The last time we saw these characters, Miss Tyree had kidnapped the superheroine Wallflower for her own purposes; Wallflower's partner Vixen is coming to rescue her despite all common sense saying she shouldn't.
The Last Loose End drives that ridiculous car of hers into the parking lot. It took her long enough to find the place; so much for Vixen the Great Detective.
She sprints across the lot and leaps, landing atop the admission booth. She takes a quick look around and then shouts, “An amusement park? Real original, Tyree! What’s next, four kids and a Great Dane? You know, this would have been a lot scarier at night!”
I grant her wish. My prepared incantation banishes the sunlight for a mile around; the second part activates the lights and music and starts up the rides. I send a projection of my old voice.
“Is that better, child?”
She shouts to the sky. “Hand over Wallflower now Tyree, and you won’t get hurt! Much!”
“Find her yourself! Isn’t that what heroic little foxes do?” Just for fun I project her partner’s voice, “Save me, Vixen! I don’t know how long I can resist!”
She bounces off the roller coaster and lands atop one of the ferris wheel cars, which carries her upward. She’s using the altitude to survey the park. Maybe she’s not as stupid as I thought. On the way down she leaps across the midway to the Slip’n Spin and from there ricochets onto the merry-go-round. She’s covering territory fast; time for phase two.
The patrons rise out of the ground. Hundreds of shadows fill the park; to get this many I had to forego legs but having mist for a lower body doesn’t slow them down.
She leaps down and starts kicking at them. Somehow her blows are connecting and shadows are flying around like ninepins.
“Go Vixen!”
I glower at the girl tied to the knife-throwing wheel and then return to my crystal. Vixen is moving through the crowd, beating the shadows easily, and making her way toward my lair. Does she know? When she opens the maintenance door to the Tunnel of Love I’m certain. She knows exactly where I am. Four seconds later she steps into the circus display area.
“It’s over, Tyree. Let Wallflower go.”
I gesture and the ropes release; my prisoner falls to her knees.
“I said, let Wallflower go. This is your last chance.”
“What are you talking about, child? There she is.”
“That’s not her. Now let my friend go!”
“How did you know?”
“The same way I know that you’re weak right now. You’re probably using most of your magic just to hold the illusion of your old form, aren’t you?”
She strides towards me. I back away; she’s right, curse it all to Hades. Possessing a new body is difficult and Wallflower’s mind is still resisting. I can’t use her powers or mine yet! But I do have something else: minions.
“Get her!”
A squad of daemons leap out at her as she jumps at me. But her reflexes are faster; her hands close around my throat…
…and she vanishes.
I scream my annoyance, “What kind of trickery is this?”
My own voice speaks back, “It’s getting a little crowded in here.”
That little bitch! Somehow she’s possessing this body too! That’s not possible; only two people ever knew how to cast this spell, and the other one is dead! Or so he would have me think.
“Doctor Arcanum, what are you doing here?”
“He isn’t, Tyree. It’s only Vixen; Doc Arcanum just gave me the magic charm.”
“Then this will be easy; I’ll crush both of you beneath my will.”
“I don’t know, Wallflower and I are pretty remarkable when we work together. I may only be a B-list hero, but she’s on your level.”
“If she’s on my level, why isn’t she resisting me?”
*I was waiting for the right moment.*
I explode; the force throws my daemons against the walls where they splash into ectoplasm. Everything dissolves in a cataclysm of light and darkness.
A moment later I come to my senses. I’m lying on the floor in my previous body, the one I took from Enchantress before these two were born. Vixen is standing there, as is Wallflower. In my current weakened state I can’t take both of them. But I can ruin their lives.
I say three words in my native Atlantean; they comprise a spell that will take away Vixen’s fox powers forever.
Vixen looks at me. “That tickles.”
“You’re supposed to feel crippling weakness. I took away your fox powers!”
“I guess so. And while you were doing that, Wallflower was mucking with your brain so you won’t even remember who she is.”
“What are you talking about? There are only two of us here.”
“You’re right, I guess. I’ll just be going now.”
She holds out her arm as if someone else is going to take it, then casually walks out the door. A moment later she leans back in with a smirk.
“And by the way, you got the wrong animal. I never did have fox powers; I just dress like one.”