Ghostbusters: Regeneration

Chapter Fourteen

The next two weeks rolled by as the team waited for any leads on their primary target. True to his word, Peter used the full force of the Ghostbusters corporation to launch an awareness campaign on a scale that New York City had never seen before.

It began with the press. Peter and various other members of the team carried out interviews with every major media outlet in the city, telling viewers, readers, and listeners what to look out for. The extroverted Dr. Venkman was in his element in front of the cameras and microphones, though he often had to be reined in by Egon or Ray to get back to the facts of the case.

To avoid any potential surprises or awkwardness, Melissa made the senior members of the team aware of her prior history with MNN. After learning that the network had not only been dismissive of her investigation into Az'dor but also abruptly fired her over it, Ray decreed that the Ghostbusters company would no longer work with MNN in any capacity. He even issued a press release saying that the firm will 'never knowingly work with those who deny or trivialise science and facts, deny the existence of supernatural phenomena, or mistreat their employees.'

Though Melissa was not usually the type to enjoy revenge, she had to admit she got a bit of a kick out of the situation. She particularly delighted in the thought of her old boss Meredith taking the heat for this public snubbing. After all, she was directly responsible for not only shutting down what would become one of the biggest news stories of the year, failing to realise her network had one of its biggest ever scoops on its hands, but also firing someone who would become one of the most famous people in New York City, maybe even the entire country.

Given her newfound status, Melissa was able to call in a favour for one of her old colleagues. She had always told herself that she would find some way to repay Leon, who had helped her so much with her video work, if she found herself in a position to do so. She put in a good word with Ray and Peter, explaining that without him she could not have got the Az'dor investigation off the ground. Impressed not only with his contributions to Melissa's work but also his long-service as a camera man, they were glad to help out. In a couple of days they had not only secured Leon a place in the Ghostbusters' partner marketing firm, but also given him the role of cinematographer on the team's upcoming TV commercial. Leon was understandably overjoyed to be able to bid farewell to MNN, Meredith, and most of all, Cameron.

Before the TV spot was completed and aired, the marketing division launched a series of outdoor advertisements for the Az'dor awareness campaign. Quickly becoming a common sight for New Yorkers, these ads each depicted a different Ghostbuster pointing at the viewer. Beneath them was the slogan 'We Need You', referring to the help they required to hunt down Az'dor. Though Melissa thought it was a little cheesy, especially given how often the famous Lord Kitchener recruitment poster was referenced or spoofed, she had to admit that it was at least eye-catching. Though the team was not using it to recruit new members, it certainly projected a sense of inclusivity, and they needed to encourage a level of participation if the general public were to report any potential Az'dor sightings.

Melissa found it a little bit embarrassing to have her face appearing on bus stops, subway trains, billboards, and digital signage around the city. This experience reached peak embarrassment when Hiroko took her to Times Square one evening, mysteriously saying she had something to show her. It turns out that a version of their outdoor ad, one which cycled through the images of each of the team, was running on one of the largest electronic billboards there. As she first set eyes upon their advert, stretched metres-high and beaming down from one of the larger buildings against the evening backdrop, she almost felt her toes curling up. Hiroko, having seen the ad already, still let out a loud whoop and proclaimed 'It's uuuus!!' while they stood among the moving crowd of passersby. Although she found it a bit uncomfortable to be displayed this way in one of the busiest locations in all of New York, Melissa had to concur with Hiroko that it was quite an incredible thing. Not only were their faces all over town, not only were they Ghostbusters, but they were also side-by-side with their childhood heroes. To say the past couple of weeks had been a dream come true for them was an understatement.