NEW REAPER IN TOWN
Rated: PG
Author's Note - Originally, I was going to post this all as one piece, but about the time I had to stop writing and go to class, I had reached a cliffhanger moment (unintentionally, the wording just came to me in the moment). Anyways, I've got the remainder of the fic planned out entirely in my head, and I'm even part way through the second chapter right now. Please tell me if you like it, but be honest if there's something that could use improvement (I'm very worried about the level of description; it's hard to capture the kind of cartoon antics Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy in words). Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Grim's Boss
J. Maximus Hartley, age one hundred and seventeen, was sitting in his wheelchair, hooked up to the tubes and machines that kept his blood flowing, when the Grim Reaper appeared. He came through a swirling, green vortex in the middle of Hartley's living room, his skeleton body clad in the traditional black robe, the dreaded scythe clutched in his right hand.
"Hey, the sign out front says no solicitors!" Hartley bellowed, his voice coming out ragged due to the many wires attached to his neck, "What's the matter, can't ya read?"
"Oh, I'm not selling anything," the Reaper replied, his Jamaican accent growing ominous as he loomed higher over the old man, "I'm more in the business of taking."
He held the scythe up high, prepared to swing it down and reap another soul, when Hartley pressed a button making his wheelchair rocket forward, knocking the Grim Reaper to ground.
"Hey, mon, what's the big idea!?" Grim shouted, in his shock not sounding quite so ominous.
"So, you thought you'd come for my soul, eh?" Hartley asked, a raspy chuckle escaping his throat, "Well, J. Maximus Hartley never let no bony armed freak take his soul without a fight!"
The old man prodded his wheelchair forward once more, the machines which pumped his blood being pulled along by the tubes. It took all the speed the Grim Reaper could muster to avoid being run over. As he was chased around Hartley's living room, the vortex through which he had first arrived spewed out someone else, a perpetually frowning little girl in a pink dress.
"Grim, where are you?" Mandy hollered.
"I knew I should have closed that portal when I arrived," Grim muttered to himself. This distraction diverted his concentration just enough that Hartley's wheelchair was able to collide with his butt, sending him sprawling onto the floor once again.
Mandy, unconcerned about Grim's predicament, continued talking, "My mom says cleaning the gutters will help me build character, so you better have them shining by dinner."
"This isn't really a good time, Mandy," said Grim as Hartley backed him into a corner.
"This'll teach ya to come bargin' into my home!" Hartley shouted as he used his wheelchair to crush Grim's waist against the wall.
"Oof! I'm just trying to do my job, man!" Grim shouted, clutching some of his shattered bones.
"And screwing up as usual," Mandy intoned. She then walked over to where Hartley had Grim cornered and grabbed the scythe out of Grim's hands. "I'll take care of this guy then you can get back to my chores."
Hartley rotated his wheelchair until it was facing Mandy. "So, you want a piece of me, too, huh? Well, I've got more than enough strength to take you on, whipper-snapper!"
He reved up his wheelchair, the machines he was hooked to working double time to handle his boiling blood, and then launched himself forward at the little girl. Mandy didn't flinch. She casually stepped out of the way of Hartley's assault and placed the scythe on the ground in front of him. The wheelchair hit the scythe at full speed, causing it to crash to the ground, leaving Hartley trapped under its weight.
"Little hooligan," Hartley muttered, his voice weaker, the machine that breathed for him having been pulled along in the crash. "I'm not gonna stand for this, no sir!"
Mandy picked up the scythe again and, despite being about two times too big for her, held it as naturally as could be. "Oh, don't be so upset," she said, "We're just going to take a little trip off the mortal coil."
Grim watched in amazement as Mandy made excellent use of the scythe. It only took a few good and painful slashing motions before she was holding the scythe in one hand and the disembodied spirit of J. Maximus Hartley in the other.
"You can't do this too me!" the spirit hollered, "I've got rights! I want a lawyer!"
Mandy ignored him and slashed through the air with the scythe, creating a tear in reality. Without another word she hurled Hartley's spirit through the opening to the Underworld and closed it behind him with another casual swing of the scythe.
"There," she said, turning to Grim, "We can go now."
"Yeah, yeah, just a second," said the Reaper as he gingerly inspected where he had been crushed by the wheelchair.
Suddenly, there was a roar of thunder and a crack of lightning. A great pillar of flame rose inside the living room, swirling with mystical energy.
"Uh, Grim, mind explaining what that is?" asked Mandy.
Before he could respond, the flames exploded in a flash of light, and a massive being stood before them. It looked almost like a human being, save that it's left side was entirely white and its right side was entirely black. Oh, yeah, and it stood over fifteen feet tall. Upon seeing this figure, the Grim Reaper fell to his knees and bowed.
"Oh, great and wonderful Lord of Life and Death," said Grim, his head still bowed, "What have I done to be honored by your presence?"
"SILENCE!" the being shouted.
"Okay," Grim said meekly.
"Lord of Life and Death," Mandy mused to herself, then she addressed the creature before her, "So I guess that makes you Grim's boss, huh?"
Grim turned towards Mandy, aghast. "Mandy, how dare you speak to the great and wonder-"
"BE QUIET, REAPER!"
"Yes, my Lord," Grim replied, resuming the bowed position once again.
"I HAVE COME HERE," said the Lord of Life and Death, "BECAUSE I SENSED THAT THIS GIRL WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR HANDLING ONE OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS."
"Well, it wasn't on purpose," groveled Grim, "She grabbed the scythe away from me and just started hacking away. I swear that it will never happen again, and . . ."
"OH, BUT IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN," said the creature, "WHILE YOU WERE BUSY COWERING, THIS HUMAN GIRL WAS ABLE TO DISPATCH THE OLD MAN'S SOUL IN HALF A MINUTE."
"That wasn't my fault!" Grim said desperately, "I swear he had some sort of super wheelchair!"
"ENOUGH!" the black and white Lord bellowed, "SINCE YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF TO BE WOEFULLY INCOMPETENT, ALL OF YOUR POWER AND AUTHORITY SHALL NOW BE GIVEN TO THE GIRL NAMED MANDY."
"Me?" asked Mandy
"HER!?" shouted Grim.
There was a flash of light, and suddenly Grim's robe vanished and reappeared on Mandy.
"Hmm, black," said Mandy, examining her new attire.
"THE LORD OF LIFE AND DEATH HAS SPOKEN!"
With that he vanished in a blaze of fire, leaving a naked skeleton and the new Grim Reaper behind.