Private Arons noted briefly the silence in the trailer, but returned her focus on the road. She had experience driving supply trucks, but never this big, and never with one of Earth's most beloved heroes as cargo. She spent a good amount of time practicing driving the MT-GV before today, but the first real run was always stressful. Monger and Susan were counting on her, and she wouldn't let either of them down. She flicked the radio on, letting the music calm her nerves.

Through all the decorations swathing the house, Private Arons couldn't seem to find the actual address anywhere. But, based on Ginormica's description, this had to be the place. It was the brightest house on the block, and still two costumed figures were outside, filling every available inch with candy and flourish.

The MG-TV hissed to a halt in front of the Murphy house, drawing Carl and Wendy from their work to investigate. They were surprised at the sight of the truck, but had learned to recognize one of Monger's vehicles when they saw one. Inside, Arons breathed a sigh of pride and relief as they arrived safely. She popped off her seatbelt and hopped down from the cab with a smile.

"Ginormica, we're here!" she called, giving the side of the trailer two solid thumps of her fist. A surprised yelp came from the other side of the wall, followed by a metallic crunch. Arons gave a jump of her own in surprise.

"Oh gosh…" Arons heard Susan mutter. Arons quickened her pace and unhinged the trailer doors to find her passenger rubbing her head and blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"I'm sorry Ginormica! I had no idea you were asleep!" She added, hastily making way for the sleepy giant to exit.

"It's ok, just the first spook of the night." Susan scooted herself free from the trailer and inspected the roof. There was a sizeable dent just in front of the sunroof, where her head hat met the metal. She placed her palms over it and pushed the metal back into place, shooting Arons an anxious grin. "We just won't tell Monger about that."

"Susan!" Wendy called, rounding the trailer with her husband and waving her hand.

"Mom! Dad!" Susan turned excitedly and embraced her parents. Carl gave her thumb a hearty squeeze, much like the bear hugs he gave her when she was smaller. "The house looks great! Do you need any help finishing it up?" Carl nodded.

"Actually, we do! Your mother and I handled all the smaller things, but I would like your help putting the spider on the roof."

"Pardon me," Arons interrupted, "But where would you like me to park the truck?"

"Oh!" Susan straightened herself and gestured to her driver. "This is Private Arons, she's one of Doc's interns."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Wendy announced, taking Arons' hand in a firm shake. "I'll move the cars to the street so we can get it in the driveway." She led the intern back around the truck to begin her task.

"Come with me, Susan, Old Spooky's in the backyard," her father beckoned. The massive black spider earned the nickname 'Old Spooky' because it was the oldest decoration in the Murphy arsenal, as well as the only one that sufficiently terrified Susan as a child. Carl had tried to leave the six-foot spider on the front lawn, but his daughter would refuse to leave through the front door, or insist on being carried past it. She eventually outgrew her childish aversion, but if she was honest, it still gave her the willies. That is, until this year.

As she stepped carefully over the fence and into the backyard, Carl noticed Susan didn't give her customary shudder on first sight of the spider.

"What's wrong, honey? Is Spooky not scary anymore?" He looked almost genuinely offended. Susan shrugged.

"Well, part of his appeal was that he was bigger than I was," she explained.

"Ah," her father chuckled. "No longer the case."

"Plus, living with Dr. Cockroach, I've kinda been desensitized to bugs in general." Susan knelt onto the grass and gently plucked the plastic spider from its resting place. She offered Carl her other hand and then whisked them both to the rooftop.

As the haunted house neared completion, a line of patrons was eagerly forming at the entrance. A few local news vans had congregated further down, and cameramen and various techs began to emerge, setting up connections for the broadcast.

"Alright! Look at all these people, just waiting to get the caramel scared out of them. This is gonna be a good night." The Missing Link rubbed his scaled hands together evilly, eyeing the crowd.

"And scaring is ALL you will be doing!" Monger barked, seeing the glint in his monsters' eyes. "That means so grabbing, no terrorizing, no experimenting! Or so help me, the insurance is coming out of your paychecks!"

Link rolled his eyes.

"General, how lowly do you think of us?" Dr. Cockroach asked, as though his pride had been wounded. He cracked a rather foolish grin and elbowed his compatriot lightly before adding, "We're not monsters."

The ape bit his lip to suppress a chuckle and the General just rolled his eyes.

"Get into your places, you lousy maggots, and I'll go open the gates," he growled. The two monsters scuttled and loped away and into the maze, still giggling.

Monger rubbed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, approaching the entrance. The ticket masters looked up to see him nearing, and unlocked the gates when he gave them the signal. The line of eager guests began to pour in. One of the guards escorted the San Francisco News team forward, meeting Monger inside the gates.

"Good afternoon, General," the reporter greeted, straightening her jacket and adjusting her microphone. The camera crew buzzed around them like flies, finding the proper angles and lighting for the shot. A smaller group broke off from the team to set up cameras near Bob and Insectosaurus.

"Good afternoon," Monger grumbled in return. Media correspondence was one of his least favorite things. He'd gone rather quickly from being head of the most secretive base on the planet, to being manager of a world-famous special ops force. Suffice to say, he was not entirely used to broadcasting his business just yet. The reporter nodded to the cameraman, who gave her a countdown from three.

"We're live here at the opening of the charity pop-up haunted house, hosted by none other than the monsters who defeated the alien invaders just months ago. With me today is General Monger, their decorated manager. Tell us General, what exactly can guests expect this evening?"

"Well, I think we've got quite the scare in store tonight," he announced, standing soldier-straight with his hands behind his back. "The Missing Link and Dr. Cockroach are both scaring in the house, and Bob and Insectosaurus are available for pictures at the end of the attraction."

"Okay." The reporter hitched her eyebrows in spite of her smile, expecting a more enthusiastic response from her interviewee. Monger refused to indulge her. She cleared her throat out of range of the microphone and pressed on. "Now, it seems Ginormica is not with us tonight, can you tell us anything about that?"

"Halloween is a special holiday for Ginormica and her family, so she has been excused to celebrate privately," he delivered dryly. A disappointed expression flashed over the reporter's face before she recovered her smile.

"There you have it, folks. Tickets have sold out for this one-night-only attraction, and all proceeds will go to the rebuild of the San Francisco children's hospital. Back to you, Henchaw."

Mike looked over his shoulder as the broadcast returned to the anchor.

"You see that, Cheryl?" he asked, winding a cord around his forearm before loading it into a case labeled CAM 1.

"No, what?" She set the box she was carrying down inside the Channel 172 truck and turned to face the monitor.

"Susan's gonna be at her parent's house tonight." Mike couldn't help but loose a small laugh.

"Susan who?" She gave him a quizzical look.

"Murphy. Derek's ex." Cheryl's eyes widened as she connected the dots.

"No way." Mike merely nodded and chuckled in response as he slid the loaded boxes into place. "You gonna tell him?"

"Nope. He can find out on his own."

Cheryl snickered as well. It'd be an interesting shift for sure.