Ghosts n Stuff

[Secret]

Every neighborhood has one.


That one house. It could be boarded up, the grass and gardens overgrown, fences sagging or missing all together. It could simply be that one house that never manages to stay occupied for long. Rumors spread from neighbor to neighbor - something is wrong with the house, the last owners just up and moved in the middle of the night, screams and crying coming from the empty structure in the middle of the night, strange lights that were there one minute and gone the next. Stories of past horrors from before the area was built up, ancient burial grounds and murderous acts of passion, all whispered quietly as people went about their normal lives. Los Santos was no exception.



Midnight. The rusted gate creaked open, pushed by unseen hands. A back window did the same, then slammed shut, empty beer bottles left by partying teens getting kicked out of the way as a soft voice muttered to itself. There was silence as whatever was in the house paused. Someone - something - was coming, talking loudly. The mutant known as Frangipane Beauchene phased through a wall, into what used to be the living room, peeking through the slats that covered the windows.

It was probably kids. It was always kids. They wanted to go to the "haunted" house, prove they were brave. Drink stolen beers, smoke pot and make out in the privacy of a vacant house. She could sort of see the appeal, and for the most part they didn't cause her any stress. The benefits of being completely undetectable and able to phase in and out of solid objects, combined with boarded up doors meant that as long as they weren't destructive, she wouldn't have to put on a performance.

The front door slowly opened, moonlight spilling inside as whoever had come up the walk entered the house...

[Stern]

"Yeah, and for the last time, The Mutant Crimes Unit is not a publicity stunt!"

Captain Michael Stern of the LAPD MCU walked into the abandoned house with one hand pointed forward to shine light while the other pressed the "Talk" button on his radio.

The walkie crackled a moment, then the dispatcher's voice broke in. "I know that, but this old woman has called every day this week to talk about rumors of ghosts, beer bottles, drug needles, and used condoms. She's confident the ghost story isn't real, so either she's really concerned about underage drinking, or something is going horribly wrong."

Stern checked the seal his goggles made against his skin. "Thanks, Pam. I'll just check the whole house and then head back."

[Secret]

Frangi squinted as a bright light scanned the room. The bag she'd been carrying (She'd never gotten the hang of phasing objects through walls) was set gently on the floor as she walked up behind the intruder. It was obvious he was also a mutant; the fact that he wasn't using any sort of flashlight gave that away. He also wore a uniform. A cop.

The walkie talkie crackled to life, mentioning an old woman complaining about the house. Frangi grinned to herself as she followed the cop further into the front room. The beam of light traced over the walls, the floor. Graffiti covered most of the places where the plaster hadn't fallen to the floor, empty bottles lay in piles around an abandoned mattress in the center of the room. Most of the rooms looked similar - the main floor of the house was used only by the local kids and the occasional homeless person. As long as the officer didn't go up into the attic, Frangi would simply observe him.

[Stern]

"So far, it just seems like there's trash around here," he said into the walkie. "Smells real strong of mold and alcohol."

Stern turned a slow circle in each room. Something was beginning to eat at the edge of his calm. Perhaps it was his mind tricking him, but he could almost get the feeling he wasn't alone. That he was being watched.

The officer set his jaw and continued to look around. If someone was living here, there'd be something like a bed made. A bag, perhaps. No locked doors. Not necessarily a safe place to spend the night in Los Santos. Then again, the desperate didn't often care about safe, as long as they had shelter.

"But who would be desperate enough to live amongst this filth? I bet there's three bridges within five miles of here that's cleaner."

[Secret]

"Rude!"

A soft female whisper came from just behind his ear. Frangi was glaring a hole into the back of his head now, reaching out to gently tug on the back of his uniform shirt. Delicate fingers traced up his spine, stopping at the nape of his neck to ruffle his hair.

[Stern]

Stern heard it. "Rude!"

Stern felt it. A tingle on his spine and something messing with his hair.

After being snuck up on for so many years by random crooks, thugs, and psychopaths, Captain Michael Stern got out of one seriously bad habit: whirling around to face his attacker. Instead, he simply light-jumped a few feet behind him. Light-speed travel over such a tiny distance was more or less instant, but during the time it took for him to turn around, the person could simply dodge to stay behind him, shoot him, or hurt him in some other more painful and creative way.

So Stern flashed brightly, and when his vision became more normal, he saw he had moved back a couple feet. "LAPD! Hands in the air!" By now it was a reflex reaction.

[Secret]

Instinctively she raised her hands to shield her eyes from the light. The lack of concentration caused her to blink - she was fully visible for the briefest of seconds - before becoming invisible once more. Spots flashed across her vision as she shook her head.

"You don't have to yell." Her voice was louder now, echoing slightly as she circled around to Sterns left side. Invisible fingers prodded him. "You're loud enough to wake the dead."

[Stern]

Stern saw her for just a flash, then she was gone. A teenage girl. A mutant teenage girl. He needed to change tactics. Had all the long hours and dealing with violent crime hardened him to scared people in need?

The police captain reduced the volume. "People think there's a ghost in this house. But we know it's only you. I don't know why you're living here homeless, but this isn't a good place. It's not a safe place. I'm not here to make an arrest, just to investigate a citizen's concern. But if you would like to come with me all the same, I can take you to a safer, better place than this one. One where you can get a hot meal, a real bed, and not have to worry about anyone coming in the middle of night and what they might be like."

He hoped Anna at the Redencion House wouldn't mind a late night visit. But he couldn't take this girl there against her will. He had to convince her to come along. The folks at the precinct said domestic cases were the worst. Stern was beginning to agree.

[Secret]

"How do you know I'm not a ghost? Maybe I can't leave here until my soul has been avenged! OooooooOOoooooo!"

She waggled her fingers in his face dramatically, still invisible. Turning on her heel, Stern could see a bag lift from the floor and float it's way down the hall. The attic door had a rope attached to it - it was pulled down, lowering a set of stairs. Frangi assumed he would follow her; as tempting as a bed and meal sounded, staying in jail for the night would be worse than staying here.

"Why would I want to spend the night in some police station when I can stay here? It's not like people bother me...that much."

[Stern]

Stern chose not to address her silly ghost comment.

"I offered you a warm bed and a meal, not a night behind bars!" he called up after her. "There's a place for young mutants without a home. Redencion House. Have you heard of it?"

Stern didn't follow her up the stairs. He would give her space. But if she closed the attic door, he'd just light-jump inside. As long as there were gaps between the ceiling and the attic door, he could get up there.

[Secret]

"No. In case you haven't noticed, I tend to stay by myself, out of peoples' way."

Her voice was normal now, no longer whispery or echoy. A duffle bag was down, landing at his feet. He could hear her moving around the upper floor of the house.

"What is it like? It's for freaks, right?"

[Stern]

"It's for kids just like you. They play sports, go to the movies, attend school, and throw popcorn at the TV when the adults aren't looking. You'd like the lady in charge there. Her name is Anna."

Stern never could stomach a mutant calling other mutants freaks. It always meant the person thought of herself as a freak, too.

"We're not freaks, you know," he called up to her. "Just different. Nothing wrong with different."

[Secret]

"Most of the time I walk around invisible, I can walk through walls and unless you're magically aware of your surroundings or I physically touch you, no one pays any attention to me. That's a little freaky."

A box walked itself down the stairs, hovering in the air in front of the officer. "Look, it's nice that people care. It's nice that people want to help, but I'm capable of taking care of myself. You said yourself, you're only here because some crazy old lady called to complain about the noise."

The box sagged a bit before being set on the dust floor. "I'm not a kid, I can handle things."

[Stern]

"But wouldn't you like to be able to have something better?" Stern asked. "Look around you. Is this here--" Wei pointed to the trash and filth--"and that up there--" he pointed at the attic--"what you want?"

The police captain shifted a few beer cans aside with the toe of his boot. "I get wanting to do things on your own. After college, I spent a lot of time scraping by in places like this, trying to get home. And then when I got home, I had to work harder to get things done."

How could he forget waking up in a small hut in the Middle East after Neutron destroyed the ESU gymnasium? He remembered the trip back too. Trying to master his newly discovered ability to travel at the speed of light, Stern was forced to find abandoned buildings like this one, and steal clothes wherever he could get them.

Then, when he got home, he found out he had been declared dead.

"I know what it's like to live like a ghost. I didn't like it anymore than you do now, but the help I got allowed me to do more than I realized then. Come on, Miss. Please allow me to take you to Redencion House. Just until you can get on your feet and get a real place."

[Secret]

"If I go, will you leave me be? That's all I want."

Frangi shifted into focus in front of him. Her long blondish brown hair was braided, hanging over her right shoulder. She wore plain white t-shirt underneath a dark gray hoodie, shorts and a pair of brightly colored chuck taylors. One of her hands rested on her hip, the other was extended towards the officer.

"If I'm going with you, we may as well know each others names. I'm Frangipane. Or Frangi. Worst name ever, right?"

[Stern]

Stern chuckled. "I'm sure there are worse names out there. I'm Captain Michael Stern, LAPD Mutant Crimes Unit."

He was glad she was going to go to the Redencion House. "It's not a long walk to Banyon Street from here. I'll call Anna and let her know to expect us. Get your things and met me outside."

Stern walked out the front door so Frangi could get her things in order, and put in a call on his cell phone. Since he first met Anna, he put the Redencion House number in his phone just for times like these.

[Secret]

"Kay, let's go."

Frangi appeared in the doorway, bag over one shoulder and box in hand. The pair of mutants walked side by side down the moonlit street in silence. She mulled over several topics before picking one that she felt would let Stern do the most talking so she wouldn't have to.

"So, mutant crimes - you must get pretty busy..."