Lancey had left the Trail of Horror in haste. Several people looked at him with keen interest. The little pirate was now a wet and spitting kitten. Some kids with clean costumes laughed at him, making gestures with their hands. Lance’s hazel eyes glared back at them. ~Okay, I’m covered in green slime, so what?~ he thought hotly. ~At least I’m not afraid of facing a robeast like those ninnies!~

He decided to get something to cool off, and turning on his heel strode toward the food section. He saw a stand selling ice cream, gelatins and puddings.

A teenage boy dressed as a skeleton was in charge of the operation. He had a fridge filled with plastic glasses of lime gelatin that looked like slime, cups of ghostly chocolate pudding- with whipped topping and decorated with two pieces of candy for eyes. Behind him was a freezer with tubs of orange, chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

The skeleton noticed slime boy looking at the refrigerator and a smirk touched his face. "Would you like a slime goblet?" he asked.

Lance made a face. "No thanks," he replied tightly. "I want two scoops of orange ice cream, with spider sprinkles, gummy worms and whipped cream."

"A rotten pumpkin special, coming up!" the skeleton laughed.

In the meantime, two booths away, Batman and Barney were planning on buying rotten apple punch.

"How much money do you got?" Lotor asked.

Morgill searched his pockets and came out with a wrinkled five-credit bill a Doom guard had given him. "Five Arussian credits, Your Highness. And you?"

He groaned softly. "Nothing, because royalty never carries money."

"What are we going to do then? We won’t be able to buy lots of goodies with this."

Lotor thought for a moment, and then said, "We’ll get the loot with hostile takeovers, like my daddy. Be on the look out for any Halloween bags or pumpkins."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Keith and Allura went to the game section, and found Sven and Romelle waiting in line with other kids, holding hands.

"Romelle, Sven!" Keith shouted, waving his arm at them.

They glanced back, and Sven immediately let go of her little hand. "Uh, hi Princess, Kit," he said nervously, his face red like a tomato.

"We have been looking for you everywhere," Allura said. "We were so worried about you."

Romelle smiled at her. "After leaving the Trail of Horror, Svenny bought me a ghost pudding. And then I convinced him to bring me here. What about you Ally, did Kit took you somewhere special or bought you a treat?"

Allura smiled back. "Yes. We went to the Day of the Dead exhibit and we shared a soul cake. It was delicious." Then turning to Keith, she said, "Isn’t that right, Kit?"

His brown eyes widened like saucers. "Uh, yes. By the way, what’s this line for?" he asked nervously, trying to change the subject.

Romelle giggled at the expression on his red face. He acted just like her Sven. "The Broom Dance," she replied.

"Come with us," Sven blurted out. "Please?"

And they nodded silently.

"Look!" Allura noted. "Here comes Lancey."

"What’s up?" he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Lance, what happened to you?" Romelle asked horrified.

"I faced the robeast in the Trial of Horror, and got slimed."

"Oh, when Nanny sees you, you’re gonna be in big trouble," Allura said worriedly.

He shrugged. "Don’t worry. I’m used to it."

Sven and Keith shared knowing smiles. "Find a partner, or your will end up dancing with the broom," Keith said amusedly.

"That’s gonna tough. Girls don’t like to dance with slimy boys," Sven added, trying to keep a straight face.

Lance pointed his index finger at him. "You’re gonna pay for that insult, Raggedy Andy," he declared.

"Morgill, you go that way and I’ll go this way," Lotor said.

"Yes, Prince," he replied and hurried off.

Lotor saw a group of kids entering the Broom Dance. ~Maybe I’ll find something in there that I’ll like~ he thought deviously.

Unfortunately, all the attendants had been paired off except for him. The lady in charge of the game walked over to him, and said, "This is your dancing partner."

Lotor forced a smile and grudgingly took the broom with his right hand.

"Okay everyone," the woman said, "whenever the music stops, each boy must get a new partner with whom he has not danced before. The boy with the broom will drop his ‘partner’ and try to find a live one. The odd boy left over after everyone else is paired off must dance with the broom."

The music started. Sven danced with Romelle, Keith with Ally, and Lance with a blond girl dressed as a pink fairy. When the music suddenly stopped, they exchanged partners. Lotor was able to get rid of the broom and dance with a red-haired girl dressed as a Persian Princess, with light green clothes and a veil.

The music stopped once again, and Lance asked Romelle to dance. Sven felt jealous but realized that it was all part of the game.

Allura noticed Sven and Keith choosing different partners, but no boy had chosen her. She lowered her gaze and fidgeted with the laces of her black cape. And then saw a pair of black boots appeared in front of hers. Her eyes widened and her gaze flew up.

It was tall boy dressed as Batman…from Batman Beyond. She knew because she watched that cartoon show with her friends on Saturday mornings. But this one had bright yellow eyes like a kitty. He must be wearing magic glasses, she thought wearily.

"Hi, little witch," Lotor said, his mouth tilting in a wicked, curling smile. "Do you care to dance?"

"Hello," she said quickly, looking down at her gloved hands. "No, thank you." She suddenly wished he would go away. There was something icky about him.

"I won’t dance with the broom again," he said evenly, reaching for her hand. "Come on, the music is about to begin."

Batman slid a hand around her waist. She shivered and moved away, using a step of the dance to break the hold. He grasped her hands then, interlacing their fingers before she could resist. Stretching her arms wide, he drew them together until their lips almost met. She turned her head sharply and saw a frowning Keith dancing with a girl dressed as Pocahontas.

When the music stopped, Allura all but jumped away from him and gave a curious wee bob supposed to serve as a curtsy. Batman bowed low and grinned up at her. He ushered her back to the dais then. Just before they reached the seats, she tried to veer away from him. "Excuse me, I must go with my friends."

He smirked. "You don’t have to, they’re coming this way."

She glanced back and saw Kit, Lance, Romelle and Sven.

"Princess, are you okay," Keith asked, trying to keep his temper in check.

"I’m fine, Kit," she said, relieved.

"Who’s your friend?" Lance asked, eyeing Batman suspiciously.

"I don’t know his name," she replied. "It’s the first time that I see him."

Keith narrowed his eyes into slits. "I don’t remember seeing you around. Where are you from?"

"Bloom," Batman said matter-of-factly. "I’m from the village of Bloom."

"Funny, I didn’t know there was a village on Arus with that name," Lance noted.

Batman smirked. "It’s not my fault that you don’t know geography, slime boy."

"Hey-"

But Lotor cut him off, and turning to Allura, met her, almost nose to nose and grinned. "I’ll see you later, little witch."

The Princess drew back and glared at him, covering her embarrassment as best she could. She turned and regarded Keith who looked at Batman like he was about to pounce.

"I don’t trust that guy," Lance whispered to Keith. "He gives me the creeps."

"We better keep an eye on him," Keith said evenly.

Lotor met Morgill at the exit. "Did you find anything interesting?"

"Yes, Prince," he replied. "I saw a little kid dressed as a doctor with a bag filled with candy and toys. He was sitting on a bench with a boy dressed as a fireman."

Lotor smiled wickedly at him. "Let’s get his bag."