Babes in Toyland 2: Barnaby’s Revenge!

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
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AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
This story was approved by the production code administration of the storybook Producers & Distributors of America. Certificate NO.401

Released as declassified information under permission by the Northern Intelligence Administration for the purpose of a reading or audiobook series of formatted bedtime stories to help children sleep.



Jack B. Nimble………..Tenchi Masaki

Mary Contrary……………..Kylie Griffin

Tom Piper.……………………….Himself

Little Bo Peep……..……………Herself

Silas Barnaby…………………Himself

Georgie Porgy………………..Himself

The Jester……………Theodore West

Walter Wiley………………….Himself

Charlet Saylor………….…….Herself

Laverna Heist…………..…….Herself

Carmen Sandiego……….….Herself

Zack Monaghan………..….Himself

Ivy Monaghan…………..….Herself

Tatiana Cerileva Ezrin……..Herself

Paige Turner……..………….Herself

Sachi Karin…………………..Herself

Candy Corn……………..……Herself

Cabochon Diamond……….Herself

Ruslan………………………....Himself

Anya White………………….Herself

Pecos Bill……………………..Himself

D.Va…………………………….Herself

Pretty Bomber………………Herself

Miss Honey………………..…Herself

Kotetsu………………………..Himself

Bagura………………………..Himself

Nancy Drew…………………Herself

Jenny Leclue…………….….Herself

Carson Drew………………Himself

Phoenix Wright……………Himself

Apollo Justice…………….Himself

Everett Dred……………….Himself

Casey Hughes………………Himself

Humpty Dumpty..………Himself


And

Bill Paxton as the Toymail boss






The Emblem Warriors


Marth……………………….Himself

Ike……………………………Himself

Roy………………………….Himself

Lucina……………………Herself

Robin……………………..Himself



S.T.E.A.M.

Henry Fleming……….......Himself

John Henry………......…...Himself

Tom Sawyer…….………….Himself

Dorothy Gale………………..Herself

Scarecrow……………………Himself

Tin Man………………………Himself

Lion……………………………..Himself

The Fox………………………Herself

Queequeg……………………Himself

Randolph Carter………...Himself

Califia………………………..Herself



The Five Dastardly Bombers

Plasma Bomber………………..Himself

Golem Bomber……..…….……Himself

Magnet Bomber………….…….Himself

Phantom Bomber………………Himself


Elf Troopers

Red Trooper

Black Trooper

Blue Trooper

Pink Trooper

Yellow Trooper

Special Guests

The Nutcracker Prince……….………………………Hans

Queen Anne of Hearts……………………………….Anne

Ole King Cole…………………………………………..Cole

The Little Old Lady who Lived in a Shoe………………………Mother Hubbard

The Lord of Toys the, Santa Claus…………………………………….Saint Nicholas Claus









We find ourselves in Toyland once more. The sinister forces that befell the city were driven out by courageous children Ruslan and Charlet. While in their world, years have passed, in Toyland, it has only been a little while since that fateful day. All has been well, and the people are happily going about their daily lives. But those sinister forces that once threatened Toyland are returning for revenge against those who banished them. We can only hope that the heroes who stopped them before can save the day again. All they have to do is believe in toys…



Toyland, Toyland

Little girl and boy land

While you dwell within it

You are ever happy there

Childhood's joy land

Mystic merry Toyland

Once you pass its borders

You can ne'er return again

When you've grown up, my dears

And are as old as I

You'll laugh and ponder on the years

That roll so swiftly by, my dears

That roll so swiftly by

Childhood's joy land

Mystic merry Toyland

Once you pass its borders

You can ne'er return again



Barnaby was his usual grumpy self. He had it all once, or so he had thought. Like any greedy person, Barnaby decided wanting more was the way, which cost him what he had. He regretted his actions when he had been parted from his money and power over the townsfolk. At least that's what his therapist, Blinky, told him in group meetings. His brother, Clyde, was on sabbatical after a previous incident caused by a former member taking the group's motto too seriously. It didn't matter too much; as long as the villains in attendance saw a ghost, they could claim they had a Spiritual awakening. Like everyone else there, Barnaby had come in with his head down. He felt he would never have been brought so low as to lose to his nemesis. That happened to other villains, not him, or so he had thought. But there he was with a knot in his stomach, walking towards the "Bad-Anon" room for the villain support group meeting.

As he entered the room, all the villains in attendance looked at him, not believing the face they were seeing. Those in attendance and coming in after him at that moment figured he would never end up there for support as he was in too good a position. He might have a few ups and downs but would have no problem recovering from them. This assumption was primarily because of the Lord of Toys, the Toymaster, and his forgiving nature. As any villain would, they found it laughable and obvious to exploit. Even significant losses to the good guys would only result in a slap on the wrist from him in the end and a sappy plea to redeem himself. But to their shock, they heard rumors Barnaby had been banished to Bogeyland, and his arrival had confirmed their suspicions.

Bogeyland was its own dark domain, not unlike the Forest of No Return, but with fewer trees. Cloudy skies, numerous bogs, twisted trees, thorny vines, and weeds peppered the landscape. But most importantly, there were the horrifying Bogeymen. They lurked throughout Bogeyland and had no problem eating wayward souls lost or banished to Bogeyland. However, people on the side of evil were generally safe as the monsters and demons recognized their familiar evil auras. The more virtuous peoples, therefore, feared Bogeyland most of all. However, The Forest of No Return and Goblin Forest were close behind. The only difference between the two dark forests was that the Goblin King had declared dominion over the smaller side of the Forest of No Return. A river separated the huge forest into two large halves, each spanning miles, and thereafter the Goblin territory was called the Goblin Forest.

Only direct physical confrontations could result in potential loss of life from the monsters of the dark realm. The Bogeymen and Goblins of their respective lands otherwise lurked in the shadows, only their glowing eyes giving their positions away. But for those villains who had unyielding willpower, the Goblins and Bogeymen would follow them and act as an evil army, bringing ruin wherever they went. These villains were called "Masterminds" and had sway over a certain number of weak-minded goblins or bogeymen whom they called "Minions," depending on their auras level. A physically stronger villain or the smartest one in the room; wouldn't necessarily control a relatively equal number of minions. Their evil aura level determined that, and Barnaby's was off the charts. On top of that, when masterminds worked together, their combined auras could make their minions stronger still.

Barnaby's final recourse was to go to Cole Castle and speak with the ruler of Toyland, Ole King Cole, to get him to reverse the decision. Surely the head of a centralized power hierarchy would understand his plight. But good luck with that, as Cole, being a jolly soul and relatively younger than the name would imply, found it far more interesting to make a game of things. He was dressed in the current fashion of the year and kept up with what was in style. His wife was the beautiful Queen of Hearts, Anne. After the previous rulers stepped down, the two became the new respective monarchs of their kingdoms; Toyland and Wonderland. Their optimistic outlook and cheerful demeanors brought a sense of bright futures until that was a particular incident in Toy Town. Whereby a cruel, wicked man led an army of Bogeymen to attack. Word traveled near and far around the kingdom; the man responsible had been defeated but was mysteriously carried by his army to Cole City.

Leading theories by Toyland Investigation Department or the TID suggested that Barnaby maintained control over the Bogeymen who brought him to where he was thinking about, namely, Cole City. The King and Queen, busy being socialites, were suddenly informed of what had happened, which was why they held an audience with Silas Barnaby. It was an attempt to take advantage of the spectacle of it all. Also, Cole and Anne had no problem showcasing their ability to be quick, decisive leaders as well. Cole couldn't help but find how funny this had all ended up being and had to concentrate on keeping from bursting out laughing.

As he said, "Barnaby, your treacherous ways are known to all in Toyland at this point. You came fuming, kicking, and shaking your hands in the air into Cole City and were thusly dropped off by the Bogeymen outside the city limits. You proved your evil aura is capable of controlling them even in defeat. If my father were still King by rights, you would be thrown into the stockade, tarred and feathered. But let's be sporting about things, hmm, old chap? If you can salvage Bogeyland and turn things around there, we'll see what can be done about your exile status. Now, if you'll excuse us, my wife and I must dance divine to the Fiddlers Three."

Barnaby retorted, "Are you kidding me!? Ahem, I mean your majesty. Toyland needs my wisdom and guidance, especially Toy Town. Jack B. Nimble's bungling will only cause ruin, and even worse, the Toymaster is out of touch and confused in his old age. He fears my strict disciplinary style will hurt people's feelings and is too scary for children. Toyland needs a strong leader. One that will not let this cookie crisis continue. And with but a word from you-." Cole raised a finger, instantly signaling an end to Barnaby's rant, and said, "Obviously, we are aware of our position, as is our beautiful wife, The Queen of Hearts Anne." Anne was as beautiful as could be and quite aware of influential people across the realm. She replied, "You flatter me, husband. But where are my manners? I would have hoped not to arrive late to see... him."

Cole happily turned to face his wife and said, "Why yes, my dear, Mr. Barnaby was just planning on agreeing to right the wrongs in Bogeyland. Or die trying, Haha!" Anne putting her hands together and addressing the court, said, "Oh, how splendid! It is rare to see such bravery indeed. I hope Mr. Barnaby is well aware of the task at hand and how those who are not careful in that place are devoured. However, I have heard reports that the current residents have attempted to build cobblestone streets and homes to make them feel more civilized. Gasp! I think there is even a pub there called, what was it? Westward Timpani? How curious. Maybe my ladies in waiting and I can go sometimes; giggle.".
 
Last edited:

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
Barnaby would otherwise have his jaw on the floor from the level of youthful exuberance they displayed in sending him off to a demon-infested wasteland. But knowing better than to upset the only two capable of reversing the Toymaster's decision, he held his tongue. While kneeling and showing the utmost respect said, "I wholeheartedly agree with the queen's assessment of Bogeyland's dangers and can only hope she'll see fit to reverse the Toymaster's decision." In reality, Barnaby wanted to grab both of them and throw them in their rooms with no dinner. But watching the scene unfold on their end, he noted the scene was a stomach-turning perversion of where he'd be at this point. Of course, what was "perverse" to Barnaby was normal to regular people. Barnaby felt there was not enough of a dark, creepy atmosphere. Instead, there were too many bright colors, happy smiles, and general care for others well being.

But most noticeably, when the Queen spoke, everyone listened to her every word. The newlyweds were the center of attention, and the dynamic was not lost on Barnaby. He was missing a wife to help give him an air of stability and superiority. A kind and warm lady could give his stern, cold orders. It made it more apparent that he was correct in wanting to make Mary his bride. She would have the townsfolk completely enthralled. For example, they'd have no problem remodeling certain areas of Toy Town or demolishing an unneeded Toy Factory. But that had been denied Barnaby by his defeat, and the royal couple's constant lovey-dovey actions and constant approval from all present became too much to bear. And so, as the royals decreed, his fate was sealed; Barnaby felt there was no hope for him anymore.

Cole motioned to the court to leave the room alone with Barnaby. He explained further, "My plan is simple; you don't understand the rules for rulers. I am a new king, but I am King. There are those out there who seek to replace me. They think it's easy to be a king, a lord, or even a duke. But power comes from the people, specifically those in command of certain areas of social infrastructure like industry or military leaders. If they are loyal to you, they will only do as you command because they believe it will keep them prospering. If they think someone else will give them more stuff, such as money or food, they will follow him and replace the current leader. If one is to rise through the ranks of leadership, they have to understand these simple rules.

So say, for example, a rogue banker and mortgage lender decides his lot in life is not good enough and chooses to assemble an army to take over a town. Opportunistic Individuals would use this event as a sign of weakness and suggest new leadership is needed. Suddenly various pretenders to the throne appear and make their claims to it. Without quick, decisive action, chaos ensues, and heads roll. We are blessed, however, that our wife Anne is now with us. The previous Queen of Hearts was, shall we say, unable to cope with the pressures of these rules. She chose an approach that was better safe than sorry but even then, she was aware of how the game worked. And when they had enough of her execution style, she knew her only option was to step down and anoint her daughter as the new Queen. A commoner would say the Queen was mad and was replaced by the people who finally had enough. But more learned people knew the current regime used the Queen's style to their advantage and purged their political enemies at the cost of random innocents.

The result is a politically stable kingdom, as no one is ideologically opposed to each other. Your job is, therefore, quite simple: You will be sent to Bogeyland, and a cover story will be fabricated. It will say you suddenly inherited a farm from an uncle and went happily to work on it. While the public will think you chose a farmer's life as repentance for your crimes, you will actually be there to handle a political powder keg caused by my father's decisions. Namely, posting unsavory elements of the TID in proximity to villainous miscreants. His idea was to intimidate those banished there by having agents that weren't afraid to get their hands dirty. But as things turned out, they are reaching an understanding with each other, and that is causing factions to form. If you are successful in switching their allegiances to yourself, you will be granted a return to Toy Town. Your sudden disappearance will inexorably create a power vacuum, and the villains will turn on each other in your absence. Ha! It is quite a clever plan, don't you think?"

Barnaby was not exactly thrilled to hear this plan though he better understood then and there why the new King was so liked; under all that prep school demeanor, he was pretty strategic. He made sure to know who was doing what and how to assist or counter them. This "plan," as the King called it, was a win-win for Cole. If Barnaby succeeded in restoring the power hierarchy, he would get what he wanted, an end to exile at the cost of his evil allies turning on each other instead of uniting against the crown. If Barnaby failed, it would mean his end at the hands of his rivals or the Bogeymen. This realization made their peppy outlook seem even grimmer to Barnaby, and maybe he decided the Queen was heartless in her own "cute" way. Regardless they both had decided to put him out to pasture literally. Gone was his access to his bank account and his estate. They were replaced by a pitchfork and shovel held by the King and Queen. As they each looked at him, standing side by side with a pleasant expression well suited for a propaganda poster about going off to the farm, he took the tools and headed out the door with his head held low.

In the months that passed, Barnaby had begun frequenting a famous pub called "Wayward Villainy" in Bogeyland. It was situated on the Main Street of Bogey Town called Bogey Street. The wooden signposts had hand-painted names for places around the area. As Barnaby wandered the town, he figured the lack of creative names resulted from low morale from the numerous exiles who were forced to call it home. However, he noted a scarecrow in a field with a pumpkin for a head donning a blue witch hat with a yellow stripe on the brim. It wore a blue suit with parts colored green, a white vest, and brown pants. Other than that, "Bogey this" and "Bogey that" were quite common. But Wayward Villainy was one of those rare exceptions to the norm.

It was where villains went to get lost with the other kinds of "spirits" after suffering defeat. Those, of course, being will-o’-wisps called "Runeys," which began appearing in Bogeyland. The denizens of Bogeyland were originally simply curious about consuming them. They found them quite dizzying and disorienting, but they did report a stamina boost that came along with it. Barnaby had come to the pub and regularly drank down spirit after spirit for hours in a state of self-loathing, but unbeknownst to him, they were bonding to him and increasing his devilish aura even more. After witnessing Barnaby's depressed state for one too many nights, the bartender suggested he pull himself together by going to Bad-Anon. Barnaby had scoffed at the idea, then decided to force himself to after hearing about how helpful it was to the more egocentric villains there. "There is no turning back now.", Barnaby felt as he took a seat and waited for the meeting to begin. And dreading what came next as all eyes fell on him, he readied to introduce himself as a new member.

He began in his usual tone, albeit minus the authoritative, threatening glares and body language he used. "Hello, I'm Silas Barnaby from Toyland. Every day is routine for me, I guess. I wake up, wear my dark, devilish attire, eat breakfast, and stride out the door to remind the townsfolk who's the boss. I make sure no one dares challenge my authority without consequence, and I am quite proud to do so. But then there's Jack B. Nimble, a do-gooding genius who wants people to be… happy. Which is fine, I guess; but when you're trained to use a magic sword by your grandpa; it makes your job of "righting wrongs and singing songs" kind of easy. Anyway, the citizens of Toyland don't care about how easy it is to be the good guy. They give him gifts and shower praise on him. They even stand in the background and fawn over his campy friends when they're around, acting like exciting things will happen if they're together.

It's sad, really, all those happy, warm smiles and joyful cheering every time Mary hugs him. I don't need any of that stuff to get through my day. General anti-social behavior, greed-based schemes, and crooked smiles are all that are necessary. I only want Mary or Bo Peep to marry me because it's expected I have something pretty at my side. Bah! Humbug! I say. But honestly, when I see him surrounded by his friends, eating cake, and getting hugs from Mary Quite Contrary, I sometimes think wow, it must be nice to be the good guy."
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
The other villains in attendance applauded Barnaby's introduction and offered encouraging words. Blinky told him, "Barnaby, it's okay to try to see things from the other side. But being a villain, you must remember wickedness is the way." Nods of agreement ensued as the ne'er-do-wells held hands and found reassurance with each other as they recited the group motto. They were bad, and that was good. They would never be good, and that wasn't bad. There's no one they'd rather be than themselves.

After the meeting, Barnaby felt he could build himself back up again, and there would be a feeling of anticipation welling up in him if his heart weren't black as pitch. Regardless he knew he just had to identify the cause of his downfall and seek vengeance, which was just an excuse for him to frequent Wayward Villainy. This time, his spirit of choice was one reserved for a villain on the rebound called, Sinister Retribution. On his way there, he looked over at the scarecrow and thought its head was facing a different direction than it was now. His two criminal partners, Theodore West and Walter Wiley had already gone through Bad-Anon and taken their Sinister shots. Theodore, however, took it far better than Walter, who went mad from the experience of it. But Walter could wait; Barnaby needed Theodore's magic and cunning to help assemble an evil alliance.

Luckily he was at the pub lamenting about Dorothy Gale as per the norm. Over strode Barnaby to explain his evil intentions over drinks and ghostberries. The Jester was more than willing to help as he wanted to get even with Toyland. It was bad enough that he was banished from Oz, but being exiled from Toyland was too much to bear. Specifically, one little girl and her red shoes were doing just fine and dandy within its walls. The Jester trick shuffled his cards, smiled at Barnaby, and said, "Barney boy, we're going to have a blast! Once we're done plotting plans, there's no way they will last!" Theodore was quite pleased to see Barnaby out of his slump. Without his connections, infiltrating Toyland would be near impossible. But with the two teaming up, things would go more smoothly.

Unfortunately, they needed another member to balance the team, and they gritted their teeth in determination, knowing who that was. Drinking their last shots, the two rose, and on their way out, Barnaby requested the bartender prepare a Sinister Retribution for his return. They traveled to Walter's residence in Bogeyland, a rundown house. MoM bots were lying about the yard in various states of disrepair and rusting away. A sign read, "NO VISITORS! Especially Jack!"; but being two people who didn't care about what others wanted, they went inside without hesitation. This only further frightened their would-be ally, who, in his "Sinister Delusion" began fleeing about the house while singing.

They're coming to take me away haha

They're coming to take me away ho ho

Heehee haha to the funny farm

where everything's beautiful all the time

And they're coming to take me away haha!


Walter ran, shuffled, crept, and leaped away from Barnaby and Jester, claiming they were there to put him in the madhouse. As he sneaked from room to room, peeking around here and there, the Jester replied, "Get real, you moron. We want crazy people out on the streets causing havoc, not in padded rooms. You are suffering from Sinister Delusion as evidenced by your twirling around on your tippy-toes like a ballerina. Quite embarrassing at that, if I must say." Walter entertained that these two were not from the Funny Farms and said, "If you aren't taking me away, what do you want?" Barnaby grabbing Walter by the collar, said, "We want your evil devices to bring doom to Toyland. Now stop wasting time and assemble your robots. We have an army to build." Walter snapping out of his deluded state and happy to know he was needed, smiled as he said, "Yes, master Barnaby! Hahahahaha!"

The terrible trio was thus reassembled and headed off to Wayward Villainy to recruit more to their wicked cause. Upon their return, they saw a few new faces had arrived, but the general sulky atmosphere was the same. Sensing the animosity, The house band, The Bogey Boys, lurched in and began to play one of their more popular songs to make things even grimmer.

[The Worms Craw in]

The coroner carves

Your family cries

The mortician fits you with glass eyes

They dress you in

Your favorite suit

And then shuffle you to your tomb

Then your carcass

Is on parade

For all to see how much you paid

Then six feet deep

Is where you're laid

And earth sprinkled on your grave

The worms crawl in

The worms crawl out

Devour you body

From organs to grout

The insects feed

Upon your flesh

And beetles burrow inside your chest


The bartender shook his head at Walter, who did not read the rules before drinking Sinister retribution. He had decided it would allow him to take revenge with no consequences. But the bartender explained that it only works as intended on those who are not crazy or otherwise called mad. If a mad person does drink it, they will go into a state of delusion and paranoia. Walter commented that the drink is terribly overhyped and uses false advertising. He continued, "Bleck! It doesn't even use 100% cane sugar. It uses; let's see here… 101% rune sugar. What is that even huh? GMO? I'd be careful, master Barnaby. One as beautiful as Mary Quite Contrary wants her men as organic as possible."

The Jester reaching his limit, said, "On the soul of Ole King Cole, shut up!" Walter crossed his arms and put on a stern face as he was denied the chance to hang his intellect over everyone's heads as he so loved doing. He sat in one of three chairs at Barnaby's reserved table and, from there, could gaze upon the room of outlaws. He was joined by Jester and Barnaby, who wanted to get down to business. It was customary for the room to hear random suggestions on what dark deeds should be done. This was either because the villain's fishing for potential help or random ideas others could act on. Barnaby had decided he needed to become the leader of the dirty denizens who sat amongst him. However, their loyalties lay with the ruthless Everest Dred, or "EverDred," as they called him, and making them switch would not be easy. But as they spoke, a plan popped into the Jester's head.

They needed coordination and song, and soon, they would get along. The Jester said, "It's simple; these guys respond to strength and the promise of riches. All we have to do is tell them they're get that by joining Barnaby." Walter interjected, saying, "Yeah, but they're barely able to get good drinking cups in this place. The pub has a "Bring Your Own Glass" policy since; obviously, we'd steal their cups. But that means wooden and cheap plastic is all anyone will bring for fear it'll get pinched too." The Jester said, "I'm well aware of that, and that's why this will work."

The Jester unveiled his emerald champagne glass and stood up, tapping his fork on it. The crystal produced a beautiful sound on being struck, and a spell took hold of everyone's cups. As a spotlight illuminated his position and strategically kept Barnaby in the shadows, The Jester said, "Gentlemen and assassins and ladies of the night; I call upon this evening in the hope of shedding some light. I can't go into detail or finger unfounded fools, but there are some here amongst us who are not playing to the rules. To those in violation, you'll get the third degree. But to those who take heed, you will repeat after me."

[Drip Fed Fred]

We want Barney for our leader

Barney is a man of class

We want Barney for our leader

All stand and raise your champagne glass



Gentlemen and assassins and ladies of the night

I call upon you this evening in the hope of shedding some light

I can't go into detail or finger unfounded fools

But there are some here amongst us that are not playing to the rules



I've rounded up the low-life and local TID

Offered a free massage or else the third degree

There is no simple solution in this life we lead

So make things easy for yourself to the baronage concede



We want Barney for our leader

Barney is a man of class

We want Barney for our leader

All stand and raise your champagne glass



Peace shall not prevail entirely came the stark warning today

From his hospital bed Mr. EverDred vowed he was here to stay

"I'll tell you something for nothing", he claimed, "Never in all my days

Have I felt so intimidated by the cheap tactics on display"



We want Barney for our leader

Barney is a man of class

We want Barney for our leader

All stand and raise your champagne glass



And approaching the pulpit, the Right Honourable Silas Barnaby

"We're gathered here this evening to pay our due respects

To dear EverDred who late last night fell out of his prison bed

We know the nonce behind it, who slipped the night PD - ooh

The word is out now without doubt you will answer to me"



Gentlemen and assassins and ladies of the night

I call upon you this evening in the hope of shedding new light

There is a simple solution one called honour amongst thieves

So we'll take pity on your souls and only cap your knees



We want Barney for our leader

Barney is a man of class

We want Barney for our leader

All stand and raise your champagne glass



We want Barney for our leader

Barney is a man of class

We want Barney for our leader

All stand and raise your champagne glass...


It went without saying that the villains wanted Barnaby to lead them instead of EverDred. This was because he was mainly unconscious on the hospital floor for all to see. Cole's words had rung true. The villains saw EverDred in a state of weakness, and Barnaby rallied them to his side with the promise of stuff. The fact that the spell was cast suddenly meant nothing; at that point, the villains convinced themselves that they would get more from Barnaby than EverDred. However, Barnaby had not expected his selfish actions to catch the attention of a grateful yet mysterious woman. Possessing fiery red hair, piercing green eyes, and fair skin, she had arrived in Bogeyland, and the villains there had quickly decided to compete for her affection.
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
She told them she had difficulty remembering her past but knew she liked being bad. And as she eased into a twisted life in Bogeyland, she opened a cabbage shop. Her decision to brew cabbage rune wine and beer quickly attracted villains around Bogeyland and even those who were not yet banished there. They promptly dubbed her Ms. Cabbage or "Cabbie" for short, But this made EverDred want her to become his wife. In supplanting EverDred, he saved her from marrying the evil old creep. This was otherwise supposed to go off without a hitch as he was the most potent Mastermind there. But even then, the wiser villains suspected Ms. Cabbage was more powerful as the Bogeymen were farming the surrounding land for her and didn't stop and obey EverDred when he showed up. They were the reason, so many cabbages were produced so quickly, and maybe they helped with the fermentation process too. Runeys gathered at the cabbage patches and were relatively easy for her to collect.

All that was left was to let the runeys float long enough, and they would do the rest. But while that was happening, EverDred would constantly come around, letting her know that her smile was the best in the land. Of course, that wasn't saying much, given their company, but it was a compliment nonetheless. All that horror was gone as she sat in the pub gazing at the man responsible for brushing him to the wayside. But as Barnaby had not proven himself a farmer yet, she decided to wait and learn more about him. This was proving easy as Bogey Town had a close-knit community of hostiles. But as the room cheered their new leader Barnaby, it was time for the house's specialty to be brought out. Barnaby held the pewter glass in hand and drank it as flashes of the ones responsible for his fall began flooding his mind, mostly centering on Jack B. Nimble. Barnaby then felt the overwhelming urge that all who drank Sinister Retribution felt well up within them. Ms. Cabbage also decided to drink her first glass, and as she did, images of a little red girl appeared as she remembered more of her past. Her name was not Ms. Cabbage; it was… Cabochon Diamond.

Relieved she could at least remember her name, she reintroduced herself to Barnaby and company. "Greetings, dashing devils; I've remembered my name and royal pedigree. I am the lustrous Cabochon Diamond!” The villains shrugged as her name was so close to Cabbage they still got to call her Cabbie anyway. She then closed her glowing green eyes, trying to suppress her anger as she said, "And my target of revenge is a wretched little girl named… Charlet." Cabbie told them her powers were greatly diminished as the entity inhabiting her body had been purged by Charlet and her friends. She would try to make the most of things, however, as the villains all had painful "how I lost to my nemesis" stories to tell.

And speaking of pain, the dreaded hangover started walloping Cabbie hard. Too many runes consumed leads to "over-staminazation" in some people. Barnaby seeing her holding her head, asked, "I hope the drink wasn't too much for you Cabbie." Cabbie responded by singing,

[Liquid Lunch]

Baby, pass the aspirin, something's gotta work

I know I did it to myself but man oh man it hurts

That second last Martini, the one that went down real smooth

Set me on the bender with nothing left to lose

I just can't apologize

For what I did to myself

My bed's an ocean liner

And I can't call for help



Yea baby, it hurts a bunch

The girls got going and we had a munch

I promise on a dime, it's the last time

I'll ever have a liquid lunch

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch

The girls got going and we had a munch

I promise on a dime, it's the last time

I'll ever have a liquid lunch



I think I've got the symptoms and none of them will leave

They think that it's a party to laugh at all my grief

It must've been a doozy, I had two hundred dreams

At least I found my pillow 'cause I can't find my keys

It's hard to remember

All of the events

But I must've paid the tab

'Cause all that's left is fifty cents



Yea baby, it hurts a bunch

The girls got going and we had a munch

I promise on a dime it's the last time

I'll ever have a liquid lunch

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch

The girls got going and we had a munch

I promise on a dime it's the last time

I'll ever have a liquid lunch



Baby, I can call the pharmacy

They'll bring something up, something up 'toute suite'

Some exotic medicine to cure my every ill

With some kind of magic pill

I just can't apologize

For what I did to myself

My bed's an ocean liner

And I can't call for help



Yea baby, it hurts a bunch

The girls got going and we had a munch

I promise on a dime, it's the last time

I'll ever have a liquid lunch

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch

The girls got going and we had a munch

I promise on a dime, it's the last time

I'll ever have a liquid lunch

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch

The girls got going and we had a munch

I promise on a dime, it's the last time

I'll ever have a liquid lunch

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch

The girls got going and we had a munch

I promise on a dime, it's the last time

I'll ever have a liquid lunch


Cabbie decided the saying was true: Revenge is a dish best served cold. Certainly not drunk. Walter delighted turned his head towards Barnaby and said, "Master Barnaby! You've finally drank that stuff! Next, we take over Toyland?" Barnaby continuing to look forward, replied, "No, there is only one thing next. Revenge." Barnaby felt renewed as he realized he had a purpose, however harmful to work towards.

But most importantly, he remembered that the TID in the area had to be dealt with first. While the local idiots were easy to appease with free massages, their leader, the Big Bad Wolf, would not. They were only looking the other way because of incentives sent to them by EverDred and his lieutenants. But now Barnaby was in charge, and he decided to go about this strategically.

He had been recruited because of his shakedown tactics against the Three Little Pigs. They had just left home to start their adult lives and chose to build their homes out of straw, wood, or brick. Big's tormenting caused them to flee to their brother's brick house and hold out until he gave up. Contrary to popular belief, it was more than being made of brick that caused it to endure the Big Bad Wolf's breath. The home had been built in a rounded circular fashion instead of a square with flat walls. The Wolf's wind flowed around it, rendering it useless. Nonetheless, Cole's father liked what he saw and thought the Wolf would harass the villains of Bogey Town. However, EverDred offered bribes and all the bacon he wanted, and the two struck up a partnership.

Barnaby knew EverDred's removal would cause the Wolf to appear and try to negotiate a new deal; or come storming into huff, puff, and blow Bogey Town down. Either way, he had to be ready and chose to prepare for the worst. But first, it was time to bask in the glory of a hard-won leadership position. And maybe show off to a certain someone that he wasn't afraid to strut his stuff. He began strolling out the pub door onto Bogey street, where he started singing.

[Bourbon Street]

I've been living in sin for about a month

Something turns me round it's something that I just

Can't understand the way I behave

Some people you can never save



On my right hand, I've got a girl in my ear

And in my left hand, I'm throwing back a beer

What can I say? Of me, you steer clear

When I'm driving down on Bogey Street, yeah



Every night we throw this little soiree

Gonna turn her head until she's mine, all mine

Every night I breed a new disaster

I might be right, I might be wrong

Try to get away and I will bring you right along, so

Sit back, have a seat

Sometimes salty, sometimes sweet

Hard to swallow, but fun to eat

You ain't never leaving Bogey Street, come on!



When I walk the street people step aside

Twirling my cane and smiling wide

Some would say I'm a carnal slave

I put my hands on what I crave

I'm the mayor of this crazy town

Where the queens will party with the clown

Try to swim with me and you're bound to drown

Throw you a line while you're going down



Yeah, I know this street and I own this crowd

And my only companion is a lightning cloud

I seem real nice and easy to trust

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust

I'm gonna lead you on a path to self destruct

On this crazy train that I conduct

And its one, two, three, four

Every night we throw this little soiree

Gonna turn her head until she's mine, all mine

Every night I breed a new disaster

I might be right, I might be wrong

Try to get away and I will bring you right along, so

Sit back, have a seat

Sometimes salty, sometimes sweet

Hard to swallow, but fun to eat

You ain't never leaving Bogey Street


He returned to his farm and saw all the fallow land he had been ignoring. The rocks, logs, and other junk had to be removed, but that kept Barnaby from working the farm in the first place. "This was the kind of work you made others do for you.", He thought as he headed to the storage shed. But suddenly, the effects of Sinister Retribution caused him to see the faces of Jack and his friends on every rock and log on the field. Growing angry, Barnaby started to hit every rock until it broke or carry every log to the storage chest as if he was practicing carrying Mary away and locking her up. Before long, the field was cleared, and during breaks he took at Cabbie's shop, she heard of his random farm exploits. She suggested maybe he should get around to sowing seeds already, which Barnaby would tell her to trust when he knew it was time to do so.

When news spread to Big about a change in leadership, he had waited to see if his palms would be greased as per the previous arrangement with EverDred. But as the days passed, the deadline went by, and he felt a personal appearance was the next best option to take. And so, the Big Bad Wolf was comin' to Bogey Town. Meanwhile, Barnaby was sowing up a storm knowing the time of TID's arrival was drawing near. Barnaby had learned that plants grow faster than usual depending on certain factors. Using that knowledge, he planted many, many thorny vine mines. These vines were notorious for popping up out of the ground when careless people drew near. Barnaby had placed them on his farm and other strategic places around town. Once he was done, he had to wait for the TID to show up.

Barnaby headed to Wayward Villainy and saw it was noticeably empty. More accurately, villains were sneaking looks from outside using the windows. Barnaby headed inside and was greeted by the open room. Behind him marched in TID agents accompanied by a strong breeze caused by their boss and his puff cloud. As it swirled around him for intimidating effect, he said, "So you're the new leader, huh? I'll make this quick and easy breezy then. You owe me bacon Barney. The more, the better, and since you look like a smart crook, you won't cause problems now, will you?" One of the TID agents then motioned to his peppermint-themed nightstick. Barnaby, unfazed, looked at cops playing villains and found it quite funny. But knowing psychology is something villains learn whether they realize it or not. To be successful and rise to the top of the criminal pile, you have to be able to read people and a room in general.
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
Barnaby was one of those boss-level villains in the typical scheme of things, and he, in seconds, had already weighed, measured, and found him wanting. Prior knowledge didn't help things either, as the story of the three pigs who stood up to him was well known. It heavily implied an insecure, impatient, and unstable individual who was quick to anger. Barnaby, therefore, knew to handle him with kid gloves for their first encounter. Barnaby Said, "You want bribes and bacon, but alas, I am not a pig farmer. Now, if you'll excuse me." As Barnaby got up to leave, he was held back by an agent's hand as the Wolf said, "Does it look like I care? If you're smart, you'll try to make things easy for yourself as EverDred had done. Or I can always go after your straw, and after I blow that away maybe you'll understand your position better. The only reason you or any of these criminals live your lives is that I allow it. Now I'm gonna return in three days, Barney and you can decide if you want our relationship to be a cool breeze or a hurricane. So please don't disappoint me. Let's blow, boys."

Big finished making his threats and left with the TID agents in tow. The room slowly filled up again with a very impressed group of baddies. The Jester annoyed, said, "I thought that wolf clown would never leave. I really wanted to turn him into something unpleasant." Walter, confused, said, "More importantly, the wolf wanted your straw if you didn't cooperate, but I wasn't aware you had any yet." Barnaby closing his eyes, said, "He meant Cabbie." The villains were shocked, upset, and caught off guard as they were the ones supposed to be making those kinds of threats; they knew they needed a plan and fast. EverDred used the opportunity to claim they were getting what they deserved for betraying him. But his words fell on deaf ears as the idea of tormenting others to protect their own took hold. Walter poured over all the information about the Wolf as the pub bustled with activity. They hadn't felt this useful since before they were banished to Bogeyland.

Ms. Cabbage was very popular and loved by all, so defenders showed up in droves. Cabbie decided to tell Barnaby how she felt about him knowing he would come to her shop. Over time their friendship grew stronger as he went from a bumbling farmer to someone who could farm, ranch, and fight monsters as if he had done it his whole life. She almost missed the early days when he walked or limped through the door covered in mud, scrapes, and humiliation in his eyes. She covered her mouth suddenly while thinking about it to keep a maniacal laugh from bursting forth. But even then, it would have a warm feeling attached to it. Barnaby had managed to sneak away from the bad boys and see his favorite cabbage seller.

She kept her back to the door and slowly turned to face a familiar face looking around the shop as if he had never come in before. "The true sign of a nervous guy.", Cabbie thought as she smiled and greeted him, saying, "Hello, dark stranger. what can I do for you?" Barnaby seeing his actions were making things worse, said, "Cabbie, gimme a cabbargarita with salt on the side." Using this opportunity, Cabbie told her feelings to Barnaby in true cryptic female fashion, saying, "Do my job long enough, and some idiots start thinking my work smile means something it doesn't. Then they start bugging me. At that point, they aren't customers; they're nuisances! I shove all the bad auras I can on them, so they'll never come back."

Knowing what he thought she was saying, Barnaby said, "Oh, I'm sorry; I'll just leave you alone, Ms. Cabbage." Cabbie narrowing her eyes, responded, "You trying to be funny, farm boy?" Barnaby said, "No, just trying not to bug you." The two shared Cabbargaritas and hoped they would return to causing others misery one day. But they would be happy together with their friends until then.

Returning to the pub, Barnaby saw a new figure had seated himself at a table. Barnaby looking him over saw he was blue-skinned and that his silver hair had apparently all migrated to his eyebrows, mustache, and beard. His flowing red cape and monocle hinted at his classic boss villain status. Barnaby couldn't help but see him twirl his mustache but noticed he seemed a bit robotic, implying he was a mad scientist. Regardless of his origins, Barnaby needed to know his intentions quickly, as he already had one foe to deal with. He introduced himself to the new face taking advantage of the pleasant atmosphere that rarely came to the place. The stranger looked at Barnaby and said, "Hello to you, Mr. Barnaby; I am Dr. Bagura Buggler. I somehow ended up in this strange land, but I am determined to make the most of it. I just need to find people who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty."

Barnaby, smiling, said, "Well, my good doctor, you've found the dirtiest hands in Bogeyland." Barnaby wasn't lying; all that farming had made his hands quite dirty, and remembering his villain basics, washing them was not that big of a deal. Bagura being quite observant, knew the TID situation unfolding and wanted them gone just as everyone else did. He said, "Just think of the carnage we could cause without that wolf diffusing every situation!" Walter excitedly said, "Yes! Take that, Tenchi! Now instead of the "Terrible trio," we can be the "Fearsome Four"! And if another member shows up, we won't have to change the fearsome part of the name, which means it's future-proofed!" Barnaby trying his best to ignore random outbursts of Walter, said, "So Dr. What can you do?" Bagura, knowing what came next, sought to explain his evil ideology by singing.



[The Art of Bombing]

Please allow me to intervene

With a warning most frightening

At any moment you just may be

A hapless victim of mad bombing



[Pre-Chorus]

Plastic at your picnic

Nitroglycerin in your red wine

You might trigger unknowingly

Something strange in your coffee

At any moment there just may be

Some M-80 in your cup of tea

Detonating cord on your dashboard

Silver fulminate offered on your plate

[Chorus]

Organs burning one by one

Shallow breaths and then there's none

A bang of this, a boom of that

Will have you lying lifeless on your back

Careful not to step in the wrong place

Or you will be blasted into space

A bang of this, a boom of that

You will turn red then quickly fade to black



Please be cautious with explosive mixtures

For you don't know what you are served

An ingredient that leaves most burned

Will send you home inside of an urn



[Pre-Chorus]

Lead azide by the seaside

Mercury oxalate in your pound cake

You might trigger mistakenly

Bombs, grenades, mines, or TNT

Even fruit can be most deadly

Just one cherry bomb and you're six foot deep

Gun powder black in your lunch sack

DIPAM in your chewing gum

[Chorus]

Organs burning one by one

Shallow breaths and then there's none

A bang of this, a boom of that

Will have you lying lifeless on your back

Careful not to step in the wrong place

Or you will be blasted into space

A bang of this, a boom of that

You will turn red then quickly turn to ash



I plead you heed this cautionary tale

How your life could quickly be derailed

If done correct you certainly won't detect a thing

That's the heart in the art of mad bombing

It takes a single blink to stop and think

Before you dive into your car or tank

If you dare to not beware of enemies

They might conceive your final tragedy



[Chorus]

Organs burning one by one

Shallow breaths and then there's none

A bang of this, a boom of that

Will have you lying lifeless on your back

Careful not to step in the wrong place

Or you will be blasted into space

A bang of this, a boom of that

You will turn red then quickly fade to black


The group appreciated his educational monologue but wished it hadn't come with live demonstrations. After the ringing in their ears stopped, Bagura was welcomed into their despotic circle, and they all prepared to greet the Wolf on his eventual return. Walter commented on Bagura's appearance, saying he looked like an evil Santa. But their attention over the next few days was focused more on Barnaby's plan to stop the TID as they learned where not to step so they did not trigger the vines. They set up various defensive measures lending to their particular villainous quirks and laid in wait. When Big returned with his agents, he saw a table with bacon piled on it. Thinking that Barnaby had given his answer, he walked forward towards his payment.

Big said, "It's nice to see Barney is a smart guy after all. I see fair winds forecasted today." Just as he finished, an agent walked onto a thorn vine mine and was snared in a painful trap. Big grabbed the bacon and saw it was fake. Infuriated, he yelled, "Oh, so you want a hurricane, huh!? You got it, Barney!" Big used his huff technique, and the wind fell silent. It was quickly followed by a puff of wind from all directions being blasted forward, knocking the table away and leaving an impression trail in the ground. The TID agents fanned out to find the villains waiting for the right moment to attack. Once the agents were led to the ambush, they sprang out and started subduing them one by one.

Big seeing his forces fall, shouted, "You fools have no chance against me!" He then used his huff technique to draw in even more air creating a tornado with him floating at its center. But this is what Barnaby was waiting for as the wind started sucking up the ground, and as Big moved towards them, it sucked up the thorny vine mines. They swirled upwards in the tornado until they surrounded the Big Bad Wolf and snared him. There was a cry of pain and then silence. The villains gathered and cheered in triumph. Cabbie leaped on Barnaby and hugged him with a thank you kiss. Barnaby had finally triumphed against the two targets given to him by Cole. Now, he expected to return to Toyland stronger than before. And so they lived Unhappily ever after.

[Unhappiest Marriage]

Bing bang bing bang

Bing bang bing bang

We all wish you the sappiest marriage anyone ever knew

May your years be the sappiest together anyone ever knew
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
[Intermission]

A little pair of eyes looked at the storyteller and said, "Hey! You said this story was about me! I don't recall hearing anything other than references! I want to hear the "Life and Times of Charlet Saylor"! Not that stupid Barnaby creep! By the way, lookit! I found out the secret feature in the Mini-sol Kylie gave me. It turns into bat-shaped wings and lets me fly around! Da nana nana nana Batman! Is now a girl. Da nana nana nana Batman! Is now a girl." Tenchi watching someone he was sure was tucked in tight, started running around, flapping her arms said, "Ferret, get back in bed and go to sleep this "story" was about you." Charlet, turning, ran and jumped back into bed and said, "Your story was filled with tropes and circumstantial scenarios. The Jester being in it was more for visual appeal and fan service and all in all it leaves you wanting more." Surprised at such a sudden concise critique, Tenchi said, "At least you're learning to review others' work, I guess. The good news is there is more but you already know that don't you?"

Charlet said, "Yup! I just read what Kylie gave saying, "Say this after he's done rambling incoherently about his loser enemies. It should be 98% accurate." So was it?" Tenchi nodded and prepared for a long night of compiling all that had happened, wondering how he would get it done in time. [End Intermission]
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
Somewhere in China Hunan Province, a not-so-little girl was questioning her faith. As she clung desperately to the rocks 102ft up Shiniuzhai National Geological Park, she kept telling herself she had fixed her harness correctly. It wouldn't really matter if she lost her grip; suddenly, the rope would hold her… she hoped. Maybe she could focus more on climbing if the reason wasn't so strange. Her hair was usually in curls that covered her right eye. Now it was dangling and blowing in the breeze. Her makeup was smokey with red lips, all of which were running from the sweat and occasional tears of frustration. Her pretty green eyes could see into your soul, and you would swear to see demons dancing inside them. A pair of spice combat boots are her staple companion even when scuffed and damaged from her impromptu climb. Her white button-up shirt is often paired with black suspenders or a vest. A black tie was tied around her neck. They would have survived if she had taken them off beforehand, but she wanted to get this over with.

"Okay, Laverna Heist, you got this.", she thought as she steadily hoisted herself up 200ft of the cliffside. "This is for your boss. She's counting on you; only you can do this mission!" As Laverna continued to climb 328ft up the cliff, she arrived at her destination; a convenience store. This was Carmen's favorite store perched on a cliffside, and she wanted some things. Laverna was miffed at climbing gear mucking up her car Black Magic. It was so not for that sort of stuff, but there she was saying, "Nǐ hǎo wǒ yào niúnǎi." ordering milk and eggs while dangling precariously. The store used to sell supplies for climbers, but once Carmen gave negative reviews about lacking staple foods, the business-minded owner quickly had them stocked for her return. As the daily newspaper was tucked into her pack, she started to work her way down to the ground.

Or, in this case, one of her favorite gophers anyway. As Laverna stuffed the groceries in her trunk, she removed her climbing gear and threw it in the passenger seat. As she sped off, she lamented there were things she could be doing, be stealing. Instead, it was grocery shopping, but now that was over, and as Laverna headed to the coast on autopilot courtesy of Drusera, her AI assistant, thought gears began to spin. She was off the clock now, so stealing was now fair game. All "The Goddess of Thieves" had to do was dump Carmen's groceries on someone else, namely, Paige Turner. She could handle taking them to Carmen's refrigerator while Laverna stole essential things. Drusera alerted Laverna saying, "We are approaching the ocean, and once hover mode initiates we will be engaging flight mode. ETA to Base: 3 hours." Laverna said, "That's nice I don't care, bring up a list of nearby things to steal first." Drusera replied, "Laverna you are clearly upset about your mission to retrieve vital supplies. It is not advised to go off mission as a way to feel better."

Laverna, half paying attention, said, "Yay! We can steal the first emperor of china's tomb! And cheese isn't vital unless your Wonder Rat." But lo and behold, Led Zeddelin was shown hoisting the entire location away via his airships. Laverna seeing what was happening on the video screen, said, "Drat! Okay, let's take Beijing's National Stadium, then, the Birds Nest Stadium." But as if on cue Eartha Brute was shown on another video screen lifting the stadium up and running off with it. Laverna, upset, said, "No! that's it! Let's steal the Yangtze River!" Drusera showed the very slimy smile of Vic the Slick as he was packing it up and running off to try and sell it on "VICbay," his illegal online black market bidding site. Laverna seeing enough, screamed and said, "It's not fair! Stop stealing stuff before I do, you dumb crooks!" Laverna's last attempt at getting her sudden stealing spree wish was the sword of Goujian, but a live stream of Sachi Karin and Candy Corn showed they had stolen it on a whim. Sachi, laughing, said, "We took this 'cause we were bored! Nyaa-nyaa. And yes this does mean we're prettier than Polly and Ann Hahaha!" Candy said, "Now we can cut up stuff and post it on our webpage!"

Laverna narrowed her eyes and said, "Dru, let's go home." The Black Magic transitioned into flight mode for the trip's final leg back. As they flew along, Laverna felt more and more that she was not being taken seriously. And all her gadgets and abilities just caused others to use her simply out of convenience instead of important things. Time flies when you're brooding and napping; before she knew it, she was landing and driving back to Carmen. Drusera came on screen and said, "Laverna, we need to divert our course; a crime is occurring further ahead." Laverna's face turned quite devious as she knew the context of this alert. It was only for individuals marked as enemies of Tenchi. She said, "Oh really now I get to have some fun after all then. We're not diverting it's just Walter; he won't be a problem." But this was no ordinary crime, as Laverna would be finding out the hard way. Taking manual control, Laverna sped into the hot zone to find a maniacal, Walter Wiley wreaking havoc with his MoM bots.

Upon seeing Laverna, he said to himself, "Finally, that brat is here, and we can get this over with." Laverna blasted his robot lackeys away, clearing a path to Walter, and then hopped out of her car. She said, "I hope you plan on giving up now." To this, Theodore appeared to a surprised Laverna as Walter unveiled his newest invention, "The Split Ray Rk.1". Laverna asked what the "Rick" was about only to hear Walter say, "Everyone uses Mark 1, 2, 3, this, and Mark 1, 2, 3 that! Now people will know MY inventions when they see Rk.1!!!" As Theodore looked at Walter while slowly shaking his head, Walter said, "And now prepare to meet your doom! I'm relatively sure I affixed the magic jewel Cabbie gave me to power this properly so goodbye now!"

Walter fired the beam at Laverna, who dodged out of the way only to see a familiar face. Laverna's eyes wide with shock said, "C-Cabochon Diamond!?" Cabbie responded, "The one and only, you little bug." Theodore said, "Allow me to clue you in, munchki; thoughh Walter's aims is a bit sloppy, every time you are shot there will be a copy. Then Cabbie can have fun tormenting each one by one by one!" Laverna glared at Theodore and said, "Is it me or is your rhyming even worse?"

Laverna told Drusera to fire magic mirror missiles causing the area to be covered in reflective material. The Split Ray's beam started ricocheting off whatever it hit and zapping MoM bots who split into copies of themselves. Laverna drew her sword Myrtenaster and fired an electric bolt at Walter shooting the gun and electrocuting him. All was going well until Cabbie, enraged, used her magic to push Laverna suddenly as a still-dazed Walter fired a now malfunctioning ray gun blast. It bounced around until it hit the gun, causing Walter to drop it. Cabbie picked it up 0and fired it at Laverna, but as it hit her, no visible effects resulted. Walter yelled, "Blast it! The guns' not working anymore! I blame the cheap Bulgarian parts! Let's get outta here guys!" Cabbie staring angrily, said, "My vengeance will come sooner or later, ta-ta." The villains retreated as quickly as they could through a portal as Laverna returned to her car.

As she drove along, she couldn't help but hear a tune being hummed. But she figured if Drusera wanted to hum songs, that was her business. She had seen Cabochon, who wasn't happy to see her, but she wondered how she returned. Theodore and Walter were supposed to be in Toyland, or rather Bogeyland. Laverna, lost in thought, barely noticed hearing, "I wanna play!" as she told herself she was too cool for those fools. She had enough problems with current people interfering without the past coming back as it was. "Um, hello Ms. Lady do you know where Carmen is?" Laverna said, "Dru, why are you asking me that?" She immediately realized then that it wasn't Drusera's voice and was somehow familiar. Looking down at her lap, she saw a smiling face looking up at her.

The little girl said, "Hi, I'm Charlet." And Laverna proceeded to let out a scream. Charlet said, "Yay, scream game. AHHH! Why does your car have one seat? That's dumb." Laverna collecting herself, said, "Okay I'm exhausted and still excited from that fight this will wear off soon and you'll disappear." Charlet said, "I'm not going anywhere, lady. I'm hungry gimme food." Laverna entered the VILE safe house and parked; she opened the door and plopped the little red girl outside. She then exited the vehicle and walked towards the kitchen. But the more Laverna walked, the more she noticed Charlet not vanishing. In fact, she was skipping along, and if Laverna knew herself expecting to be taken to Carmen. Laverna dumped the groceries on Paige the moment she saw her and told her to watch her… self. It was apparent that the Split Ray had caused this situation, and Laverna had to deal with it.
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
Paige was documenting the events and finding them quite adorable. She said, "Suddenly boring grocery details became, "The Slice of Life Turning Red"! However, Laverna was not amused and braced for what was to come. She figured it would be easy enough to tell Carmen her younger self was zapped out of her and that it was no big deal. Carmen says, "Thank you, Laverna, for doing such a great job!" And gives her a medal. Instead, upon entering the room, she saw the backside of a chair that normally faced the door. The person sitting in it was watching tv, showing a very irresponsible girl on the news fighting crime. Laverna decided it was best to excuse herself from this situation by saying, "Well, ma'am, I can see you're busy, so I'll just be going." Only to hear a stern voice say, "Sit down."

Charlet, happy to be there and know someone was about to be killed, ran over to the other side of the chair in question. Laverna nervously said, "I can explain." Only to hear back, "Do you think I can't figure it out myself?" Laverna lowered her head, saying, "No ma'am." As a black-gloved hand placed itself on Charlet's head, it was met by her two hands reaching up to hold it. The woman asked Laverna, "If my groceries were lost or destroyed what then?" Laverna lifting her head, shot back, saying, "Your milk and eggs weren't. I knew what I was doing!" The woman turned her chair around and said, "And that is why you fail dear. But at least you managed to bring the items back despite you going off mission and trying to give them to Paige to finish the job for you." Paige said, "Laverna's attempts to offload the items on me was flattering in its own way. And it's a long way from this little cutie who is so irresponsible."

Charlet said, "Hey! Don't drag me into this! Laverna's in trouble cause she didn't listen." Carmen stroked Charlet's cheek and said, "Children are taught to obey honey, but then they choose to defy when they get older, I'm afraid. You are quite the handful, I must say." Charlet, feigning innocence, said, "Nuh-uh, I'm a good girl." After realizing she was set up, Laverna said, "I'm done with unfair testing! I'm ready now! And since I'm off YOUR clock and now on MINE, I'll be stealing what I want, unlike this little kiss-up." Charlet stuck out her tongue at this and hugged Carmen saying, "Your gonna get caught by ACME; you better hope it's Ruslan they send after you." Laverna, getting competitive and a little jealous, said, "I don't need to hear from you, kid. He is MY adult business." Thinking like a reporter, Paige said, "This is so scandalous, a crook in training pursued by her good knight. And they're age appropriate!" Charlet looking at Paige, said, "How dare you! Our love is the greatest in history! He gave me a lollipop his mommy gave him. That's how serious we are."

Carmen smiling as she remembered the details of the two, said, "You two are very serious before your bedtime that is, sweetie." Charlet hopped out of Carmen's lap and said, "Why is everyone raggin' on me!?" As Charlet pouted, Carmen said, "You make it so easy dear. Now bounce around throwing a hissy fit whenever you don't get your way." As Charlet started throwing a tantrum, Carmen took pictures which she sent to Dazzle and Merey. Seeing this doting scene play out as an outside observer, Laverna vehemently protested. But old and young complaints fell on deaf ears as they were too busy commenting on adorable moments. Clearly, Carmen understood the attack was a trap and had to deal with Laverna being targeted. And that being the case, the best thing was for her to be out instead of grounded for insubordination. But leave it to Carmen, Dazzle, and Merey to say that in coded girl talk.

Without Laverna picking up on her true intentions, she learned that the Fearsome Four would be up to no good. Dazzle said, "Oh, Buffy, I know Laverna messed up but wouldn't it be nice if she redeemed herself?" Merey said, "Yeah, Hard work is a good punishment for her! Let those idiots wreak havoc; it'll be a good distraction." Carmen said, "as long as they're going after what they want, Laverna will be far from here doing badly." However, Charlet, still distraught, pointed at Laverna and said, "This is all your fault, you know. I'm gonna go stop them and you can buy me a year's supply of nacho jalapeños to say I'm sorry." After that, the little one ran to the closest convenient vent and crawled inside.

Tired of Charlet's mischief, Laverna ran after her and said, "Come back out here no, you brat! Don't go any further! I can't fit in those small vents anymore!" Charlet turned her head and said, "Did you just say you're too fat? Hahaha! Too bad for you!" Laverna quickly responded, "Oh, I'm sorry I only use professional ventilation ducts now. You know the ones with motion detectors and lasers that have to be disabled. A child such as yourself wouldn't know what to do." Charlet, annoyed, yelled back, saying, "Like I care! You're too serious now! I don't wanna be you when I grow up! Later gators!"

Paige, unable to help herself, said, "She's so cute!" Carmen turned to Laverna and said, "And so the game begins, Lavie dear. Don't disappoint me." Laverna bowed to Carmen and said, "As you command , Carmen." Getting an unexpected mission while being disciplined is one thing, but figuring out what to steal is another. Laverna felt the idea would come to her soon enough. But she quickly found she would have a lot of thinking time to do as Black Magic had been stolen. Only one person could have done this, and she would pay for it. As Laverna let out a scream, she ran over, hopped on the nearest VILE motorcycle, and sped off.

The culprit happily watched Owl House and listened to songs as a conflicted Drusera drove on. Charlet couldn't see over the dashboard, but it's not a problem when a car can drive itself. Having seen Carmen, she wanted to see her other employer and ran off on a whim. Drusera had no say in the matter as the car was coded to Laverna's genetic code. Only it was Charlet's code, too; an unforeseen oversight. Drusera, in a tone reserved for children, said, "Once we arrive at Home 01, you will be studied by Tenchi." Charlet curiously asked, "Is he gonna put me in a giant hamster wheel?" Drusera would have liked to say a simple no, but with Tenchi, there were no guarantees. Drusera said, "I highly doubt he will Ms. Charlet." Prompting her to say, "Too bad." Charlet asked why she wasn't in her suit and was in the car now as Drusera explained she was in her zero-suit, the vehicle, and any other compatible device since she was software.

Charlet was happy to hear this as she didn't want Laverna keeping Drusera to herself. Drusera said, "Once you are dropped off at Home 01 I will return to Laverna before she gets too upset." Charlet said, "She can cry about it all she wants it's a hard-knock life for me after all." Drusera forwarded a call to Tenchi explaining the situation. He refused to grasp the seriousness until he looked at his video feed to see a familiar girl waving at him. Tenchi said, "Bring her here immediately Dru. I already saw the news report and can speculate what has happened, but I need to run tests to be sure." Charlet said, "Make sure to use a hamster wheel!"

The Black Magic headed into Home 01 and proceeded to drop off Charlet at the usual spot. Drusera figured maybe it was for the best that the calls Laverna had sent were blocked as they included language children shouldn't hear. The Black Magic was reloaded as per the norm, and combat data from the fight earlier was analyzed for clues. Once that was done, Black Magic drove off towards Laverna, who was checking every toy store she came across. Charlet was playing her heart out at Home 01, and the Mario Party life-size board games were always her favorite. Though she had to contend with Polly Tix and Ann Tickwittee, their playtime shenanigans were upbeat.
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
Laverna was in quite a negative mood, having to chase after herself instead of doing what she wanted. Was this what Carmen had to deal with? Was this the real reason VILE henchmen were always around? It was strange that they were conveniently nearby, trying to be indirect chaperones. But now, that didn't matter; they could do what they wanted. There had to be places they wouldn't go. It started to rain, and Black Magic came into view, pulling up beside her. Laverna entered her car as the rain increased to a heavy downpour. Laverna drove off to begin her stealing spree; she just needed to figure out what that was. Laverna felt she needed to make a statement about fun time, and it occurred to her what she needed to do. Laverna said, “Dru, were going on a roadtrip. I hope you know a fun one to drive on." Drusera, confused, thought Laverna wanted to steal, not travel, and said, "I gather you will be stealing things along the road of choice then?" Laverna smirked and said, "No, I'll be stealing the road. All the roads I want. The deadlier, the better."

Drusera rolling her eyes, said, "My search has found one such road; Trampolín del Diablo, the Devil's Trampoline. It is in the Putumayo Department of Colombia and it is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. Hundreds die each year trying use it. Located in the southern part of the country most of it is dirt path running through the Sibundoy Valley."

As the thunder rolled outside and rain pelted the windshield, Drusera continued, "The road is 69.7km of steep cliffs, sharp turns, and sudden landslides. My research shows 500 people meeting their end in 2011 and 300 dying in one tragic collapse. The misty clouds covering everything don't help the situation of course if your looking to get back to nature the scenic views and sparse traffic enable that in this no man's land." Laverna was thrilled and chilled to hear about this target as she said, "That's perfect! But you don't have to shine a flashlight on your face while telling me the details." Drusera simply stated she wanted Laverna to consider easier things to swipe, but Laverna had already made up her mind. She had 666Bhp to burn on her way to Colombia, and then the world's dangerous roads were next.

Meanwhile, Charlet caught up with Kylie at Tenchi's house as they played hide and seek. Charlet said, "I'm gonna catch you, Kylie!" Kylie hopped off their open upper floor, opened her Ninjasol, and began floating down to the lower level. Charlet, surprised, said, "Hey, no fair!" Then she noticed a wrapped box with a ribbon. When she opened it, she saw it was a tinier version of Kylie's Ninja Parasol, the Ninja Minisol. Not wanting to be left out of unsafe practices, she jumped off as Kylie had done, opening her brand new gift for a leisurely descent. Charlet commented that it would be nice to fall faster through the air sometimes as Kylie told her maybe there were more surprises for her to find in her parasol. Charlet commented on how ordinary houses had stairs to lower floors. Still, Kylie reminded her this "house" was a factory and research center inspired by Tenchi's favorite movies and video games.

Charlet was okay with the ground and upper levels being modeled after more well-known things, but the sub-levels were based on a weird old game, and Charlet had to go through the test levels to get her zero-suit and morph ball. To be honest, she found it quite fun to use as annoying adults is strangely easy when you can suddenly roll into a ball and roll around on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Inside the ball, Charlet was either curled up or entered into the ball's hammerspace. She would be in a comfy chair and have a joystick or twin-stick method of driving the ball around. The little thief mostly preferred a twin-stick input since it gave more maneuverability. There were monitor screens and MFDs to see where she was going, talk to Drusera, and control her suit's systems. All of this was boring technical details to Charlet, who just wanted to rev up and speed off. But she understood that learning how things worked led to more fun.

But running around with Tenchi and Kylie had to be put on hold as they received a message from Old King Cole explaining the pixelated situation unfolding. There had already been video game characters in Toyland before, but a large new group had arrived, and the King wanted advice on how to best deal with the situation. Which meant the ACME detectives were off to Toyland once more. Tenchi, however, had been working on an invention and wanted Charlet to help test it out. He went to her and enthusiastically said, "Hold on to your money bags, and strap yourself in 'cause we're about to blast off!" Charlet, puzzled, said, "What are you talking about?" Tenchi, speaking more clearly, said, "We're going to Toynet." Charlet excitedly said," Yes!" Toynet was the internet system created for Toyland by the Toy Factory. Tenchi surmised that the digital denizens were arriving because they were reaching classic story status. By digitizing themselves and going to Toynet, they could get a better look at the data.

All Charlet cared about was going to Toyland, but first came the tests Tenchi needed to run on her. Kylie handled most of the prep work and went to get Tenchi and Charlet from the lab. And as she walked in, she saw Charlet happily marching inside a giant hamster ball. As Kylie looked at Tenchi, he said, "Don't judge me." Kylie said, "Let's go, hamster boy." And they headed off to the train that would take them to Toyland, The Toyland Express. But while loading luggage onto the train, they received a call from ACME Crimenet. Charlet's older self apparently was not skipping a beat and stealing various roads. They were all dangerous to drive on for multiple reasons, and it was believed she was showing off her thievery skills and driving ability.

Tenchi and Kylie slipped more into their personas as Jack B. Nimble and Mary Quite Contrary; suggested particular detectives handle the job. But one of them wasn't aware of the Charlet situation, and it was decided not to tell him just yet. The calls were forwarded to the detectives worldwide, and as they were briefed, Ruslan found himself getting excited even though he tried forcing himself not to. As the Toyland Express finished the preparation and got underway, Zack and Ivy were driving into ACME HQ. They were joined by Ruslan, Tatiana, and Anya soon after.

Anya wanted to know why Laverna wasn't caught already, as taking roads should be relatively easy to track. Zack said, "Well honey, road-crossing chickens will be the most upset by this news, nyuk nyuk!" Ivy pinching Zack's ear and pulling him over to the table, said, "So now, Zachary, we are going to be adults, okay?" Anya rolled her eyes at her dad, thinking why he couldn't be more serious. But of course, then he wouldn't be Zack. It was decided that Carmen was orchestrating this job as it was far-reaching, and Anya, who was friends with Charlet at ACME Academy, agreed as the Charlet she knew wasn't capable of such a scale. Ruslan said, "Don't underestimate the little crookberry." Prompting Anya to whip out a peppermint patty and head off to the security room. She didn't have time for games, just work. Playing didn't catch crooks; investigation did.

Anya reviewed the thefts reported while establishing communication. "San Juan Mountains… Ouray County… Engineer Pass. Fjord Dýrafjörður… In the mountainous peninsula Westfjords of northwestern Iceland… Road 622. Bolivia… La Paz and Coroico… the Yungas region of Bolivia… El Camino de la Muerte… Death Road. Fairy Meadows Park… Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan… Fairy Meadows Road." Anya saw that the roads taken were all lethal to the careless drivers of the world. She hoped her parents would carefully pursue Laverna but was more concerned with Ruslan acting like an idiot and messing things up. As Anya monitors from HQ, she would handle surveillance and support ops. Zack and Ivy would lead the field team with a reluctant Ruslan in tow.
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
They felt this would be an easy job once tracing was done, as though they didn't have the C-5 teleporter operational; taking a road means you have to follow that road to its endpoint. They would set up monitoring locations by contacting local authorities around the globe. The main issue was that there were no clues left behind, which was very un-Carmen-like. Though for the culprit in question, it was an afterthought she didn't have time to think up clues to leave behind, and they didn't deserve them anyway. They were dummies who she didn't want to talk to right now. However, Carmen obviously noticed her actions and sent an email saying, "I hope your road trip is going well, dear. I also hope you are inviting others to go along with you." Laverna hastily sent very uninspired hints as to her whereabouts. She said, "This is a ridiculous waste of time. I can do normal thefts and leave clues another time." Drusera said, "Or you can do that now."

Laverna began sending out "clues" by sending emails to a certain detective. It helps to expedite things when you know people. Now Laverna's impatience was benefiting Ruslan, who started getting message after message sent to him. Such messages were saying, "Hi, honeycop!" And, "I'm on this road here. But maybe I'm not." Were the norm, Causing Ruslan to shout, "This is ridiculous! She's not even trying to hide her location! Her lack of respect is probably caused by her being upset about something." Anya closed her ice-blue eyes in annoyance and, feeling the need to clue in the clueless, said, "Maybe she wants YOU to find her and make her feel better." Zack snapped out of daydreaming and said, "Hey, I thought we were going to be pursuing a criminal, not getting you a girlfriend." Ruslan's eyes widening shouted, "She's not my girlfriend! She's an inconsiderate crook, and I'm gonna show her!" Ivy said under her breath but still loud enough for the others to hear, "I highly doubt that."

It was true Laverna was in a mood, but at the same time, she was enjoying herself as she drove along, sucking up hazardous roads across the globe. Things that had upset Laverna slowly drifted away, forgotten. Even that email implying to do it "her way" was solved by going through the motions. As she sent Ruslan an email saying, "The Goddess of Thieves Strikes Again!" With a GIF animation of her laughing maniacally, she felt her goal was nearly complete. Of course, this all hinged on her getting away with her crimes. Which was becoming exceedingly tricky as Zack and Ivy weren't exactly new to the job. As they trekked the pathless expanse that used to be Fairy Meadows, they knew they were closing in as they found a clue that read, "You'll never catch me, sweetie! I'm on a road where checkers decide who wins."

Ruslan said, "And how are we supposed to know what road that is?" Zack said, “Talladega.” Ruslan pretending to know what that meant, said, "Right, exactly, it is obvious afterall." Ivy said, "Laverna's car Black Magic has 666Bhp and the address of Talladega is 3366 Speedway Blvd. So add the threes and that's 666." Zack said, "Or you can just look at the sign that says Talladega in the background of the picture she sent us." As Ruslan slapped his forehead in frustration, the team made their way to Talladega Raceway. It was clear Laverna wanted them to catch up to her, and maybe she was enjoying zooming around Talladega by herself. Regardless it would take them time to get there without the C-5 active, so the team headed out to the nearest airplane to the chase.

Charlet was overjoyed when the Toyland express came into the station. She would see all her friends again and see what they had been up to. Or at least that was the thought anyway, but Little Bo Peep was the only one waiting to greet them. She told them they were caught up in preparations for March Day, the new holiday commemorating the march of the toy soldiers that saved the city. Jack and Kylie told Bo Peep about the situation concerning Charlet. As she was led through the busy streets, she saw them here and there, and they waved to her but were seemingly invested in preparations for the parade. What caused Charlet to rush off, however, was a brightly lit sign saying, "Gabby's Gearworks." Barely managing to read the signs, she said, "Gabby's Gearworks is a sub-sidi-ary of Toy Factory LLC; and is dedi-cated to the advancement of Clockwork Systems Ltd." While reading, she heard a familiar voice say, "By golly, it's the brat. Try not to break anything lassie." Charlet turned around and said, "Gabby!" As she ran over to hug him.

Gabby was happy to see the little heroine and told her how their actions had changed Toyland for the better. Charlet wanted to know if that meant free candy, but Gabby told her it meant notoriety and responsibility. Jack and Mary said it was best to be humble when you're a hero and let boisterous baddies be their own downfall. Charlet decided that wouldn't be as much fun, but it was a good idea to follow. Having met with Gabby, they headed to Toynet, located near the Toy Factory. Charlet saw the big new building for the first time after the remodel. It was home to Toyland's mail and bulletin board services until Jack added the mainframe computer to enhance the already informative service. It enabled digital messages to be sent to the bulletin boards displayed on a new section that allowed regular posters to be added like they always had been.

There were a bunch of lost people in the mainframe cyber world. But now Jack had a hunch there might be people in the mainframe itself and was ready to find out. After booting into safe mode, Jack ran a scan and confirmed his suspicions. Kylie said, "Jack they could be in trouble in there for all we know, so how do we get them out?" Jack said, "They say the user plays games for fun. No one knows for sure, but I intend to find out. Reboot!" Charlet said, "I miss the Easter egg salesman." Kylie reminded her that he would be at the March parade later. As the mainframe rebooted into recovery mode, Kylie rolled her eyes at how simple this would be. Charlet said, "The more friends, the better. Now how are you gonna get them out, Jack?"

Jack told her they would start with her standing still and not touching anything. The process would be simple; they would be isolated using disk utility functions similar to repairing a corrupted drive. Charlet said, "Oh, you mean your going to bring up the drives list and select the one they're on then run repair disk? When are you going to isolate them based on the system highlighting their source code?" Jack was happy to hear his lessons were paying off and said, "Yes but first we have to go inside the mainframe." Charlet readying herself and fixing her smart glasses, said, "Boot me up, Jack."

They both stepped on the platform and were digitized into the mainframe cyberspace. Once there, they saw the ground was made up of grid squares colored blue, red, or yellow. Charlet looked over and saw strange creatures and said, "Jack is that them?" Jack braced himself as he said, "No, those are viruses. Quick use the grid tiles to help dodge their attacks and then use your battle chips to-." While Jack was making things more complicated than needed, Kylie sighed and ran the antivirus program that quarantined and instantly deleted the viruses. Jack said, "Or you can just do that instead." As Charlet giggled at the situation, Jack made contact with the people who had been stuck inside the system. Their leader White Bomber informed him they would very much like to get out so they could see Toyland in person. They had been reading all sorts of messages the people had been sending on a cyber bulletin board, making them want to see everything they were reading about.

Jack told them to hold tight as he and Charlet would return outside and bring them into Toyland. The people started getting their hopes up as Jack and Charlet returned to the real world. Charlet eyed a lever with a red knob as Kylie was happy to know they could be helped. As Jack set up the system to materialize the people in Toyland, tiny hands reached for the lever; Jack focused on the computer monitor and told her, "Creativity is intelligence having fun because a person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. So the first step is to be a creative person; the second is to do the unexpected. **Crash!** Charlet, don't touch that!" But it was too late; the lever Charlet pulled was an emergency stop that caused the default destination to be selected, and this changed the target location from Toyland to America. Charlet, nervously smiling, said, "Oops."

Most of the older people trapped on the mainframe were able to materialize in Toyland as they went first. They decided that meeting their kids when they appeared next would be easier on them. But after the destination was suddenly changed, they appeared in random spots in America instead. Needless to say, this was a crisis as some adults, and most of the kids were sent to places they couldn't get back to Toyland from. Jack reassured the townsfolk that a search and rescue would be assembled to find all lost members of the group.

Jack and Kylie decided it was time to see the Toymaster once more. Jack picked up Charlet, who had been pulling the now useless lever repeatedly in an attempt to try and undo her mistake, and they headed off to his home. They headed back out through the central mail room, which was abuzz with activity as notices and information on safety procedures and meeting spots were being written and drawn up. Toynet was down until the system rebooted from the emergency stop, but no other mail delivery services were unaffected. However, all e-toymail could not be sent until further notice. Their leader, a brave former astronaut named Bill Paxton, was holding things together in the meantime. He said, "We will not suffer a game-over scenario on my watch!"

As they approached the Toymaster's house, they saw the fabulous décor handcrafted with care. And as Jack and Kylie walked up to the door with Charlet, they heard a familiar voice say, "Come in." The three entered and saw the Toymaster standing there warmly, greeting them. Charlet hid behind Kylie's dress, not wanting to make eye contact. Jack and Kylie explained the situation to hear the Toymaster's advice. He told them that the missing people should be back before March Day. And then he said, "I would also like to hear any suggestions from Ms. Charlet." Slowly emerging from behind Kylie, Charlet said, "I'm sorry." The Toymaster told her not to worry and that everything would be okay.

Charlet would be left with the Toymaster so that Jack and Kylie could focus on finding the lost Toylanders. Charlet figured that meant she was grounded for causing the mess but found a gift from the Toymaster under the Christmas tree. Jack and Kylie bid Charlet farewell and told her to be good as Charlet opened the finely crafted gift box and saw it was the magical sword Myrtenaster. Charlet, confused, said, "I thought this my older self's sword so why's it here?" The Toymaster said, "Apparently, this gift is a special one; and is for those who are apart from themselves. Only those who cherish the childhood and all its goodness receive these special presents. They can be the same or something entirely new but whatever they are they are given for a reason."

Charlet, not exactly feeling like a good person, said, "I'm a bad person, and a lot of people are upset because of me." The Toymaster said, "Even when Laverna steals things, she gives them back in the end." Charlet, in a tantrum, said, "I don't care about when Laverna steals stuff! Carmen is the greatest thief ever! And I don't know if your naughty list's been paying attention, but I'm the bad guy! er, girl." The Toymaster, amused, said, “Ho ho ho! Child; I'm the Santa Claus! My job is to break into every home on the planet in a single night. Carmen's got nothing on me." Charlet realizing what that meant, said, "……… Touché." She then proceeded to practice her ballet fencing form. As she spun and twirled with combative grace, Santa, in a wise tone, said, "My child, good and evil are based on what's in your heart, not the laws you break." Charlet, at last feeling better about things, said, "Could you tell that to the FBI, so they take me off their most wanted list?"
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
Jack and Mary were handling the search and rescue on the Toyland side. At the same time, volunteers in America and around the world would begin looking as soon as possible. However, there was one problem: a vital volunteer was still at Talladega as her pursuers arrived. They looked around carefully for any VILE henchmen and signs of Carmen Sandiego. But all they found was a very defiant Laverna Heist. Zack said, “Freeze, Laverna! Your games over!” Laverna said, “I can’t it’s the middle of summer; and my games just beginning.” Ivy said, “Sorry to disappoint you, but your no Carmen and this has gone on long enough.” Ruslan said, “Laverna you have the right to remain silent. Any flirts you give will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney… and no I wont be your attorney! Now put your hands out so I can cuff both of them. There will be no, "one cuff on my arm and one or yours", business!”

Laverna said, “You do realize Black Magic is broadcasting this entire scene to all the news channels, don’t you? Everyone just heard how hot we are for each other. Now come here and gimme a kiss, honeycop!” Ruslan horrified, said, “Noo!” His dreams of being a world-famous detective were crumbling on live tv. Ruslan, in a panic, said, “Yuck! I’d rather feel Anya’s ice-cold stare on my back!” Anya radioed the group saying, “Im going to fry you when you get back to HQ, you dumb potato.” Ivy, apathetic to Ruslan’s career and date life, said, “We would really like to arrest you now so the time for talking has ended.” Laverna confidently said, “The Goddess of Thieves decides when things begin and end red.”

The Finish line began to flicker and glow as a wall of energy appeared, spanning from one end of the finish line to the other. Zack said, “Whoa, I don’t like where this is going!” Laverna got into her car and said, “No, you won’t Zack because I’m going to steal pixels and polygons now. Later Gators.” Laverna blew Ruslan a kiss as she sped off as he dived for cover from the love projectile. Unfortunately, the world witnessed this display. As the internet flooded with posts and people commenting on the cute new couple, Laverna was off to the digital world to steal things from video games. The detectives couldn’t believe that the little girl they knew was now capable of planning this caper. They were led on a wild road chase only to witness her beginning her true plan.

Just when they thought they would find a way to pursue Laverna from game to game, Anya said, “Im getting major bad news guys! A major search and rescue has to be organized to find missing persons immediately! All able bodied off duty detectives are ordered to report to ACME HQ while all agents in the field are to await further orders. And if I know Tenchi that means our target will be SOUL-searching soon. This mission is a secret as a result of who the missing persons are and lets just say they suffering from a case of pixlexia. Common sense says when the brass at Crimenet get this they’re going to order cease and desist on every case except highest priority ones before this causes an international incident. Sigh.” Ruslan said, “You can at least be more excited about this you know. Laverna’s gone into video games and now this search is happening too.” Not paying too much attention, Anya said, “Or I can finish adjusting the mission log, filing your progress or lack thereof. And getting ready to handle all the incoming net traffic.”

Anya was her regular business first self, but Zack and Ivy had suddenly found themselves without a crook to catch. Zack knew, however, that Laverna had entered a popular kart racing game though it didn’t matter at this point. Laverna was free to take all she wanted, but that was a problem as she wanted them to chase her. Drusera patched into the Home 01 network and told her they were no longer pursuing her. While dodging a turtle shell, Laverna was upset at the lack of concern Ruslan was showing. She could be stealing dangerous things and need help after all. Drusera clarified, saying an emergency had arisen, and the priority shifted to dealing with that first. Laverna, offended, said, “What could be more important than my crime spree?” Laverna scooped up the racing cup trophies and made her getaway. All of a sudden, people playing the game saw there were no trophies anymore, just a note saying, “I.O.U. One racing trophy. Signed, Goddess of Thieves”

Laverna hopped from one game to the next, but no target was out of her grasp. That is until she got to an item on her list that she found pretty hard to find. Apparently, her notes said it would randomly appear on a stage, but it was missing even when Laverna checked the code vault. Laverna, upset, said, “Hey I’m the one that’s supposed to be stealing here! Grr, it better not be a glitchy game.” Drusera assured her the game was working correctly. Still, apparently, the source code was rooted in the code of a specific character, and since they were not there, neither was the item. Laverna said, “Well that sucks but lets look around a bit more maybe we can find a good replacement.” Laverna was all out of ideas. The only thing left was to drive around in the game and figure out her next move, but strange, mysterious events unfolded somewhere else in the real world.

Along the Muskoka River, a quiet midwestern town is nestled in the suburbs and surrounded by trees. Usually, it would be an average everyday scene except for the story a man was reading in the morning paper and sipping hot cocoa. It said there was a mysterious fire at a warehouse and reports that witnesses heard a loud noise before the blaze was seen. While reading the details, the phone rang, and on picking it up, he listened to an angry man named Casey on the line. He told him he was referred by his client and requested he come to the crime scene. Almost forgetting the situation unfolding on his end, he asked the criminal attorney's name. The man said, “My name is Carson Drew.”

Carson was usually approached more professionally about these things, but the circumstances forced expediency. He gathered his coat and hat and headed to a very burnt-out warehouse. While driving there, he saw a local store that had just recently opened. It was in a good location, but the things it sold were quite odd. Most people in town had no use for the products on sale, but a sign in the window implied that the owner, Miss Honey, understood. She had dark hair and eyes and was dressed as a typical cowgirl wearing a white fringe vest over a long sleeve pink dress with fringes at its bottom, a black belt holster for her gun, a brown cowgirl hat, a yellow scarf, and white boots with the tops folded down and fringes. Her assistant was a man with dark hair in a top knot named Kotetsu. He wore traditional samurai clothes consisting of a yellow short sleeve Haori jacket with a black band that tapered up its chest area. And a kimono with the upper half above the waist orange; and the lower half purple, a black belt tied in a bow knot holding his katana sword, a yellow headband, and black socks with traditional shoes called Geta.

Apparent typos aside, business was booming as first-time buyers used the sale as an excuse to sample the goods in the store. There was a massive 50% off sale, which had worked well as a line of people stretched down the street. It also noted quite importantly that American “Dullars” was now accepted. Carson was almost tempted to stop and go in himself, but he had a case to investigate.

As he arrived at the warehouse, he saw the commotion. Getting a good look at the charred ruins of the structure, he saw that the blast was heart-shaped. The crowd that had gathered around formed the shape and a hopeless police force trying to get people to leave the scene. Carson walking past the police tape noticed some still smoldering debris and saw that instead of the usual colors of embers were instead burning pink. Carson said, “Well this is not normal.” A voice from the crowd answered, “I’m glad you agree Mr. Carson.” Turning to face the stranger, he saw a man with dark hair and dark blue eyes, dressed in a blue suit with a red tie, black shoes, and an attorney badge pinned to his suit lapel. The man greeted Carson and said, “I am Phoenix Wright, attorney of justice, and it’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Carson.” Carson shook the hand of a fellow criminal attorney, and the two discussed the strange clues they were seeing. While doing so, Carson quickly scanned the crowd expecting to see someone familiar. But apparently, they had not arrived yet, and evidence needed to be gathered.
 

Tenchi Masaki

ACME Ace Detective, Inventor
Best answers
1
AMA
findcarmen.com
Known Aliases
Tenko(don't ask), Kami Jack, Guy Smart, Tenten
Color #
035096
The fire Marshall told them their analysis showed there was an explosion, and it was not likely an accident. They were speaking with a girl who showed up asking questions and keyed them into the smell being a clue itself. Carson's eyes widened as he understood why. It was that the unique pink flame would give off unique smoke particles. The fire Marshall told them it was a nosy girl with reddish hair wandering around without parental supervision. Carson felt he knew this girl and made an effort to locate her. He heard a girl's voice right in the middle of a crowd of people who had been impressed by her sleuthing. But when he saw her, it wasn’t his daughter. She was younger, had freckles adorning her fair skin, and wore glasses and a blue trench coat. Carson said hello to the young detective and told her to look out for some fierce competition on this case.

Jenny confidently said, “I’m sure I’ll be able to handle this case it looks like a routine arsonist albeit with artistic flair. I already had to deal with a much bigger mystery in my hometown and because ,of that I got to go to ACME Academy. This criminal doesn’t stand a chance.” Carson hoped she was right, as his experience taught him to expect a small case to get bigger. He wondered what was keeping his daughter, though, as this was right up her alley.

But he wouldn’t have to be wondering for much longer as it turned out his daughter was busy on her computer. Apparently, she had been caught up and lost track of time as one does when filling out forms. She could hardly believe it as she occasionally scrolled up to read the introductory paragraphs. She read, “ACME Detective Agency has reviewed your case history and is offering you the opportunity to be a field agent. Your selection was not taken lightly, as your accomplishments and potential have gained the attention of Genius-class instructors. Our records indicate that your world traveling experience: Alaska, Austria, Costa Rica, France, Istanbul, Japan, and Nairobi to name a few; means this essential requisite has been met as well. It is with great pleasure that we extend this invitation to join ACME Detective Agency! Note: Signature is required on the ACME Detective Agency Liability Release Form. It Hereby releases the ACME Detective Agency from all liability associated with the pursuit and capture of dangerous criminals no matter what might happen.”

The girl closed her eyes as she typed her name, Nancy Drew. It was at this point the housekeeper Helen had enough. She called Nancy to come down immediately to eat breakfast and go to her father at a crime scene. Fully fed, Nancy caught up on current events and raced out the door. She hopped into her lovely blue Mustang and sped off to the crime scene. It was too much; she was being auditioned for ACME, and just when she thought things couldn’t get any better, her phone rang. Having been at ACME HQ, Anya had helped send word to potential volunteers to assist in the search and rescue. Nancy’s application had been processed unusually fast, as typically, it would take quite some time for things to get moving. But as a result of being swamped with calls, letters, and clients, all matters online were forwarded to Home 01, where things were noticeably done faster. That meant Nancy had two cases already but worry not, as Anya said her “trial by red tape” would take place on filing her paperwork. And then she would know the real waiting game of the average ACME ace.

Nancy, of course, felt she could care less about the idea of red tape and relished that her amateur career had led her to this point. Flashes from cases past filled her head as she came to the road with Miss Honey’s shop and noticed the line of customers. At times like this, a trendy girl wanted to shop but was all out of bomb capsules. Not that she ever had them in the first place, but she figured they were a new cryptocurrency waiting to take off. She said to herself< “Well at least I can shop for clues when I get to the crime scene.” As she entered the warehouse area, she saw the crowd of people being held back. Apparently, the police had managed to gain control once the new hires arrived. They were cops on a mission; with barriers and sunglasses. They had transferred in from someplace called Onett, where the police were rumored to have mastered the art of blocking areas off. They masterfully placed the police barriers in a way that psychologically pacified onlookers. Even though there were ways to get around them, the onlookers decided not to try.

Nancy, having stronger willpower, approached the cops standing at the barriers causing one to hold out a hand as he said, “Hold it right there missy! Don’t think you’re a match for the River Heights police force! Let see some identification!” Nancy flashed her Identification, and the cop on guard duty's eyes widened. He said, “Captain Strong spoke of one named Nancy who trained in the ways of Super-Ultra-Mambo-Tango-Foxtrot-Martial-arts. It is an honor to meet you.” The police parted the barriers with such precision and fluidity that it appeared as though they were parting like the Red Sea. Jenny Leclue was quite jealous at this immediate response as all she heard from her constant inquiry was, “Quit rubberneckin’ brat!” But whoever this “Nancy” was, they just let her in. Jenny thought, “Grr, this is not fair, who does she think she is!? And I can foxtrot whatever arts better than she can!”

But there were clues to study, and all detectives knew that time was of the essence. Like her father, Nancy saw the smoldering pink embers and knew it was a significant clue. She saw him speaking to Phoenix Wright and another man in a red suit. He had come in from another barrier checkpoint and seemed just as determined to get to the bottom of the mystery at hand. People in the crowd recognized Nancy and started taking photos, much to Jenny’s chagrin. She quickly hopped in front of potential shots trying to get her picture taken instead. While that was happening, Carson noticed Nancy and introduced her to his attorneys-in-arms.

Nancy looked Phoenix over as she shook his hand and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Wright.” And then she saw Apollo Justice. His dark brown slicked-back hair with long spiked bangs and big brown eyes that locked his gaze with her own. The red vest, matching pants, blue tie, and white shirt with rolled-up sleeves that almost said, “I’m ready to get to work.” Jenny watching them figured maybe their hands and gaze lingered for a bit longer than usual though she couldn’t figure out why. Nancy blushed, saying, “Oh… hello Mr. Apollo its nice to meet you… very nice indeed.” Still gazing into her eyes, Apollo said, “The honor and pleasure is all mine, Ms. Nancy; but please call me Apollo.” Nancy staring deeper into Apollo’s eyes, said, “O-okay and you can call me whatever you wan-.” At this point, Carson cleared his throat, and the two regained their senses and noticed everyone staring at them.

Jenny felt this sudden crush ploy was just an act to get more photo-ops from the crowd, but her dad had ended it, thankfully. Carson told Nancy that Phoenix Apollo and himself would be teaming up to deal with the recent string of events to unmask the culprit behind the bombings. Nancy raised an eyebrow and said, “Bombings? I thought this was the first one.” Carson was showing her an evidence folder received from one of his contacts in the police as he said, “I wish that were the case, honey. But these photos show several scenes similar to this crime scene here at the warehouse. Previous forensic investigations all point to explosives being used.” Nancy reviewing the photos, said, “Ah, so they feel there’s a mad bomber in town then? Could it also be tied to insurance fraud?”

At this, the warehouse owner, Casey Hughes, said, “I think not Ms. Nancy! Your fathers job is to defend me from such claims! My business was doing just fine before this maniac targeted me! I certainly don’t need extra cash!” Apollo eyeing the owner and noticing Nancy doing the same, said, “Calm down Mr. Hughes, were are going to get to the bottom of this as fast as possible.” They both saw from his clothes that he was doing quite well for himself. And his business was also profitable enough that insurance fraud was unlikely. But they kept their minds open to all possible suspects and would let the evidence decide who was to blame.
 

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  • I (Guest) invaderhorizongreen:
    I even have the site white listed, for a wild shot can any of you post a new question in the guessing game I had set up
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  • I (Guest) invaderhorizongreen:
    I would like to see if that will get my email to ping
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  • I (Guest) invaderhorizongreen:
    I know that might just be a shot in the dark but why not try
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    Sure why not?
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    I hope you get it fixed Invader!!
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  • Lucy Lucy:
    Good Morning everybody. I hope you all have a wonderful day :)
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  • Lucy Lucy:
    Did you know a group of Jellyfish is called a Smack? -Nat Geo
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  • Tenchi Masaki Tenchi Masaki:
    Smack O’ jellies is now a term
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  • Jon Eckart Jon Eckart:
    ((OOC: So, I am still here (at least, while ACP is still a thing, then I have to tether my phone to my laptop, send it's internet to Ethernet to my router and setup my other laptop to access that... I managed it once totally by accident)... updating stuff I'm working on is not a fun process (if anyone checks my stories folder on my Google Drive) anymore... the laptop at my desk is old (Core 2 Duo, 2Ghz, 4 gigs RAM, Win7 Ultimate)... Chrome won't update, Drive won't work... I'm stuck using FreeFileSync to keep stuff up to datep things synced. I have plans of getting a job and having money to have something better (a doorstop is better)
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  • Jon Eckart Jon Eckart:
    [continuing] I'm sorry if any of my posts are/could be inflammatory or anything... some of them are stuff I've had in the pipeline for a while, and I messed with it enough to get it postable... that's why there are dates showing when I started working on stuff... I'm not, and never have been, trying to step on anyone's toes or say "this is how it should be"... I have no say here, not sure who does these days (like I posted... maybe this is a test to see if we devolve into chaos). Posts like Hierarchy were started long ago, and meant as a guideline and not because I'm the voice of Sauron.
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  • Jon Eckart Jon Eckart:
    [continuing] I don't have the time to be here a whole lot, I don't have much beyond mom to help with my rent (and once I have a job, that'll take up more time, though I will keep working on stuff (both for here and not) as often as possible, and post when possible on here. I have a question that needs some clarification... being that we are supposed to get permission from the person if we use their character in an addition/story/post, how would that apply if the character is core to the universe (like Carmen... I can replace @Chase, maybe cobble someone into @Ivy's place... but, like @Carmen, being that she's a major character, as long as I don't have her acting or write a major part for her, would that circumvent the rule at all?
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  • Jon Eckart Jon Eckart:
    [continuing] I'm just curious... the absence of the major's leaves a gap that I'm not sure what to do with anything... we (the Left Behind) could do a story together (or some stories separate), and that'd be cool, but without being able to use any major's, I'm not sure where to take anything. And, yeah... you can probably guess what my typing is like here (or anyplace else)... I type here or in Word, I type something (or notepad), and 15-20+ seconds later it shows up, so I have to stay on top of my grammar and spelling. I have to keep on top of all that, because I'm working on the big Carmen story at the same time, so I can't slip off my game.))
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  • Julie Justice Julie Justice:
    @Jon Eckart Not exactly sure if I understand all your computer probs. I hope you get those resolved soon. Yes, I have many probs with my basic Google Chrome, too. I think it's fair to say we all have a love/hate relationship with technology. 😆 As far as your stories are concerned, you can use any cannon character you like, whether there is a person playing that role on here or not. Say the story is a fanfiction; and that the version of Chase, or Carmen (or whoever) from the computer games, gameshow (or whatever). We don't do Netflix Carmen, mostly because of the violence. And because it is fanfiction, you can also create other characters and situations to suit your story. Now, Chase, Carme, Ivy (or whoever) were here, of course, you would ask their permission; tell them your idea; and if they like it they might write it with you. 🙂
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  • Julie Justice Julie Justice:
    @Jon Eckart Now, if you for a friendship with someone on--and off-site, you might form a partnership with them, and write stories together (like Chase and Carmen; or Chase and Ivy; or Lucy and I) and then you will just put a statement saying that this story is a co-write with whoever. In fact, if you collaborate with this person a lot, people will just assume they have your permission; although you should always say it anyway, just as a common courtesy. In fact, ironically, the only people whose permission you must always ask to use their characters are "original" characters, who are creations of their individual writers (which most of us on here, are) specifically because we are not cannon. I hope that makes sense. 🙂
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  • Julie Justice Julie Justice:
    @Jon Eckart Now, if you want to write something, but don't have a lot of time, I would suggest posting a status; or replying to someone else's status. Or you could start a guessing game. Look under Forums/Guessing Games, and look at some things other people have done, to give you ideas. I hope that helps. 🙂
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  • Lucy Lucy:
    Did you know that the Mockingbird is the state bird of 5 states? Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.
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    It seems the Mock-5 is unstoppable... Go Speed Go!
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    I just heard on the news they're going to have to remove the Sakura trees in Washington because of damage to a sea wall. They have to build a sea wall and replant new trees.
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  • Lucy Lucy:
    They were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo!
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  • Lucy Lucy:
    Okay wait. Only 158 of the 2,500 have to be taken down. They are also taking clippings from the cut down trees to propagate new ones
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  • Lucy Lucy:
    Is everyone ready for the solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024? :)
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  • Invader Invader:
    yes
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    Affirmative
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    I’m staying inside
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    Laverna Laverna: I’m staying inside
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