A Halloween Birthday for Bunny
Part Two
A HALLOWEEN BIRTHDAY FOR BUNNY
© October 31, 2011 By Rory V. Pascual
PART TWO
After dashing down several flights of stairs in the Fire Escape, Fire Emblem and the other Heroes emerged on the floor of the Justice Department.
Panting for breath, Karina exclaimed furiously, "This is all your fault, Nathan! Why did you have to tell a stupid ghost story in the first place?"
"How'd I know that a real ghost would be popping up?"Nathan argued back. "Damn! I must have lost several years of my life!"
"She was scary, wasn't she," Keith chimed in. "And, indeed, truly spooky."
"You don't seem afraid of her, Sky High-san," Pao-Lin noted, frowning.
Smiling cheerfully, Keith answered simply, "I've always wanted to see a ghost. I can't want to tell John about it when I get home."
Antonio nudged Ivan with his shoulder. Bending down, he whispered in Origami's ear, "The sight of the ghost must have loosened a few screws in Keith's brain."
Ivan quickly shook his head. "No, he's always been like that."
"AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
All whirled around at that angry voice, only to have all their blood drain from their faces. Standing behind them was another wraith. The ghoul was a male this time with long, flowing flaxen hair. Blue and green flames blazed from his sharp, malevolent eyes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Yuri Petrov's handsome face darkened in a scowl, seeing the Heroes run helter skelter for the nearest exit.
"What was that all about?" he wondered in confusion, blissfully unaware of the fact that he had been using his flame powers to light his way since the blackout started.
To his even greater surprise, a happy Sky High skipped back to him and said, "Mr. Ghost, you're probably not aware of it, but your head is on fire. We can't have you burning yourself and the entire building now, right?"
Before Yuri realized what was happening, Keith extinguished his flames with a brief gust of air. He barely stifled his gasp, knowing that he had unwittingly revealed his secret identity of the notorious vigilante Lunatic with the former 'King of Heroes'.
Surprisingly, Keith just stood back and grinned, pleased at his good deed. Yuri had completely forgotten that the man standing before him was a total airhead.
"Uhm…er…thank you," was all he could say.
Giving the judge his trademark salute, Sky High replied, "You're welcome and, again, you're welcome. And Happy Halloween too!"
Keith then went after his comrades, but not before giving the perplexed judge a farewell wave.
Heaving an exasperated sigh, Yuri muttered, "What idiots these Heroes be!"
"That's not a very nice thing to say."
Through the glass of the window, Yuri could see the dim white outline of a female figure standing behind him. The handsome judge did not even bother to look back. He simply dashed back to his office.
What are you doing? Are you a coward? His alter ego berated him. You are Lunatic and, yet, you flee from a ghost!
"That's a REAL ghost, damn it! Not like the guilt-conjured specter of my late father!"
Out in the hallway, the wraith burst into giggles as the door to Petrov's office was slammed shut and locked from within. Who'd ever thought that Thanatos' minion could be terrified of a mischievous ghost?