(no subject)

[gone_byebye]

When they returned to the garage, Janine was waiting for them, her feet propped up on the desk as she flicked through the pages of the newspaper. "Hey, guys," she called without looking up. "Hey, Ecto. What's going on? You left your proton packs in your lockers."

"We didn't need 'em this time," said Winston. "We weren't out on a call this time. The Mayor wanted to see us."

"Somehow, I'm just not surprised," said Janine. She lowered the paper. "Hey, Dr. V, you got a little something on your lip there, right under your nose."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," snapped Peter. "One more person says that and I'm knocking over the first Duane Reade I see."

Janine just smiled and raised her voice. "Hey, Egon? I borrowed some of your clothes. Hope you don't mind."

Egon, who had been about to examine the moving parts in Ecto's back compartment, looked up. "Excuse me?"

"Your clothes, Egon. I went through your drawers and grabbed one of your shirts and a pair of what passes for pants right about now. I had to use half a box of safety pins. You got long legs."

"I'm aware of that," said Egon dryly. "I'd like to know what prompted this, though."

Janine reached under the desk. Without looking away, she produced a long corset with a built-in bustle section that would've sent Greenpeace into fits of apoplexy. Peter stared at it and whistled. "Wow. Baby got back."

"I know," Janine returned. "Not what I had in mind when I got dressed this morning. I'd've gotten here faster if I had any idea how to breathe in that stupid thing."

"Wait a second," said Ray. "You were already dressed when the time wave hit? When did this happen?"

"This morning. About an hour and a half ago," said Janine. "I was on my way over here, dressed like a normal person-"

"You, Janine? What's this world coming to?"

"Cram it, Dr. V. I hadda walk here from Third and Fourteenth in that thing, and you do not want to know how long that takes when the streets're full of horses and cars that make the Model T look modern." She paused. "No offense, Ecto."

"It's okay, Janine," said the ambulance in a subdued voice. "I'm kinda used to it by now."

Ray sighed and patted his daughter's hood. "It's gonna be okay," he murmured, and turned back to Janine. "Exactly what happened, do you remember? Did you see any kind of distortion or phenomenon? Was there any kind of warning, visually or otherwise? Anything at all?"

Janine frowned a little, thinking. "Yeah," she said. "I remember looking down Third and thinking, 'wow, things look really fuzzy, I should go to the eye doctor'. Then the air suddenly got all ripply, like in a parking lot on a hot day, y'know? Next thing I know there's this whummm noise, and when it goes away, I'm stuck in that thing and everybody else on the street's dressed like they're trying out for a movie. And the cars're all gone, and there's horses in the street, and the buildings're all different. I'm kinda surprised I got here at all, with everybody freaking out and all."

"But you definitely saw it coming up from the south?" Ray said. "Okay, that's a start, if nothing else. Thanks, Janine."

"You're welcome, Ray," she said. “Whaddya think’s going on?”

“No clue whatsoever,” Ray said. “But whenever there’s time weirdness, I, for one, know who to call…” He stepped over to the door into the alleyway and opened it.

And closed it, and opened it again, and closed it again.

On the third try he said something under his breath in Sumerian that made Egon stare. “Sorry, guys,” he said, switching back to English. “It, um… looks like we’re on our own for this one.”

“No Milliways?” said Peter.

“No. No Milliways.”

“Oh, that’s just great.”