
“Yes,” Tom said as he every so slowly began to back away.
“Oh good,” the woman said, “just as punctual as I'd imagine. I'll open the gates for you to come inside.”
Just after the woman turned off the speaker phone, Diana turned to her partner and asked, “Do we have to?”
The gates opened and in they went. What greeted them inside was the same bleak opulence that they saw on the outside. This time dark mahogany lined everything, even the frames of the oil paintings that held hunting dogs and old dead people that kept staring with disappointed eyes. Standing in the center of the wide curved staircase was the woman they already spoke to. She didn't look anything like her voice. She stood tall and statuesque. Her clothes were stylish and impeccable. Despite her age she made a chocolate brown pencil skirt and a light blue blouse look very good. Toping it off with an aged leather jacket and knee high stiletto boots that would make any shoe-whore jealous, gave her a youthful and exuberant appearance. Even her short hair was made for quick and efficient time management. This was obviously a woman on the go. Diana suddenly understood why punctuality was so important to her. But that begged the question, why would a woman like this have any business here. She made a mental note to herself to look into all of this.
In her hands she held their costumes covered in white cloth, with hangers hanging out of the top end. “Hello to the two of you. I'm am so glad you decided to come.” She looked at Diana and held her costume to the side of her mentally checking length and width. “Size four, right.” Diana could merely nod in shock.
When she walked up to Tom, he held out his hand to stop her. “Wait, just wait a damn minute! Who are you?”
“Didn't I tell you? I am so sorry. This is such a busy time of year for me. My name is Emily Murray. I'm a dressmaker. This is usually the time of year I get request out the wazoo. So, Tom, hold still and stand up straight.” She waited for him to do so and all he did was look at her. She raised her brow like an angry school teacher and he straightened up. “Hmph, I'm glad I made those adjustments. I knew you were over six feet, but not exactly. But this should work out. Alright then you two, have fun. Just remember one thing for me, please.”
“What,” Diana asked.
“Halloween is a time for mischief and trouble, but it wasn't always like that. Be careful and have some fun while you're out. Who knows, you might even learn a thing or two about those you care about.” She handed them their costumes and lead them back out to the gate. Emily helped them hang the outfits in the back and waved them a pleasant good bye as they drove off.
Tom turned to Diana and asked, “What the hell just happened?”
“I am to damn confused to even think about it right now.”
Had either one bothered looking back, they would have seen the house slowly disappear along with the circular driveway, the gate and the lush greenery and having it be replaced by what was there all along. A Super Walmart strip mall...
Stay tuned for part two!
Disclaimer: I own nothing from the 4400
Rating: NFY- Not for youngin's
Characters: Everybody
Author's Note: Far far away in a land of make-believe called Seattle, there was a neighborhood called Promise City...nah I kid. This is a bit of an AU where Isabelle's kill switch failed so she's alive, and Danny learned how to control his ability only after the outbreak. Oops and double oops. This story takes place after NTAC finds out about what's left of them being P+ and also after Jordan's speech at City Hall.
Trick or Treats
October 29th
Jordan looked around the room in utter disbelief. Paper pumpkins, candy corn structures, goblins, ghouls, skeletons and all other festive decorations hung from the ceiling and just about sat on the heads of anyone over six feet tall. The more crude decorations where cut and colored in by children, adults had also pitched in and their designs were artistically spooky. The more prominent Promise City artists pitched in as well with food decor and garland and scary fun house preparations.
When Jordan offered the bunker as a fun distraction, he never expected this. He was about to leave when he heard the punch bowl begin to make burping sounds. Jordan turned to it, slowly, he saw it merge upwards and let loose a long low burp and one huge bubble. The red thick liquid nearly overflowed the bowl before settling down again. With very leary movements he looked around, to make sure that no one saw him, then he stuck his finger in it and tasted.
“Mmm, berry. Hmph.” Nope, he didn't expect this at all. “I wonder what else they did.”
As he walked out of the room, he saw that there was a laser he had tripped. A whirring picked up somewhere in the walls, and waves of stage fog came out of the vents filling the room with an even more eerie presence. Jordan smirked when he pulled the door shut. Looks like there were tricks abound this Halloween.
~*_*~
Meghan looked around the new Theory Room at what was left of her NTAC staff. Not much. Sure the regulars where there, but their heavy recruiting process turned up squat. Two months and not a single new officer to replace the twenty four that were lost. Morale was low, and as their leader Meghan was determined going to do something about that.
“Alright everyone. Look here. I know we've had a really tough time with adjusting. No one expected this, and no one could ever be prepared. I don't know what to say to soften the blow of this upheveal, but I can say this. From now on, we have to change our approach on Positives and on Positive lifestyle. Arresting, shooting, threatening these people didn't work before, and sure as hell isn't going to work now. I haven't got the official word from DC, yet, but I have an idea that may make the transition of this new world far smoother than what it could be.”
Everyone looked around at each other nervously. Meghan's good ideas were usually out of the box of normality, way out of the box. Sometimes they weren't even near the box. Sure they were good, just out of the norm. Diana rolled her eyes. There was no such thing as normalcy anymore. She nudged Tom and pointed at the big pumpkin headed pin that Meghan was using and snickered at it. Tom merely shrugged as if to say, so what. Meghan walked to each person in the room and handed out small pieces of paper that she had been writing on.
“What are these,” Diana asked impatiently. She opened it up and on the inside read an odd job. Hers happened to say Trick or Treater. Tom's also had Trick or Treater. Abigail frowned at hers. Jed asked why he seemed to be the only one with two jobs. Marco seemed to be the only person who throughly enjoyed his job.
“Meghan, what's going on,” Tom asked this time with a urgency that everyone was feeling.
The Chief Officer sighed and sat down. “Collier is opening up Promise City for Halloween as a sign of good faith. He wanted all of us to work together again, this time with no life threatening activity going on. Frankly, I have to agree. This is a great opportunity to see Promise City and how it works. Obviously they're doing something right and this is a way to find out what it is. And yes, this has to be done in costume.” The moans and groans of displeasure could be heard throughout the entire building.
~*_*~
Heather slumped down in a student's seat in her classroom. Today had been rough. Sure her ability helped children to focus, but trying to get them to pay attention when a weekend of fun and treats was just minutes away was impossible, even for her.
But that didn't mean she wasn't going to let the free time slip away. She knew that most of her children were going to the parade and party in Promise City, and she wanted to be there. Being able to represent the open hospitality of the 4400 Center would be a nice gesture.
She wasn't going to go for the free food at all. Nope nope nope. Not even the gourmet treats she had hears so much about. Apparently someone had the ability to cook and make everyone enjoy it. Heather quickly checked her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling. After she cleaned up her classroom, she grabbed a large garment bag that was a gift from a student and headed upstairs. She knew that there was one person here at the Center who wasn't all too excited about Halloween.
After changing into what was in the bag, she marched straight upstairs and knocked on the executive suit door.
~*_*~
Shawn glanced at the door when he heard it knock and casually went back to refining his platform. He knew that political options were in a desperate need. Challenging Jordan to a debate might be futile, but it was the right thing to do. He wasn't going to back down. The last time he caved on a promicien issue nine thousand people died. This wasn't a matter of being right or stubborn.
Or was it? It was about options and choices. Shawn began to wish for his own time machine. Before he could even begin to muster the thoughts of time travel, he heard someone knocking on his door again. This time he called his secretary.
“Brenda, what's going on? Who's that at my door, and shouldn't you at least tell me someone is here to see me?”
“First of all, Shawn, how many times do I have to tell you to ask me one question at a time. Second, I really think you should come and see this.”
Shawn reluctantly stood up and grumbled his way to the door. When he opened it, his mouth dropped.
There greeting him at his threshold was Heather Toby as the Good Witch Glinda. She was decked out completely with the glittery two and a half foot wand, pale pink ball gown with all the lace and thrills, shoulder pads to give a linebacker envy or to have a starring role in Dynasty, as well as a tiara that was fit for the biggest showoff of the Royal British Crown. He couldn't help it. The corner of his mouth perked up without his consent.
“Ha,” Heather said triumphantly, “I knew you'd like it. That's why I brought you this.” And with that she shoved another garment bag into his hands while simultaneously shoving herself inside to make sure he changed into it, whether he wanted to or not.
~*_*~ October 30th
Maia looked at herself in the mirror, and smiled. This would so rock. Wait, rock? She shook her head. Did that come from Aunt April or Lindsey? She made a note to herself to expand her social circle and to improve her vocabulary. She adjusted her pig tails one last time and fluffed up the layered undercoats of her costume. Before she left, she made sure her shoes her as shiny as they could be. After all, they were the focal point of her costume. She smiled. Everything looked great and fit. She packed it all away in her overnight bag. She had more thing to take care of, and for that she needed her neighbor.
After she picked up her yipping accessory, she suddenly had a vision. A chandelier, candles, a flowing gold gown... Maia wrote it down and something else too, an address. She left both for her mother along with a quick note about sleeping over her friend's for a weekend of Halloween fun. Maia hoped that not specifying that it would be in Promise City wouldn't come back to haunt her.
~*_*~
Later that night:
Jordan walked to the open air forum and saw people working on a turntable, lights, a dance floor going down and all sorts of other activity. Even in his smooth nonchalance, he couldn't wait for the party to get started. That's when a woman in a hurry nearly knocked him over in her rush.
“I'm sorry,” she said with a quick glance behind her. She stopped in her tracks when she recognized the man. “Oh my god, Jordan Collier. This is just so cool.”
“I haven't seen you around here before.”
“Oh, I guess you haven't. I don't get to come here to often. Work too damn much.”
Before he could ask her more about that, someone setting up the audio equipment came up to her and whispered something her ear. She vehemently shook her head yes, and turned her attention back to Jordan. “I'm sorry. What were you saying?”
“Your name? I don't feel right not knowing who is who when they help.”
She looked at him quizzically with a practiced raised eyebrow. “Hmph, I guess it is your business to know who's who around here.” She held out her hand and offered a strong grip. “My name is April Skoris. Yes, I am Diana's sister. Don't be surprised. She makes it a point in her life not to talk about me. And to answer your other question, I am dj'ing tonight.”
“Are you sure you're related to Diana,” he asked looking at her exposed tattoos, black lace, and platform boots.
April gently touched his forearm. “Don't worry about it.”
“I worry about everything.”
“You make it look easy.”
“If you need any more equipment or help, just let someone know. And make sure you've got a costume too.”
April nodded in agreement as she watched him walk away, all the way, until he turned the corner. She smiled. Maybe she should be making more trips to Promise City.
~*_*~ Meanwhile
“What do you mean, no?”
“It means uh uh.”
“I'm gonna find out sooner or later. You should just make it sooner.”
“Kyle! I said no.” Isabelle said even though she had a huge grin on her face. “Did I ask you about yours?”
“No, but I know you want to,” Kyle bravely strode away from her and slowly browsed through her open closet. Not finding anything unusual, he frowned at it and gave her a pout too. He knew that she was giving him her absolute best poker face. It never worked. She was just as curious as he was. “Oh well, at least I tried. I gotta go and make sure some of the final touches are ready. See ya later.”
Before he left, he made sure to slowly saunter up to her while she seemed to be stuck in place wondering what he was up to now. He held her face still with both of his hands, and planted small kisses on her forehead and nose. She tilted her head back with her eyes closed and revealed in the affectionate intimacy.
Kyle smiled and revealed dimples and a few crows feet despite his youth. “Beautiful,” he said purposely not saying much else. He gave her one last quick kiss and left her there still in a bit of bliss. If he had known how close she was to revealing all of her secrets, including what she had finally decided to wear for a costume tonight, he would have stayed.
~*_*~
Tom stood in front of his answering machine and barely paid attention as he chugged his beer. Bill collector, service call, Meghan, the Ex, Kyle, Jordan (wtf), and Diana. The last call caught his attention because it was something he had forgotten all about. He really wanted to go home and become couch broccoli, but had overtime tonight with Jordan's stupid party and Meghan's crazy idea.
And then there's the costume. He stood up abruptly. “Oh crap!” He listened to his partner's message again and gave her a call back. The phone rang and rang and then was finally picked up by her voicemail.
“Um, hi Diana. I was just returning your call.” Before he could finish, he heard a mad amount of scuffling and a few curses before Diana picked up her phone. “Looks like someone is screening their calls.”
“Yea yea, make fun all you want, but April is back and I just didn't feel like giving out any favors.”
“I thought that she finally got herself together.”
“Woah there Tom. Just because she has a job and a good one, doesn't mean that she herself is put together. Whatever, I didn't call to talk about April, this is about our new assignment.”
He sighed, “I was trying to forget.”
“No chance, but listen, Maia gave me an address of a man who still had some costumes left, and not the cheap kind either, and with it being so close to the 31st he's going to give us a great deal. Meet me at this address.”
Tom wrote it down, grabbed his keys, and hopped in his car. He truly hoped that nothing bad would happen tonight. He'd see his son, work security, scowl at Meghan, learn more about Promise City, and walk away unscathed. Just like always.
Wait a minute, stuff like that never happened!
When they arrived, they were greeted by an unexpected site. Instead of a small Mom and Pop business district, they came to a lavish home in the middle of suburbia. Diana did a double take and checked what she wrote down against the street name and house number. Sure enough it was all a match.
The house itself was monstrous. Ornate pillars held up the front, while it's massive wings spread out, making it look as if it were ready for flight. The gate they were behind even looked typically foreboding and generally creepy. Both Tom and Diana shared a look that asked, “Is this for real?”
An old raspy female voice came out over the loud speaker. “Excuse me, Ms. Skoris and Mr. Baldwin?”
“Yes,” Tom said as he every so slowly began to back away.
“Oh good,” the woman said, “just as punctual as I'd imagine. I'll open the gates for you to come inside.”
Just after the woman turned off the speaker phone, Diana turned to her partner and asked, “Do we have to?”
The gates opened and in they went. What greeted them inside was the same bleak opulence that they saw on the outside. This time dark mahogany lined everything, even the frames of the oil paintings that held hunting dogs and old dead people that kept staring with disappointed eyes. Standing in the center of the wide curved staircase was the woman they already spoke to. She didn't look anything like her voice. She stood tall and statuesque. Her clothes were stylish and impeccable. Despite her age she made a chocolate brown pencil skirt and a light blue blouse look very good. Toping it off with an aged leather jacket and knee high stiletto boots that would make any shoe-whore jealous, gave her a youthful and exuberant appearance. Even her short hair was made for quick and efficient time management. This was obviously a woman on the go. Diana suddenly understood why punctuality was so important to her. But that begged the question, why would a woman like this have any business here. She made a mental note to herself to look into all of this.
In her hands she held their costumes covered in white cloth, with hangers hanging out of the top end. “Hello to the two of you. I'm am so glad you decided to come.” She looked at Diana and held her costume to the side of her mentally checking length and width. “Size four, right.” Diana could merely nod in shock.
When she walked up to Tom, he held out his hand to stop her. “Wait, just wait a damn minute! Who are you?”
“Didn't I tell you? I am so sorry. This is such a busy time of year for me. My name is Emily Murray. I'm a dressmaker. This is usually the time of year I get request out the wazoo. So, Tom, hold still and stand up straight.” She waited for him to do so and all he did was look at her. She raised her brow like an angry school teacher and he straightened up. “Hmph, I'm glad I made those adjustments. I knew you were over six feet, but not exactly. But this should work out. Alright then you two, have fun. Just remember one thing for me, please.”
“What,” Diana asked.
“Halloween is a time for mischief and trouble, but it wasn't always like that. Be careful and have some fun while you're out. Who knows, you might even learn a thing or two about those you care about.” She handed them their costumes and lead them back out to the gate. Emily helped them hang the outfits in the back and waved them a pleasant good bye as they drove off.
Tom turned to Diana and asked, “What the hell just happened?”
“I am to damn confused to even think about it right now.”
Had either one bothered looking back, they would have seen the house slowly disappear along with the circular driveway, the gate and the lush greenery and having it be replaced by what was there all along. A Super Walmart strip mall...
Stay tuned for part two!
Does anyone want me to finish this?
Yes, please post the other half. I'm dying to know what happens in Part II....
Cool cool, I'm so glad you like it. I will work on it more this weekend. Although I can't tell you yet when it's gonna be finished.
QUOTE (Ashramsgrl @ Nov 1 2007, 08:25 PM)
Does anyone want me to finish this?
You bet, Ashram! You can't leave us hanging-not when it looks like such a very interesting party!
Yeah, that would be like... having the famous 'cliffhanger-bang' in what's possibly the final episode ever!
QUOTE (Promicinjunkie @ Nov 2 2007, 02:51 PM)
Yes, please post the other half. I'm dying to know what happens in Part II....
Ditto! I'm transfixed...
Hi guys, I'm still working on this. Its my stoopihd job that vacumed my time. I promise I will post this ASAP when it's finished.
In the meantime, because this fic challege had so many wonderful...wait sratch that, all of the submissions were fan-friggintastic and because there were so many of them, I will post another challenge.
In the meantime, because this fic challege had so many wonderful...wait sratch that, all of the submissions were fan-friggintastic and because there were so many of them, I will post another challenge.
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