*feeling lazy*

Just woke up from a nap, skipped lunch to sleep, and am now a bit hungry. But too lazy to get up to make something. I’ve got all the supplies for pineapple and sirloin shish kabobs later, whenever I feel up to making them.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, that annoying truck has left so I can actually HEAR the birds, and it’s generally a really nice day outside. I should be out in it rather than sitting in front of my computer.

I’ve decided what the worst part of having your computer wiped is, beyond the fact that I STILL haven’t gotten my external hard drive to play nice with my computer. Or my printer, but that’s a different story. It’s FireFox. I had FireFox all set up nicely so that I could just start typing things and the ‘right’ website would pop up for me before I had more than a letter or two typed.

Now it’s ruined. I actually have to TYPE in webaddresses. *shudder* Oh, the horrors. Lazy people like me don’t need that kind of pressure.

Doctor’s appointment tomorrow, for which the nerves are striking already. It’s going to HURT, I just know it is. My mom has offered to come with me and hold my hand. And despite the fact that I’m 26 and a full-grown adult and everything… I’m probably going to take her up on it. I just really don’t like pain, especially when I know it’s coming. Moral support (and her strong grip) might be the only thing keeping me from running out the door.

One of my friends – the one in the major car accident two months ago – just finished her physical therapy on Monday. Smashed her new car in another accident yesterday. *headdesk headdesk headdesk* It wasn’t so bad, but it’s in to the shop and I’m going to drive down to see her on Monday and drive her to her job interview. She needs money, the way she’s going through things. And her insurance company is going to kick her off soon, I just know it.

And next Thursday I leave for a road trip with another of my friends to the cities. Then I get back, wash my clothes, and head RIGHT back out for another trip up to the Mississippi headwaters for a few days with some of my coworkers. These are going to be a fun couple of weeks, I have to say.

Busy, busy, busy. And, of course, next month I get to go on a BIG vacation to Hawaii for a couple of weeks. *squee!* It’s all set and I’m already squirming in excitement. I got a surprise bonus from work that will HOPEFULLY come through this paycheck – an extra $1100 *stunned* for all the extra work I’ve done there in the past six months - and that will really rock with buying souvenirs. That almost triples my budget for this trip.

Dang, there are a couple people on here that I wish I knew your addresses. (Shiny, Twisted, Nylah, Lor, Kali… I’d send you something when I got back for all the help and wonderfulness you’ve been to me over the past couple years. It’s really hard to explain how much you random strangers mean to me. (:

I won’t ask, because that’s not something one does to strangers over the internet, but if I end up with an address I can send things to through email or a note or something by the time I leave, I’ll make sure to get you something.

I’m out of things to say, so now this lazy person is going to … go and be lazy somewhere else.

-Cori

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I don’t know what to do with this drabble. Continue to just drop. So here:

Maddie Fenton set down her cup of coffee when the alarm sounded and she leaned towards the small radar built into the bank of computers. She squinted at the green screen for a moment, trying to make something out of the static, before whapping the computer with her hand. The image resolved into a large blob moving rapidly towards FentonWorks.

Her forehead wrinkled. “A ghost…” Tapping the screen with a fingernail, she mentally ran through a list of which ghosts could make a blob that big on the screen, then changed her mind. “Two ghosts, flying close together.”

Pushing against the wall, she rolled her chair towards a blank computer screen a few feet away. One flip of a switch and dozens of complex computer programs began whirring to life all over the lab. Containment units buzzed to life, weapons beeped to signal that they had finished charging, and advanced tracking and monitoring systems settled on the approaching blob of spectral energy.

She nodded, a pleased smile on her face as the computers confirmed her guess that it was two ghosts rather than one. An image flickered up on the screen – one blob slowly devolving into two, the computer painting one green and one blue. Statistics and information appeared next to the two blobs, displaying the information the ghost hunters already had on file about the incoming ghosts.

The first blob, the green one, was easy to identify by his spectral signature. “Danny Phantom,” Maddie breathed wonderingly. She knew that Phantom was always chasing the other ghosts around and trying to catch them in that stolen thermos; he was too protective and territorial to let other ghosts exist in his domain. But… he seemed to be flying peacefully next to the other ghost. Maddie sighed and propped her chin on her hand, trying to count up how many of her theories were shattered with this new bit of evidence. “You’re destroying all of my theories again, you annoying ghost.”

Her attention turned to the other blob, labeled merely as an UGI by the computer. Spectral levels were the only things displayed around the Unidentified Ghostly Insurgent. “It’s not anywhere near as powerful at Phantom,” she murmured as the blobs continued their rapid approach. “I wonder what’s going on.”

Hesitating a moment with her fingers over the keyboard, she watched the ghosts on the tracker carefully. This was her chance to catch a ghost – well, two ghosts in this case – but there was no doubt that something different was going on today. It was foolish to make a move unless you had all of the information; with all of the questions around why the two ghosts were flying together, was catching Phantom right now the best choice?

She watched the UGI and Phantom get steadily nearer as she debated. When they were a mere two blocks away, her fingers started to dance on the keys, calibrating the systems to match the powers and signatures of the two approaching ghosts. “If they hang around long enough for me to figure out what’s going on, I’ll catch them,” she whispered. One hand reached out to flick a few more switches, throwing the FentonWorks Anti-Ghost Defenses online. Any sort of wrong move by the approaching ghosts would be grounds for the two specters to be obliterated.

When the ghost alarms started to blare and a cold wind swirled through the lab, Maddie had her finger hovering over the button that would send the containment devices into motion to catch the two ghostly intruders. She twisted around to glance over her shoulder, expecting to see the two specters making a bee-line for the Fenton Portal. Her eyes widened and she stared at the strange scene before her.

Phantom, the powerful, ever-present, and unwaveringly victorious haunter of Amity Park, was kneeling on the ground, his head bowed and defeat leaking out of him. He shivered, almost like he could feel her gaze, and curled up a little more. The normally clean jumpsuit was matted and dirty, muddy and... Maddie gasped when she saw the all-too-human red blood in the boy’s hair. Phantoms hands were bound together behind his back, but the fighter was showing no signs of struggling.

The UGI, dressed in a blue uniform with some sort of high-tech visor and helmet, stood over Phantom. His chest was puffed out and he wasn’t sparing his captive a second glance. The head swiveled, two blue eyes shining behind the visor, and focused on Maddie. “Maddie Fenton?” the ghost asked loudly.

She hesitated, her fingers twitching reflexively over the button that would trap the two ghosts. No ghosts had ever stopped to talk to her before – not unless you counted the snarls, screams, and threats of horrific bodily harm. Her eyes flickered around the lab, her mind moving at a thousand miles an hour as it tried to figure out what was going on. Phantom wasn’t fighting, something was obviously wrong with him, the other ghost wanted to talk, they weren’t flying for the Portal, the weaker ghost had won… Finally she nodded. “Yes,” she breathed.

The UGI nodded sharply before reaching down to grab a handful of Phantom’s hair. He wrenched up on the boy’s head so that Maddie could see the pale face; horror and shock intermingled with tears. “Do you know this ghost-child?”

Maddie’s heart skipped a beat at the pure torture and fear that reflected in the boy’s supernatural eyes. She had to sharply remind herself that this was a ghost, not a real person, but she still felt a surge of pity rush through her. “Yes,” she whispered after a moment, “that’s Phantom.”

“Good.” The UGI let go of Phantom’s hair and pulled out a small notebook. Flipping through a few pages, he held it up and started to read. “I’m Captain Murphy, head of the Earth division. In accordance with Spectral Law 34.1, paragraph 5, subparagraph 3, this boy has committed a felony while in the human world and requires judgment.”

Her mind still reeling at the fact that the ghost was talking to her rather than attacking, she just blinked at the ghost. “What?” she finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Spectral Law prohibits ghosts from causing lethal amounts of damage to the humans that reside in this world – it’s considered a felony.”

“He killed someone?” Maddie said quietly, her finger edging a little closer to the button that would catch the ghosts. If Phantom was a murderer, there was no way he was going to be loose in her home.

“Yes. He needs to be judged as per the regulations set down by the Paranormal Accords of 684.” The ghost glanced down at Phantom before continuing. “Two judges will hear the evidence and decide his guilt or innocence. One judge is appointed by the council of ghosts, the other is chosen by the accused.”

A part of Maddie’s brain was clamoring at her to just catch the ghosts and be done with it – it didn’t matter what they were doing here. But a larger part of her was stunned by the fact that the UGI was talking to her. Maybe she could keep it talking a bit longer… “Why are you here?” Maddie asked after a quiet moment. “The Ghost Zone is right through there.” She waved her free hand at the portal, her other hand ready to set the containment programs going if the ghosts tried to run.

The ghost sighed. “Like I said earlier: Spectral Law 34.1, paragraph 5, subparagraph 3 – he is accused of committing a felony and needs to be judged. According to the rules that were revised eighteen years ago, ghosts termed as ‘halfas’ get one ghost judge and one human judge, to be fair to the partly human existence.” The UGI looked down at Phantom for a moment before continuing. “Simply put… he got to choose a human judge and he chose you.”

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Recent fan artwork:

Thank you so much!