Summoning a Ghost [NR][Destiny or Invite]

Alec had begun to notice something strange at the old Murder INC headquarters. He was surprised that the place was still intact and standing, figuring when INC dissolved that it would be ransacked. It looked like some of the old security protocols that Xan set up were still functioning... Maybe when he got the chance he'd go out there and see if there were any old technologies for the taking.

Some sort of dimensional anomaly was going on in the Hologram room, the place that Ghost, Destiny's boyfriend and Amaranth's father used to fight enemies. Alec found it strange that he hadn't heard from him since the days of INC, and that he hadn't come around to see the woman, the daughter, or to even see about becoming a member of The Company. The data that was popping up on his screens started to tell him why, and he frowned some at what he was seeing. Perhaps Ghost was still there, trapped between dimensions somehow?

If he was trapped, Alec felt like he needed to get him out. How the hell someone like Ghost got trapped, Alec had no idea, but he felt it was his duty as sort of a father figure to him to rescue him. He got up from his desk, grabbing his dufflebag and headed out into the hall, towards the stairs up to the Heliport and Penthouse. Putting a hand to the side of his head, Alec sent a telepathic message.

Dez, I need you to meet me on the roof of the tower. It's about Ghost, so try not to be all day.

Alec stepped outside onto the roof and walked over to the Heliport. He walked up the stairs to the large platform, about the size of an average backyard, with the yellow letter H in the center of it. Alec didn't have any helicopters, nor did he really have a need for one, so the Heliport was often used for fights and spars, as evident by the burns and scratch marks. A cool wind blew, causing his hair and coat to sway off to one side. Alec could only pray that an old friend wasn't seriously hurt, or dead. Destiny and Amaranth would be crushed...

Destiny had been simply sitting on the roof of another building; watching people come and go on the street below as she was trapped in her own deep thoughts. The ever present question was always floating around her brain: Where was Ghost? It wasn't like him to disappear for this long of a time... but then, her thoughts were interrupted by her father's telepathic voice and she blinked.

Hearing the subject of his sentence she shot off of the building; barely missing destroying the thing as she did so. She launched herself in the air, wings spreading as she took off. Normally she didn't bother using her full speed, but for this topic she wasn't going to waste even a second. Which was less than it took for her to reach the roof of Darkman Tower and land near her father.

"What's up?" Her lightning blue gaze was dead serious, her face an emotionless mask though all sorts of emotions were running through her head; causing a giant ball of chaos.

Alec put his dufflebag down, feeling Destiny quickly approach from somewhere not far away. Good, that meant he could get started with this right away with no delays. It was also good that she was alone and Amaranth wasn't here, because he had no idea what was about to happen. Alec didn't want to make any mistakes or cause anyone to get hurt. He almost didn't want to involve Destiny but she would be the main one wanting to know what was going on.

"...I think I found Ghost," Alec said with a frown, looking off into the horizon, in the direction of INC Headquarters. "But it seems kinda strange. From what the computers were telling me, he's there... but at the same time he's not. I've seen something like this before, in a trap. I could be wrong... So I need you to try and summon him. If it doesn't work we may need to have Amaranth help you... I don't want to involve her in this right now, but if it means saving him I guess we have no choice."

Alec rolled his shoulders. People sometimes came out of these traps, if it was indeed a trap, violent and suffering from hallucinations. Sometimes people in that situation never recovered. He could only hope that this wasn't the case with an old friend...

Destiny followed his gaze, looking towards the old INC headquarters as well. The idea of him being trapped in a place like that was heart wrenching; but she couldn't focus on that. She had a task to do.

Normally summoning Ghost was almost like second nature; barely took any sort of concentration at all. But, if he was trapped, it was probably going to take more than the norm to get him out of there. She took a deep relaxing breath, forcing herself calm as she concentrated; every fiber of her being put into summoning him to her side. "Ghost...", she whispered softly, concentrating on that familiar summoning feeling.

She kept up the concentration; hoping and praying it worked and that he'd appear by her side any any second.

Alec stood nearby Destiny, and waited a reaction when she said his name. Alec had only heard about Destiny and Amaranth being able to do this, similar to the way they could call him, or how he could send himself to them. He'd never seen this take place with his own eyes.

Alec didn't see anything besides a black smoke-like substance, and a few pops and sparkles of electricity. Besides that, and the smoke quickly being swept off into the breeze, nothing happened.

"...I take it that's not usually what happens," Alec said, still looking at the spot where the electricity and the smoke appeared. "...I don't want Grand Baby getting mixed up in this... but we might need her if this doesn't work with just the 2 of us. Try it again by yourself first. I don't know how exactly you go about summoning him from where ever it is he goes after he sinks into the floor like he used to, but throw your back into it this time..." Uggh. This was looking sketchy. His frustration began to mount as many scenarios played over in his head. He didn't want to have to tell Amaranth that her father wasn't coming back. He didn't want to have to deal with her's and Destiny's tears. Alec would hunt down whoever was responsible for this, and pull their lungs out of their asshole if something happened to him....

Destiny's gaze flickered over to the smoke and electricity and she winced. "No... that doesn't normally happen, and I was concentrating a lot harder than I normally have to." She turned her lightning blue gaze back to the INC headquarters and closed her eyes, hoping that it would help her concentrate more if she visualized what she wanted; all while ignoring her building despair that was beginning to creep into her brain. She couldn't think like that, she wouldn't allow herself to. God help the world if something happened to Ghost; she'd likely lose it...

Once more she sent that same feeling out; the one she always got when summoning Ghost. She once more put every fiber of her being into what she wanted; go so far as to envision it while she did so; imagining his arrival just as it normally was when she summoned him. Her hands clenched into fists as she poured more and more strength into the summon; so much so that her clenched hands shook slightly.

"Ghost... Come on..."

How long had he been in here... fighting... How many hours went by? Days? Xan was gonna be pissed... How was INC fairing with it's secret weapon stuck in here fighting monster after monster, sith after sith, freak after freak... How was Destiny?... Destiny... he'd failed to protect her, to be there for her like he said he'd always be.

"Ghost..."

Her voice echoed though his head then, and for a second he could almost feel her. It was almost like she was nearby... But then it was gone again, and the feeling was replaced with rage, and what seemed like hours, or more days of fighting...

"Ghost... Come on..."

But then there it was again, after a loud noise and an incredible flash of light he found himself being pulled out of something. His eyes opened to see a city... He was high up, way high up off the ground, on top of something, a building... a Heliport? What the hell was this? An incredible migraine formed in his head, and he squinted his eyes and began to yell while whoever began to pull him out of whatever was trying to suck him back in at the moment.

The was a loud boom noise that resembled a cannon blast. A bright flash appeared as some sort of doorway to somewhere else opened on the heliport. Alec made the proper adjustments to the Dead Zone Phenomena to allow this to happen right here in this specific spot. The top half of Ghost's body appeared from the doorway, but whatever was inside of it looked to be trying to drag him back in.

Alec quickly reached over and grabbed him, noticing that he looked the same as the last time he'd seen him, but at the same time he looked different. He was no longer a child, now a grown man. His hair wasn't orange anymore, it was wild and black. He was still dressed pretty much the same: A white top, a large red cape, cargo pants with the pockets on the sides, and black and white sneakers. Alec could see a pair of black goggles on Ghost's forehead.

Alec frowned as he began a tug of war with whoever/whatever was on the other side of this doorway. With his left arm he held onto Ghost, while the right grabbed the Mossberg 500 from the dufflebag to aim over Ghost's shoulder and pull the trigger. The shotgun gave the familiar deafening blast as it spit out hot lead enchanted with magical properties that would ensure the immediate death of whatever was in there.

Even with Destiny's eyes closed she could still sense Ghost's arrival; or half of his arrival. It seemed like where ever he had been didn't want to let him go quite that easily. She didn't let up on the summoning feeling. She wasn't going to risk him being sucked back in. Her entire body shook slightly with the amount of force she was using to try and keep him here.

When she heard the familiar sound of her father shooting something her eyes opened, taking in the sight in front of her. She moved over instantly, grabbing Ghost's other arm. She doubted whatever was in there was still alive; but she wasn't risking it getting Ghost back; not without a fight of epic proportions.

Amaranth could just tell that something was wrong. It was something she had always been able to do; but this time the feeling hit more towards home. Her mother was upset, angry, enraged, saddened, and a whole bunch more of chaotic emotions. The one that stuck out more than anything was her mother's overall pain. Whatever was going on was making her mother hurt... and Amaranth was one pissed off little girl.

She concentrated on the emotions, the feelings, and knew instantly where they were coming from; Darkman Tower. She had already been flying in that general direction; so she showed up almost instantly, landing on the roof as smoke began to billow out around her feet, concentrating itself around just her form. She had no idea what was going on and it was making her body react on defensive instinct alone. Her halo glowed brightly, and the red hooded cape she wore over her black and red school girl outfit billowed in the breeze.

However, at the sight before her she paused, remaining standing on the other side of the roof. Confusion set in, and yet it all seemed to make sense at the same time. The life forces of those on the roof were all known, an automatic thing; including the one they were currently pulling from the doorway.

"... Daddy...."

BOOM!

The sound scared him shitless. It was a familiar sound though, the sound of a shotgun... Alec? Had the Calvary finally arrived to save him? Was Maxi and Ordinary Man there too? What about Destiny?...

After the shotgun blast, whatever had it's slimy iron grip upon him quickly let him go, and he was yanked out of... where ever that was. He flipped and landed on his back to roll across the Heliport several times. Ghost got to one knee and moves his cape out of the way, catching his breath, looking around.

He saw Alec. The man never changed; he still looked exactly the way he did the last time he'd saw him. He was even wearing the same clothes. Alec had to be like thousands of years old but he looked young like a kid.

But then there was Destiny... She looked so different now. And the little girl that landed next... What the hell was this? This had to be another trick... "No way, no way! You don't have to do this, why not just kill me! Don't put them in front of me and tease me this way! JUST FINISH ME OFF!" Ghost yelled, grabbing the sides of his head. The air around Ghost began to shimmer as if he were on fire. "THEY AREN'T REAL! NONE OF THIS IS REAL!"

Ghost let off a force of concentrated psychic energy. This force could push anything away from him, and crush most anything as flat as a pancake. It spread from all sides away from Ghost, and sped toward the 2 Angels and the child like a freight train.

Alec helped yank Ghost out of that dimensional door. Whatever was holding on to him let go after Alec shot it in it's face, causing his grip on Ghost to be lost when the creature in there let him go. When Ghost appeared fully within this plane, the doorway to where ever he was closed and disappeared.

Precognition warned Alec what was about to happen, at the same time feeling Amaranth arrive on the scene next. Acting quickly, Alec grabbed Destiny with his left arm and heaved her upwards into the air. The left arm was his weak one, but it was still strong enough to throw her dozens of feet above them. He'd then quickly move to Amaranth while activating his Spiritual Angelic Wings to grab her around the waist with this same arm, then block the incoming psychic wave with the wings.

"Hmmmh..." Alec said, frowning somewhat, but over all keeping his cool. "...I'd heard about dimensions with creatures who put you into illusions while slowly feeding on your energy. I kinda thought it was all horseshit but I guess there's some truth to it. he must still think he's where ever he's been. I wonder who did this to him." Alec opened his wings once the wave had passed. He remembered those goggles on his forehead, and the one time Ghost told him what they did. "Ghost, put your goggles on."

Her own precognition had warned her of what was coming but she had ignored it. Had doubted it. Thought that it couldn't possibly be the truth. Ghost wouldn't attack any of them, right? Then she found herself thrown dozens of feet into the air, her wings shooting from her back and opening as she reached the maxed height; keeping her from coming back down.

She knew Ghost would never attack them if his head was right; so she knew this had to be some sort of crap left over from where he'd been trapped. Her gaze, however, shot over to Amaranth, watching Alec protect her child from the psychic wave.

She listened to her father's words, turning her gaze back to Ghost as she waited to see what he was going to do next, and hoping that he'd listen...

Amaranth had opened her mouth to speak again when Ghost started talking, shouting even. She had no idea what was going on, or had gone on prior to his arrival. All she knew was that the emotions flying around were beginning to affect her own.

Then she found herself being shielded by her grandfather, and a single tear slid its way down her cheek. She was confused, but she attempted to keep up with what was going on; apparently her father had been somewhere, and where ever that had been had messed with his head... and apparently he thought they were all illusions or something similar.

She kept her gaze on Ghost as much as possible, only glancing up to her mother for a second, before her gaze snapped back on; watching to see what was going to happen next.

Ghost heard Alec's words. He sounded so convincing. Where ever he was now, he could feel the wind blowing, and the heat from the sun on his skin. He could smell the cologne that Alec was wearing. Either this was real, or the thing that had it's tentacles connected to his brain was doing an excellent job of copying his friend and the surroundings.

At Alec's words, Ghost reached up and slid his goggles down over his eyes. To see that Alec was still standing there holding that little girl, to still see Destiny up in the air, to see that he was still here and this was all real was when Ghost finally began to calm down. He sat on his behind and began to catch his breath, taking his goggles off again when he was sure everything around him was real.

"Oh man..." he said, wiping his face with his right hand. "I didn't think i'd EVER get out of that thing, you are the man, Alec," Ghost said, a grin spreading across his face. "So where's Maxi and Ordinary Man? The INC did ok without me, yeah? We still cool with CS?"

Alec put Amaranth down, and the Mossberg back into the dufflebag. He walked over and stood nearby Ghost, looking him over now that he'd calmed down. Examining him, he seemed to have the same kid-like mentality that he had when he'd last saw him, meaning that he'd must have been trapped in that thing for years. Alec wondered if he was aware of how much time had passed. He wondered if he even knew that he now had a daughter.

"Seems like you were in that... whatever that was for a while, Ghost," Alec said. "How long do you think you were in there? Alot has changed that you're probably not aware of."

Destiny waited a moment and then slowly and cautiously landed back on the roof. Her wings vanished from sight a moment later and then she walked forward, over to Ghost; stopping about six or so feet away from him.

She looked to her father when Ghost began to ask the questions he did and then back to Ghost again. She couldn't respond; she couldn't answer those questions because she didn't want to risk him flipping his lid again. Therefore she was going to let her father handle this; and the best way possible was by the question Alec had asked him.

As she waited to hear what he was going to say her gaze slipped over to little Amaranth and she held a hand out towards her.

After Amaranth was put down she continued to watch Ghost; and didn't move any closer. Instead, she remained exactly where she had been placed. Her halo dimmed as she pulled in her emotions; with everyone else calmer she felt calmer herself.

She still felt mildly confused though; and wasn't about to approach and risk possibly being attacked again - at least not until everything seemed to be sorted out. Therefore she looked to her mother, to her out stretched hand, and shook her head no. Her form flickered as it sometimes did when her concentration was divided, and her entire form became intangible and remained such; all but her halo which remained as solid as ever.

She began to pick at a loose thread of her hooded red cape as she remained silent, just listening for the moment...

Ghost looked sort of confused. He took a comical expression while holding his chin, trying to think about how long he'd been trapped inside of that other dimension. "I donno... maybe a few hours? A day at the most," he said, looking back and fourth. "Some buttface got the drop on me, trapped me in that place. I forgot his name. But I dragged him in with me, and watched him get eaten by his own pet, what he thought he was gonna feed ME to. Showed him huh?" Ghost laughed some. "After that, a bunch of siths started throwing herpie bombs at me like you said they did you. I guess I musta lost track of time fighting with them eh?"

Ghost scratched the back of his neck while staring at Alec and the little girl, who did something that he himself could do. "I donno man, how long was I in there?"

Alec listened to his story. How the hell did someone get by the security systems and get the drop on Ghost? He frowned some with confusion. Alec didn't want to beat around the bush, or for him to find out some other way, so he decided just to be honest with him and prepare to deal with any consequences afterwards.

"You were trapped in that place for years, Ghost," Alec said, sliding his hands into his coat pockets. "It may have felt like a few minutes, hours or days to you, but out here years have gone by. INC went on to be unchallenged, so it dissolved, and all of the members went their own way. The headquarters are still there, but they're closed up. Haven't seen Maxi and the others in years. My father Darkman - I don't know if you ever met him - he retired and left his family business to me, so i'm running things around here now. I'll need help, and I couldn't think of a better edition to the new thing i'm currently forming than you. You're welcome to stay here with us if you want, you're family after all."

Alec wondered how Ghost would take the news. He wasn't in the mood to be facing off against someone that was on the same side as him, and hoped he didn't flip out again.

Destiny's eyes widened as she heard how little of time he had thought had passed. Years indeed had come and gone; Amaranth was proof of that. But, she also knew he probably had no idea who Amaranth was.

She watched her daughter shake her head no and remain where she was and frowned slightly. She had no way of knowing what the girl was feeling; it was like reading a brick wall half the time; all she ever got was the projection of everyone elses emotions when she tried to figure out what Amaranth actually felt. She could still imagine though and a soft sigh escaped her.

"Come on Amaranth, it's alright, I promise.", she said softly, holding her hand out once more to the little girl. She might have been intangible, but she could still touch her; and her form flickering alone told her that her daughter was feeling at least confused; if not upset.

She looked to her father and then Ghost. "A... lot more than that has happened, but I don't know how much you're ready for. Don't want to overload you after all that crap you've been dealing with..."

Amaranth looked up again, listening to them talk. Then her silvery gaze rested on her mother and she slowly walked over.

"Okay, momma.", she whispered softly. She slipped her hand in hers; her form remaining as intangible as it was. She kept most of herself behind her mother; peering around her at Ghost.

She didn't quite know what to say, so she didn't say anything at all. She knew who he was, could sense it. But, she was beginning to believe that he had no idea who she was; and she didn't want to upset him, or cause him to get angry by going over and hugging him like she wanted to. So, she just watched, and waited for him to either figure it out, or someone to explain it to him.

"Aghh... no way, man."

Ghosts eyes got wide and he took a look of shock. Years?... So he'd been sealed away in some other dimension for years, and missed out on just about everything. He felt angry at himself for letting that jack-ass get the drop on him. It made him feel bad that he wasn't there to see the end of the glorious Murder Incorporated, his expression melting into that of a depressed one, but he was satisfied at least to hear that the once prized organization went out unchallenged. Because of this he was able to grin again.

"Ahh... so it's all over then. All of these incredible powers and I let myself get caught in some stupid trap that made me miss it all," Ghost said, still looking depressed, but still grinning. "At least INC went out winners though. So you're the Boss now, and you're making a new thing huh? Well i'm on board for that, no questions!"

Ghost heard what Destiny said, and again took a confused look. "A lot more? What else went on while I was gone?"

Having Ghost around would be a very good thing. The guy could pull off some incredible shit, not to mention that ability to call 'friends' from other planes. Definitely a powerful weapon to be adding to the arsenal. Alec would have to take a trip out to the old INC HQ and have a look around. Maybe this being trapped in another dimension thing could be turned into something he could use to his advantage.

Alec grinned, knowing now that Ghost still had the childish mindset he had before he was trapped, though he was grown now. Since he was still wearing the same clothes he was when he was a kid, only these clothes fit him, he figured maybe the clothes were a part of him as a ghost, and changed with him to accommodate for his size. He'd never really know or fully understand; either way it was good to have him back.

"I'll let you get caught up," Alec said, patting Ghost on the shoulder. "You still know your way around the tower, right? Come to my office on the thousandth floor when everything is said and done here, we should talk." Alec picked up his dufflebag again and headed back inside.

-Thread Exit-

She looked to Ghost at his question and then to Alec, pausing before answering, long enough to watch her father leave. She took in a deep breath and then looked back to Ghost. She stepped slightly to the side, revealing the rest of Amaranth and placing a hand on her back.

"Well... apparently.. before we ended up kids again the last time, I ended up um..." She glanced at Amaranth, figuring a few words couldn't hurt. "Pregnant. When we became kids again my body froze, and until I became full grown again.. well, I didn't even know. Or at least that's the best explanation Demi was capable of coming up with with her out of the box thinking... And, it makes the most sense." She moved her hand from Amaranth's back to her head. "This is our daughter.. Amaranth.."