ic Ghost of a Chance

[Tiffany Korta]

The Weizenstein family were as old as Freedom City itself coming here almost as the first foundations were laid down. Over this time they had managed to climb to the top by having fingers in many of the cities major businesses, with a knack for picking the right investment at the right time. Some even suggested that they used magic, often black, to gain their fortune.

Then in the 1980’s the family seemed to fade from public life after a private tragedy only now with the return to public life with the return of Carl Weizenstein from one of the top universitie. Currently he was everywhere over the television and newspapers, and even talked about on the Internet, whilst some it was about new business and charity works most of the buzz was about his ghost.

It started with a off handed comment about the family ghost but had snowballed to the point that the former Weizenstein was now in the background of most of the photographs of Carl. The poor ghost Samuel wasn’t questioned on his thoughts and apparently couldn’t even leave the stately Weizenstein manor.

[Gizmo]

Lucy Harker's little office was barely big enough for three or four people to fit comfortably at a time so it was hard to miss so it was hard to miss a new arrival, particularly when she was translucent blue, floating a good meter in the air and entered by simply passing through the wall. "Lucy! Lucy!" The excitable poltergeist bobbed up and down as she rushed into the room, hands waving over her head. "We've got a big dead people problem and I need your lawyer powers!" Belatedly, Kimber looked about the office, dropping down until her feet were nearly touching the floor, one incorporeal leg halfway through a stack of file boxes. "Um, is this a good time?"

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy’s assistant gave a little eek and threw a massive pile of paper into the air, raining paperwork all over the cramped little office. After the initial shock Erica obviously recognised Ghost Girl.

 

“Another one of you friends Lucy?â€

 

Lucy looked up for only a moment before returning to her paperwork “Oh hi Kimber. We’ve worked together before.â€

 

She then finished what she was doing and put down her pen giving her fellow hero her full attention.

 

“So what do you need help with?†whilst she was all business her friendly smile was genuine.

[Gizmo]

"Whoop, sorry! I've got it!" Kimber assured the aide and sure enough the scattered documents lifted off of the floor and back into the air, spinning lazily as they flew to stack themselves neatly into a stack on the corner of Lucy's desk. Looking pleased with herself, the phantom dusted off her hands with a broad grin. "And if you thought that was rad you should see what my old teammate coulda done with all that paper! I'm Ghost Girl, but you can call me Kimber! Sorry again for scaring you, kinda in my nature." She offered Erica a small wave but didn't bother sticking out her hand to shake; being incorporeal made certain niceties less practical.
 
Turning back to the seated lawyer, her excitement quickly ratcheted back up. "Right! Have you seen that Weizenstein guy on TV? He's all over the place partly 'cause he's just super rich or something but his mansion is haunted, see? And he knows about it and he's using the ghost like a... like a pet or something in all his interviews, all 'look how outrageous I am, I have a ghost!' and stuff! So not cool! And I was all 'there's gotta be a rule against that sort of thing' and you're a lawyer so you know about all the rules so here I am!"

[Tiffany Korta]

It didn’t take long for Lucy to come up with an answer she’d studied such laws when she had to proved her continued existence so she could start practicing law, and over time she had gathered lot’s of information about the state of various undead.

 

“Without any form of employment contract the ghost can’t be forced to do anything, it’s just a form of slavery otherwise. And if we can prove their identity they can reclaim their citizenship if they desire, sound like the family keep pretty good records about those kind of things.†she gave Kimber a sad little smile and spoke in a gentle kind voice “You know as well as me though that some ghosts are little more than a memory going through long forgotten memories, there could be nothing there that we can free.â€

 

She could have left it there, maybe offer to write a letter to the Weizenstein’s about all this, but Kimber was a good kid who alway’s tried to do the right thing.

 

“I’ll arrange for us to go meet Mr Weizenstein this afternoon. We can see what he had to say and find out if our ghost is like us. We might be able to negotiate some sort of arrangement that will make everyone happy.â€

 

She hoped so why she was always up for a challenge they would have some very powerful and expensive lawyers on call if this became more serious.

[Gizmo]

"That's great! I knew you'd know what to do, Lucy!" Kimber chirped energetically, pumping a fist in the air enthusiastically. It was good to hear the lawyer so confident in the necessary action to resolve the dilemma she'd brought her; the phantom had been worried that ghosts would have simply fallen outside the constraints of the law. Thankfully living in Freedom City meant living with a considerably more robust catalogue of precedent.

Giving Lucy's assistant another wave, she added "It was nice to meet you! I'll try to float through a door next time!"

[Tiffany Korta]

The Weizenstein Manor is a sprawling gothic mansion sitting in the affluent part of Freedom City. Apparently each generation had added to the splendor of manor with there own subtle touches but still fitting into the whole.

Whilst Lucy was good at what she did it still took a while to make arrangements to meet with the surviving Weizenstein brother and it wasn’t until late afternoon that she was able to arrange a meeting at the manor.

“Okay shall we see what they have to say? This could after all be a complete misunderstanding.”

[Gizmo]

With her hand raised to maintain the illusion that she was physically holding her pale blue parasol, Kimber was careful to keep out of the afternoon sun. Weizenstein obviously wouldn't have been shocked to see a ghost floating into the meeting but she had the feeling it might be to their advantage to avoid advertizing their unusual natures right off the bat. She'd adopted a blazer and skirt combination which looked considerably better once she'd taken some cues from Lucy's wardrobe and dialed back on the shoulder pads and confined herself to solid colours rather than plaids. "I... guess that's true," she admitted rather dubiously, her steps gliding ever so slightly over the street as she followed after the lawyer. "We should at least give him a chance to explain himself."

[Tiffany Korta]

There was some irony that the room felt older than either of the two undead women filled with antiques. A old grandfather clock slowly and loudly ticked away the seconds that somehow seemed slower than it should, as if time was slowed here by all the old things. The families lawyer seemed suitable for such a room an old and wizened man who look as if he’d been in the family for generations. Apart from the two heroes only the owner of the house seemed not to fit the room looking like a 21st century businessman had been somehow transported into the 19th century.

He sat rather impassively as Lucy explained there case using a light smattering of lawyerese, whilst his lawyer looked as if he’d swallowed something rather unpleasant. Maybe he was old enough that he wasn’t use to female lawyer.

“They’re all talking about me aren't they?” a rather sad voice spoke beside Kimbers intangible ear.

[Gizmo]

Kimber's attention had started wandering almost as soon as the legalese had begun, try as she might ton concentrate on what was being said. She jumped a bit when the voice suddenly spoke next to her and had to remember to have her feet come back down to the floor afterward. "Oh! Um. They are, a bit, I guess, yeah," she admitted out of the corner of her mouth, trying not be too obvious as she glanced over in the direction of the morose voice. "Did you... not want them to? You could totally speak up and give them a piece of your mind, y'know! If anybody should be deciding what happens to you it oughta be you, eh?" She flashed a quick, beaming smile before schooling her features again and pretending to listen to Lucy and her wizened counterpart.