Disclaimer: I do not own Peter Pan, in any version, except for Kuro. I also own Ebony, Cybera, and all other characters not of the Peter Pan universe. If she shows up, I do own the concept of Petra Pan, Peter's twin sister, and her pixie/fairy, Dusty.
Note: Disney Peter Pan meets Fox's Peter Pan. The idea belongs to LightHouseKatie, from the Pirate's Cove Ezboard. This is my story of how the two Peters meet.
The men walked through the corridors, the sound of their footsteps echoing off the metal walls. The lighting was dim, just barely illuminating the passageway. One man was shorter than the other by about five inches, but both wore the same kind of uniform: Blue jacket with gold piping and gold buttons; blue pants with gold piping; short, white gloves; black boots; and blue caps with black brims. At a belt at their waists was sleek, black guns. The taller man also wore piping on his shoulders that declared him the leader, or, at least, superior to the man beside him.
"Are you sure, Captain?" the smaller man said. "To call on these...boys...to back up ...her?"
"We have no other choice, Lieutenant," the taller man answered. "There is no one else but these three boys that could get her through the obstacles that must be overcome to reach their goal."
"And how do we know that they'll help?"
"For two of them, the life that's at stake will be enough incentive. For the third, I don't know. But it will take all four of them to reach the castle, as well as fight off the forces there. Then, our girl will be in position to fight the battle within."
The two --soldiers?-- entered a vast room, filled with computer terminals, maps and charts, tables, etc. A fully-stocked war room. Technicians and other officers scurried about their tasks. At one end of the room was a huge machine, and an area set aside that was covered with five circles. A couple of female technicians stood in front of the machine, checking over the controls. It was to these two that the two officers approached.
"Begin other-dimentional transport," the Captain commanded. At once, the women complied, working the controls quickly and efficiantly. The Dimentional Transporter hummed into life, lighting up the circles on the machine's floor.
"Come down, boy!" the pirate in the red coat shook his left arm at the boy floating in midair. Instead of a hand, the man had a silvery hook. "It's time for you to meet your maker!"
"Awww...you don't like me, Codfish?" the green-clad boy asked. A breeze off the ocean blew his sunset-red hair away from his chocolate-brown eyes. The red feather in his green cap danced in the wind. Beside him fluttered his pixie friend, Tinker Bell.
"We've been fighting for how long, and you've just figured that out?" Captain Hook sneered. "You're very slow, Pan." Peter Pan just laughed and drew his dagger. This was going to be fun!
Before he could dive down for the attack, a beam of light surrounded him and the pixie. At the same time, everyone in Neverland heard a voice speak to them.
"Peter Pan and Tinker Bell are needed for awhile. They will be returned when their task is done."
The light faded away, and with it Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.
"Catch me if you can, Captain Codfish!" a boy in brown called, flying around the old pirate captain, just out of reach. Trying to keep up was Tinkerbell, his fairy companion.
"Oh, I'll catch you, Pan!" Captain Hook growled. His right arm was raised, shaking a hook at the boy. His curled, white hair was in a strong contrast to the dark clothes that he wore.
"Betcha ya can't!" Peter Pan laughed. He flew around Hook some more, Tinkerbell right beside him the whole time.
From out of nowhere came a bright light, beaming down upon Peter and Tink. At the same time, a voice from out of the air announced:
"We must borrow Peter Pan and Tinkerbell for awhile. They shall be returned as soon as their work is done."
Within the beam of light, Peter and Tink disappeared. A moment later, the light faded away.
In a lush, dark jungle, a boy ran through the folliage, a huge, black cat at his side. The boy was slender, dressed in only a loin-cloth of a black pelt. At his side was a belt with a knife, and hanging around his neck on a leather thong was a decorated flute. The boy's hair was as black as the panther's coat, and his eyes were a bright green. Covering part of his face and down the length of his right arm were tribal tattoos. He was a wild thing of the jungle, with the power to command the animals.
The panther stopped and sniffed the air, as if looking for something strange, something not right. The boy stopped and looked back, wondering what had attracted the attention of his companion.
"You smell something, Ebony?" he asked. The boy sniffed the air as he came and stood by the panther. "Yes, I smell it, too. What is it?"
As if in answer, a beam of light bathed boy and panther, and a voice announced to anyone on the planet who might be listening:
"Kuro and Ebony are needed. They will be returned safely after they are finished with their tasks."
The light faded, and the boy and his panther vanished with it.
Within the war room, on the glowing circles, Three boys, two fairies, and a panther appeared. They each stepped from the Dimentional Transporter and looked around.
"Welcome, to planet Earth of Dimention Seven," a tall man said. "I am Captain Frank Hawkins. My assosiate, here, is Lieutenant Jim Morgan."
"Why are we here?" asked the boy in green. "And who are they?" he indicated the other two boys, the fairy, and the cat.
"First, I must explain something. The three of you, and your companions have been brought here from three different dimentions, or universes. In each of these universes, there is an Earth, and a Neverland. The universes are seperate, with only a few doors leading from one to another."
"We have tapped into the doors of three of the Neverlands, to bring three differnt eternal youths and their companions here, to help with a very big problem that only the three of you together can solve. Well, the three of you, plus one other, but you'll meet her in few minutes."
"As for who the other two are: The one in brown shares the same name as you, while his fairy friend shares the same name as your own pixie."
"You mean..." the boy in green's eyes openned wide. "His name is 'Peter Pan', too? And his fairy is another 'Tinker Bell'?"
"Yes," Captain Hawkins answered. "But as I said, he's from another universe. As for the other one and his cat: His name is Kuro, and the panther's name is Ebony." The two Peters and Tinks looked over to the third set. He smiled back and nodded, absentmindedly stroking the gleaming black fur of the panther.
"What is it that you need us for?" the Peter in green asked.
"In the mountains not far from here is a castle. Within that castle is a computer with an evil Artificial Intelliance --or 'AI'-- that runs everything in the surrounding area for a hundred miles radius. Your job is to get a special agent inside that castle so that she can shut it down and erase the AI."
"Don't you have soldiers for something like that?" Kuro asked. "Why call on three children?"
"Mostly because each of you has special talents that no soldier on Earth has. You, Kuro, have the ability to control animals. That will be useful when traveling through the woods and the mountains, as well as on the castle grounds and inside the castle. Guard animals, not necessarily dogs, are everywhere in that place. As for the two of you," he faced the two Peters, "You can fly, mimic voices and sounds so perfectly that not even computers could tell the difference. You also know much about magic, especially fairy magic. There are reports that the AI has incorporated a captive fairy as part of its cyberstructure. For what purpose, no one knows. But one thing is certain: If the fairy is not rescued soon, she --or he-- will lose their life, with their mind and magic imprisoned within the system forever."
"Okay," the Peter in brown said, "you've got me interested. But who is this fourth person we are suppose to help?"
"Her name is Cybera," Captain Hawkins began. A panel in a wall openned, and out stepped a teenaged girl. She had rose-colored hair, and matching rose eyes. Her hair was cut short, like boys' hair. She wore a red bodysuit covered in glowing yellow lines, creating a maze of light. The bodysuit covered her from neck to feet. At a belt around her waist was a gun, simular to what the soldiers wore. Her equipment also included large, rose-colored glasses, and a large, thin rectangle that the boys later learned was called a "laptop computer". Floating beside her was a golden ball with electronic eyes.
"The ball is called 'Solar', a word associated with 'sun'. It is a helper, in the same respect as your fairy companions. Cybera is a computer programer, and the one person that can bring the AI down and save that fairy."
"Before we start," Cybera said, "we need a way to tell the difference between the two Peters and the two Tinkerbells. I can't need the one in green, and have the one in brown answer."
"That's true," Captain Hawkins agreed. "The Peter in green can be designated 'Peter-D' for his dimention, while his fairy is 'Tink-D'. The Peter in brown can be called, 'Peter-F' for the same reason, as can his Tinkerbell, 'Tink-F'."
"Fine with me," Peter-F said.
"And with me," Peter-D replied.
"Good. Then let's get started." Captain Hawkins nodded to Lieutenant Morgan, who touched a panel on a huge, round table in the middle of the room. The table surface lit up, then projected a three-dimentional image of the woods, the mountain, and the castle. Peter-F, curious, reached out to try and touch the tiny image of the castle, only to have his hand pass through the image.
"A hologram," Cybera smiled as his surprised reaction. "A realistic, three dimentional image created by lasers." All three boys nodded, even though they had absolutely no idea of what she meant.
"The moment you enter the woods, the AI will be aware of your presense. There will only be a few troops, made up of three to five men. I'm sure you can deal with that. It won't be any more difficult than dealing with the pirates you are used to fighting."
The boys smiled at one another, the glow from the table the only illumination in the room they could see each other by.
"The mountains will be a bit more challenging. The weather conditions there would make flying impossible, so you'll have to travel in a more normal fashion. You may be able to find caves in the mountains, with pathways that will lead you to the castle. But even if you do, it won't be easy. Just as with the woods, these caverns may also be patroled. Plus, the temperatures can get down to below freezing. You will be provided with supplies, of course, including a tent and appropreate clothing for the colder climate."
The boys nodded, unfazed by the difficulty of their mission. The two Peters were concerned about the captive fairy, while Kuro's thoughts were hidden behind his leaf-green eyes.
"The real challenge, however," Captain Hawkins continued, "is the castle. It is heavily guarded with not only soldiers, but guard animals, lasers, and traps of all kinds. Kuro will give you an edge, for even trained animals will obey him," Kuro smiled in the aknowledgement of his abilities.
"And you need children to do this?" Tink-F said. Tink-D tinkled her agreement. They were not so sure this was a good idea.
"Normally, we wouldn't," Captain Hawkins answered. "But, we all know that these three are not 'mere' children. If they were, we would never have called on them to help with this. But each of you have abilities that the others don't. For example: Peter-D can read and write, unlike Peter-F and Kuro."
"You can read? And write?" Peter-F asked the other in surprise.
"Sure. You mean, you can't?" the red-haired Peter asked.
"No," Peter-F frowned.
"We already know what Kuro can do. As for our other Peter..." The brown-haired Peter looked up hopefully at the captain. For once, he was feeling very inadequate when compared with the other three members of this little group he found himself in.
"We're very close in abilities," Peter-D told him. "Too close to measure them in any way. But I'm willing to bet that you know more about fairy magic than I do. Your Neverland has more to it than mine. Somehow, I can feel that. In the end, you may be the one that can rescue that fairy."
Peter-F smiled at the taller boy. Even if what the red-haired boy said was not true, it made the smaller Peter feel better. Maybe he was not going to be so useless on this team after all!
"That's quite possible," Captain Hawkins smiled.
"Can you type?" Cybera asked Peter-D.
"I don't know," he answered. "I've never tried."
"Why don't we find out. I'm sure we can spare an extra laptop for him to practice on. It'll be a long mission, and we'll be stopping frequently. And we may need someone to do the typing on the outside, should I have to go further than we intend to."
"Yes," the captain nodded. "That may be necessary. I hope not, but with what all that's involved --and at stake-- we may have no choice. Very well. Make sure he is equipted with one of our spare laptop computers, same model as Cybera's. You'll have extra time before the mission to get aquainted and to rest. Tomorrow morning, you will be assigned equipment and given any last-minute instructions for your mission. If there are no questions," he paused. The group shook their heads. "Good. Until tomorrow morning, you are dismissed." Both Captain Hawkins and Lieutenant Morgan gave them salutes, which the boys returned.
"Come on, guys," Cybera said, "let's get something to eat. And whatever you do, don't order the meat loaf. We have absolutely no idea what's in it." The four of them, followed by their companions, left the war room, on their way to the cafeteria.
"Three boys, a girl, two fairies, a panther, and a CompoJit," Morgan mused. "Have we done the right thing, Captain?"
"There is no one else, Lieutenant," Hawkins answered. "Too many of our agents have lost their lives attempting to break into that castle. Maybe those boys --with their connection to magic-- will be able to do what others could not. They --and Cybera-- may be our only hope."
After a meal of pizza and milk, the four retreated to the boys' sleeping quarters, a small room with bunk beds for the boys, and a pallet for Ebony. The Tinks would use the pillow on the extra bed to sleep on. At the moment, the four of them were sitting at a table. Cybera was showing Peter-D how to work the laptop. He caught on quickly --simply needing to understand the new arrangement of the letters.
"If it comes to this, and I have to go in," she said, "then Solar can help you with the computer terms. Just listen to it, and you'll input the right data."
"'Have to go in'?" Peter-D questioned. "Aren't you coming into the castle with us?"
"Of course I am," she answered. "But I may have to download my mind into the computer --literally 'go inside' the computer to battle the AI, save the fairy, and shut down the AI for good. If I do, I'll need someone to work the keyboards. And since you're the only one that can read --and now, type-- that'll be your job. If it comes to that, that is."
"Okay," Peter-D agreed. He looked over at Kuro. "Captain Hawkins said that he got you from another Neverland. Does that mean that you'll never grow up, too? That you'll remain a boy, like me, and like Peter-F, here?"
"Yes," Kuro answered.
"But," Peter-F asked, "why isn't your name 'Peter', like ours?"
"Maybe it is," the jungle boy answered with a smile. "Maybe my name was also, 'Peter Pan'. But I was raised by panthers, not fairies. A local tribe gave me the name, 'Kuro', for my black hair, and for my family of black panthers. Ebony, there," he nodded toward the panther laying on her pallet, chewing on a bone, "is my 'sister'. That is, I was raised with her and the rest of her siblings. Later, I found a tribe of people that sorta adopted me. These," he showed them the tattoos, "are tribal markings making me the adoptive son of the chief of the tribe. He's hoping to marry his daughter off to me. I don't know, though. Marriage usually means growing up, because there are so many responsibilities connected with it. And I would be leader of the tribe. That carries responsibilities too. I don't know if I want to do that."
Next, the two Peters traded stories about their adventures. Peter-D could not help be a little jealous of Peter-F when he heard about the brown-haired boy's Captain Hook.
"At least your Hook has a little good in him. My Hook is rotten to the core!"
"Yeah," Peter-F answered. "And my Hook seems braver than yours. The only thing in Neverland that my Hook fears is the Croc."
"The Crocodile? You still have yours?" Peter-F nodded. "Lucky! Hook killed our Croc. Now, Hook has an octopus after him."
"On the bright side," Peter-F grinned. "Can you imagine the hugs your Hook gets?"
Both Peters laughed at the image of Hook-D's skinny form being squeezed by an eight-armed giant sea creature. Their laughter was infectious, and Kuro, Cybera, and the two Tinks also laughed with them.
"Okay, guys," Cybera said, finally calming down. "We need to get some sleep. We have a big mission ahead of us, and we need our rest." She rose from her seat. "Good night, boys."
"Good night, Cybera," Peter-D said.
"Cybera?" Peter-F said as he climbed into one of the top bunks. "Would you tuck us in?"
"Why not?" she smiled. The girl walked over to the bunk and gently tucked Peter-F in his covers. She gave him a motherly kiss on the forehead. She looked over the other Peter, who had also claimed a top bunk. "Do you want to be tucked in?"
"If you don't mind..." he smiled. She walked over to his bunk and tucked him in as well. She gave him a kiss, as well. She looked over to Kuro.
"I suppose that you want to be tucked in, as well?" He shook his head.
"I'll manage," he replied. He laid on the bunk below Peter-F's, while the Tinks took the one below Peter-D's bunk.
"Okay," she replied. "Good night, boys. See you tomorrow."
"Good night, Cybera," they answered. She left the room, turning off the light as she went, and closed the door. The three eternal youths settled down for a good night's sleep.
Next: Chapter 2: On the Move. The group begins the journey to the castle, dodging the patrols along the way. Peter-D learns more about computers.
Don't ask me where I got the idea for this. It just came...