Halloween 2016
The Tower of Terror's legacy was about to end forever by The Guardians of the Galaxy. It wasn't the Guardians' fault for the recent news, but the public was disappointed that the tower was going to change from its original scary persona. The sign
was already taken down and scaffolding covered the building's exterior. The ride itself probably shouldn't have been operating, but oh well. Disney didn't care. It's not like Tower of Terror closes the following January, and that it's months
away. Oh wait.
The Kingdom Keepers were very aware of this observation. Not because they thought the OT's were up to something. Or because it was just too suspicious to ignore. No, they needed to ride Tower of Terror at Mickey's Halloween Party because it was spooky
and creepy and their last chance to ride it during the season. So that's exactly what they did. They waited in line to ride the ride before they got their senses together and backed out.
"Can I leave?" Jess asked the rest of them. Really, the only sensible one in the group. "I really don't want to ride Tower of Terror."
"I thought you loved this ride." Amanda said crossing her arms.
"I might like a certain date more."
Maybeck groaned cutting the conversation. "Philby, I don't want to hear about your stupid costume anymore!"
"I'm trying to show you that I'm not acting extra nerdy! I'm freaking Clark Kent."
"Um," Finn said. "Clark Kent doesn't have red hair."
"WELL, THE FLASH IS BLOND!"
"Do you not watch the show? Barry isn't a blond." Finn asked. "Have you ever watched any DC show or do you just act like you do?"
"I WATCH THE SHOWS," Philby said. "I'VE CONFROMED TO WILLA'S DC OBSESSION."
The whole scene was amusing. The Kingdom Keepers were all dressed as a bunch of superheroes. They thought it would be funny considering they were practically superheroes saving the parks. Finn was dressed as The Flash based off of the TV show. He was
a little disappointed he couldn't walk around wearing the mask, but that was Disney's rules. Maybeck was The Green Arrow and had grease paint around his eyes to make him mysterious and awesome. He held just a bow because "weapons" weren't allowed.
Then there was Philby whose idea of a costume was wearing a buttoned shirt with a superman T-shirt underneath. His nerd glasses were a mockery of people who actually wear glasses. How insensitive.
"You guys, the line is moving," Charlene said. She was dressed as Supergirl which made it super weird when Maybeck and she would flirt. Next to her, Willa stood wearing a Killer Frost costume. Willa was living.
When they made it to the entrance of the elevator, a cast member told Amanda that they liked her casual Scarlet Witch outfit aka her cool jacket that flowed as she walked. It wasn't nearly as simple as Jess' outfit who wore a Black Widow T-shirt with
a red hourglass on it and black skinny jeans. She looked more like an edgy hot topic shopper rather than an assassin.
Inside the elevator, the ride began. It started normal enough. The elevator would go through different rooms telling the story about how five people died in it. Only, when it got to that part something felt different. The elevator went all the way to
the top, thunder rumbled, lightning struck the building, and the elevator came crashing down.
When Finn got his bearings together, he thought that that drop was a little rougher than usual. The other people riding the ride walked out through the exits as if nothing had happened. Even the rest of The Kingdom Keepers left without a second thought.
Finn asked Amanda, "Did that ride seem off to you?"
"Yeah, something felt different," she admitted.
Once the group made their way outside the ride, Finn looked back at the tower and saw that it looked like it had months ago. The sign was back in place and there was nothing new that had been remodeled. The others followed his gaze and were completely
confused.
"Okay," Finn said. "That's not right. There was no sign on that building when we entered and now there is. That plus the weird elevator ride equals really suspicious."
"So what? Are we in, like, another dimension?" Maybeck asked jokingly.
"Uh, maybe. Yeah," Finn said.
"Dude, I was kidding. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this."
Willa said, "I guess we have to find out."
"Maybe this is that Mandela effect thing," Maybeck suggested. "What if we all thought they took the Tower of Terror sign down, but really it was our way of coping that it was going to end soon."
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Philby said. "We're not here because of the Mandela effect. My guess is magic got involved. Unless one of us is a secret magician, then a villain is totally messing with us."
"Not the OT's," Maybeck complained. "Aren't they, like, gone?"
"I wish," Finn muttered.
Philby looked at Finn. "What should we do, oh wise leader?"
Finn shrugged. "We don't know what we're dealing with. . ."
"So you want us to split up and find out?"
Finn didn't really want to get involved with another adventure. He kind of just wanted to see if the solution would magically appear, but he knew better. "Pretty much," he decided. "I mean, how bad can this place actually be?"
"Oh no no no!" Jess said surprising everyone since she had been so quiet. "I don't want to be a part of this."
"You can't be serious," Amanda said, frowning. "What are you going to do? Stay here?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Why am I going to go out there to get targeted by some OT's because they want to know the future! I'm sick of having powers all the time! I quit!"
"Jess, you can't quit."
"Well, I'm quitting now." She sat on the curb next to the fast pass stations. "Go ahead and try to solve another Kingdom Keepers' Mystery! I'm out!"
"Well, I'm not staying here arguing," Maybeck said. "I'm heading through Bug's land since none of us can come up with a better idea. Anyone that wants to come with me, feel free. If not, I don't care."
He made his way into Bug's life before anyone could protest. Charlene looked at the others, shrugged, and followed Maybeck.
"I'm heading to Disneyland then. If DCA was changed, who knows what happened to that park," Finn said. "It's better if some us check it out."
Amanda looked at Jess. "Finn will probably die without me. I can't be in two places at once."
"I could make it!" Finn argued.
"That's cute," Amanda said. "But we both know it's not true."
"I'll stay with Jess," Philby chimed in. "I want to hack into the park's security cams anyway. Luckily I brought my iPad."
Everyone seemed to ignore the fact that Philby was a real giant nerd as he looked to Willa to see where she stood on the whole creepy-weird-dimension situation. "I'll stay here too. Be a lookout. That sort of thing."
With that, Finn and Amanda made their way through the new and improved Hollywood Boulevard.
The first major red flag was the Red Queen party that replaced the Mad Hatter's dance party. Finn and Amanda could see a group of people dancing to the music and going wild. The animation building across the street was villain themed. Even the kid's show
had all the evil characters taking over in a disturbingly fun way.
"Notice a theme here?" Finn asked.
"That everything is about the villains? How can you not notice?"
Finn suddenly realized how great it was for Amanda to be with him. Not only because they were a great team, but she was the only one that had a real chance to defend them against the OTs. Finn was pretty much useless. He doubted there were any DHI's there
which meant no servers which also meant he couldn't all-clear. He was powerless.
"How are we going to get out of here if everyone is an Overtaker?" Finn asked
"No idea," she said as they walked through DCA's Mainstreet.
They made it through the turnstiles it of DCA and headed to Disneyland. It took a bit to go through the line. A lot of people were dressed as villains along with other Halloween classic outfits. Once Amanda and Finn walked in Disneyland and through the
tunnel to Mainstreet, Finn froze seeing a glimpse of the castle.
Instead of the Sleeping Beauty castle, it was Maleficent's castle. Finn never thought he would see it in person. He could see green glowing from the windows of the black castle. He had a feeling Maleficent was sitting in her throne inside waiting to get
her revenge.
"Finn?" Amanda asked. "You going to be okay?"
Finn blinked. "What? Yeah, I'll be okay. I'm just trying to figure out how we're supposed to find our way back."
"Well, I'm guessing Mickey Mouse isn't around to wave his wand and help us."
In the distance Finn could see one of Maleficent's minions watching them. He looked around and realized they were everywhere. No one seemed to notice or care that her guards were hanging around.
"Even if Mickey isn't around," Finn said. "There's bound to be someone that could help us get back to our world. The only place that thrives on magic is Fantasyland, so let's go to this park's version and see who we find."
It was probably the worst idea, but Amanda went with it anyway. Besides, no idea is a bad idea, right?
Maybeck and Charlene barely made it out of Bug's Land. That place was crazy with all the grasshoppers hopping and flying around. It was disgusting. Also, wildly inaccurate if one has ever taken a wildlife biology class (like Philby). Why do insects even
exist? No one cares about grasshoppers (Domain: Eukarya, Kingdom: Animal, Phylum: Arthropoda, Class: Orthoptera). They're gross with their stupid spiracles and wings and their stages of life and all that crap.
"Okay, that's the last time we go to that stupid land," Maybeck said brushing off a bunch of leaves of his shoulder. "I wish I had some arrows to shoot every bug in this freaking park."
"For The Green Arrow, you're acting like a wimp."
"For Supergirl, you scream pretty loud."
Charlene glared. "Whatever." Then she muttered, "Bugs are gross." Silly, Charlene. Grasshoppers aren't true bugs and should not be categorized as bugs in a scientific study.
Maybeck pointed to the Ferris wheel. "I think if we want to get a good view of the park, we should head there."
"You mean the creepy skeleton mickey head wheel? Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Yup. Are you coming or not?"
"Yeah, yeah."
The Ferris Wheel was more boring than Charlene thought. When they reached the top, they got a view of the Dark Park. She could tell part of the land in DCA was Ursula's land. She could see Maleficent's Castle. Jafar seemed to have his own land. The red
Queen's Party was a little bit strange to see. Everything was red. Other than the obvious Dark park change, Charlene didn't see anything of use.
"So Maleficent is running this place. Huh?" Maybeck said. "This is interesting. The Matterhorn looks like the entrance to hell. You know, with the lava pouring down it. I wonder if Chernabog is responsible for that."
The Ferris Wheel stopped at the top.
"We're going to be trapped in this park forever, aren't we?" Charlene asked.
"No," Maybeck said. "I think we need to make a deal with the devil. If we could talk to a villain and convince them to help us, we might find a way to go back."
"Who would we even ask?"
"Well, Ursula has her own land. Jafar seems to have his own area where Cars' land used to be. I never thought I would miss Cars' Land."
The Ferris Wheel still wasn't moving. Both of them looked at each other not wanting to admit that they were slightly scared.
Willa was getting tired of hearing Philby and Jess argue about why Jess wasn't having any dreams and why Philby sucked at hacking into security cameras. She was already feeling off when they got there, and she didn't need them to draw attention to anyone
especially potential villains that wanted to kill them.
She pulled the Ipad away from Philby. "Stop it!"
Philby took a step back surprised by her sudden anger. "Fine," he said crossing his arms. "Clearly fighting won't get us anywhere."
"I thought I could stay here as a lookout, but I just can't. I'm going to try to find some answers."
"Then we'll come with you-"
"No! I'm going alone. I don't care about the stupid rule," she shoved the Ipad back into his arms. "You two just sit here and don't draw any attention to yourselves."
"Willa-"
She didn't hear him. She walked passed the old Aladdin show and could see the raving party. Her curiosity got the best of her. She walked toward the party and was surprised to see a bunch of villains all partying together under the red lights. Maybe villains
weren't all that bad, she thought. Maybe it's better to take what you want rather than suffer the wait and the pain for a negative potential outcome. The world to her became crystal clear in that moment.
She saw everything.
Fantasyland was nothing like Finn remembered. It was dark and creepy. Peter Pan's ride was all about Captain Hook. Pinocchio was changed to how he didn't turn into a real boy but firewood. Snow White's ride was all about the evil Queen (though that's
what the ride normally is about anyway). Even the Merry go round was Maleficent themed. That scared Finn.
Amanda studied the giant castle in front of Fantasyland. "That's still overwhelming."
"Yeah, no kidding. As long as we can avoid going in there, I will be happy."
She turned away from the castle and tensed. "Um, actually."
Some of Maleficent's guards were coming toward them. If they weren't careful, they would get cornered in her castle. Unless that provided an opportunity to send a message to their enemy.
Amanda flicked her hand out in hope of pushing the guards away to send a sign that she wasn't going to play their games, but nothing happened. She tried again.
"Is something wrong?" Finn asked, nervous now.
"My powers aren't working," she said panicked. "Why aren't they working!?"
"Maybe it was Tower of Terror. It must have taken your powers away."
Finn and Amanda took a few steps back.
One of the guards threw a spear their way. For a split-second Finn wondered why they would try to kill them. That's stupid. Wouldn't a villain want to know why they were there? As he was thinking this, he realized that the spear was coming at him in slow
motion. He could walk over and just pluck it out of the air if he wanted. He slowly walked towards it and griped the spear that was suspended in the air. Time sped up and the guards skidded to a halt afraid.
"Finn?" Amanda asked.
"We need to leave now," he said to her. He dropped the spear. Amanda and he ran to the right side of the castle, past a wishing well, and somehow, they made it to Tomorrowland. Finn did not want to get stuck in Tomorrowland. It looked a little depressing.
And by a little, he meant a lot considering that the entire section was closed down. No one was there, but he knew that Maleficent's minions would be there soon, so he figured it was probably best to hid in the old Innoventions.
Once Amanda and Finn made their way inside, the old building was practically dead. Finn jumped after seeing a bunch of Darth Vader statues and storm troopers. Finn and Amanda walked to the second floor where The Avenger's HQ used to be in their universe
(before it was shutdown) and it was transformed into a Hydra facility. The curved tables sat in the center of the room making a broken circle to access computers. The walls had pictures of Hydra agents instead of the founders of SHIELD. Finn stopped
staring that photos and started pacing back and forth.
Finally, Finn couldn't take it anymore. "HOW DID I DO THAT?!" he started ranting.
"You need to calm down," Amanda said. "If this universe made me not have powers then maybe it gave you powers."
"I don't want powers!" Finn complained. Then he felt embarrassed. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with powers. You have powers! Or had powers. Either way I love you! Not that I wouldn't. I mean-"
"Finn, you're talking way too fast."
"Maybe this is good. Maybe these powers even out the playing field."
"I still don't have mine. That worries me. I never thought I would hate feeling normal."
"Well, powers might not be the key anyways. We need to find a way out of this dimension. If Maleficent has an army outside, the it might be harder than we thought to find answers."
"It might not be a bad idea to ask the queen herself how to get out of here. I mean, what choice do we have?"
"One that doesn't involve anyone getting captured."
"I'm just saying that unless we find a nice character or a sympathetic villain, then we're stuck here."
Finn didn't want to be trapped.
Maybeck and Charlene knew that the Ferris wheel was sabotaged when it started to shake.
"If we're in another universe, how can anyone know we're a threat!?" Maybeck asked. He hit the glass hoping it would shatter, but nothing. He was actually mad at Disney for doing their job right. He wasn't sure what his plan was to get out if he broke
the glass, but he hoped he could climb out of there and hold on for dear life while climbing down.
"We're going to die!" Charlene said.
"No! We can figure a way out of this," Maybeck looked down. "What the hell is that?!"
"Oh, you know, you're local demented Toy Story dolls!" Charlene said. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
"No duh!"
Charlene balled her fists. "YOU'RE SO-!" She punched the glass and it completely shattered along with the side of the cart. She fell out of the cart and heard Maybeck yell her name.
Charlene had a flashback to her dreams of what it would feel like to fall from such a height. In her dreams she was able to feel like she was one with the air and could will herself to fly. She wished she could soar through the air and go back to Maybeck.
And suddenly, that's exactly what she did. She was in the air and she felt strong. She flew to a surprised Maybeck who fell back and clung to the cart.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," he kept saying. "What the hell?! WHAT THE HELL!?"
Charlene glared at Maybeck. "I'm flying and all you can do is say 'What the hell'? What about 'Wow, Charlene! You are Supergirl! That's Amazing!' Would it kill you to be positive?!"
"SAVE ME FROM THIS FERRIS WHEEL!"
Charlene took hold of his hand and in a matter of seconds they were both across the World of Color water area and near Ursula's land which used to be the little mermaid ride.
"You can fly," Maybeck said panicking.
"Yes."
"You're strong."
"Yeah!"
"I've made out with Supergirl!" Maybeck muttered.
"Are you serious right now?"
"I JUST NEED TIME TO PROCESS THIS."
Charlene sighed. "Okay, let's move past this and think of our next step. We need to go back to wherever we came from so I can be normal Charlene again. The one person who might know it has a land all to herself."
Maybeck glanced around. "Oh yeah, Ursula's lair. That's pretty dope."
Charlene rolled her eyes. "Why do I like you?"
"Because I'm smoking hot."
She shrugged. "Whatever you want to believe. Let's just get this over with and see if this sea witch actually has an answer."
After what felt like hours, Philby and Jess were starting to get even more worried than they were the moment Willa left. Philby wanted to go out and look for her, but Jess still wasn't convinced they needed to look around. She claimed that Willa could
handle herself, and it was best to be in the same spot if she did need them. However, that didn't mean that Jess didn't want her to return anytime soon. Jess felt a whole lot safer with Willa than she did with Philby.
"When will Willa come back?" Jess complained.
"I don't know."
"I should've tried calling her. I bet she likes me more."
"Wow," Philby said rolling his eyes. It's not his fault that Willa didn't answer her phone when he called. Before he could say what was on his mind, he heard someone walking, and he jumped up seeing Willa's silhouette coming closer. "Oh, thank goodness.
You're back. You freaked me out for a second. You weren't answering your phone."
As Willa came into view, she smiled at Philby, but there was something wrong with her eyes. They were glowing an unnatural blue.
"Willa?" Philby asked.
"Sorry," she said. "The old Willa can't come to the phone right now." She pushed out her hands and ice came at him. He could feel Jess pull him away as the icicles flew passed him and stuck into the wall behind him.
They took off at a run into bug's life. If there was any part of Willa left, she wouldn't follow them into there. She hated that land.
"I'm not even going to ask why Willa suddenly has powers," Philby said while running.
"Good! No talking! Just running!"
Ice shot past them and stuck into the walls and fake leaves. Grasshoppers froze in the air and shattered when they hit the ground. Philby almost tripped seeing the frozen grasshopper corpses.
As he was following Jess, he had a feeling Jess was leading them to either the far side of DCA to put some distance between them and now the real Killer Frost, or she was leading them to the park's entrance. Wherever they were going to go, Philby didn't
care. He just wanted to be away from the scary icicles.
They reached the park's entrance and immediately exited. Knowing that they had probably abandoned Maybeck and Charlene, they felt a little guilty, but they were running for their lives. Maybeck and Charlene could manage. For now, they had two major options.
They could go into Disneyland and find Finn and Amanda that way Amanda could use her powers to save them, or they could run into Downtown Disney and think of a plan there.
"We need Amanda!" Jess said.
Good thing Philby didn't have to decide. They had some sort of a plan. Now they needed to figure out the plan after the plan.
Finn and Amanda were still waiting out in the abandoned Innoventions hoping that the guards would just leave the area.
"No service here," Finn said. "This place is officially the worst."
"I still don't understand exactly where we are. The Twilight Zone? Are we in another timeline? An alternate universe? I need answers."
"I highly doubt we're going to find out anytime soon. We're stuck in a Hydra base. Maleficent is out there looking for people she doesn't know. We have no idea where are friends are, and we have to find a way back home."
Finn stood and looked at all the panels around him. He started pressing buttons.
"That is such a dumb idea. You might make us explode!" Amanda said.
"Then I'll just speed my way out of here. If I can do that."
A computer monitor turned on and a voice said, "Welcome to Hydra's base: 4270. Please type in the correct passcode within the allotted time before self-destruction begins."
Finn immediately started typing every and any possible passcode as fast as he could. Before Amanda could even blink, Finn had access.
"You got it. How?" she asked.
"The password is always 'hail hydra.'"
The computer asked, "How may I be of assistance?"
"Ah," Finn awkwardly said. "What's the history of these parks?"
The computer was silent and a light flickered and what Finn thought was a ghost at first was really a hologram exactly like The Dillard. That was the creepiest thing he saw yet.
"Disneyland: 1955. Walt Disney created a theme park dedicated for his good character creation. As more and more people came to the park, a group of Overtaker's came together to petition for their own. Thirty years later after much refusal, they took over
Disney's California Adventure and promised to return it if they were given their own land. They kept DCA for another thirty years until a new era of villains came together to take over Disneyland. Now, the parks are owned by Maleficent."
"What about DHI's?"
"No information."
"Holograms?"
"Only holograms used are in the Star wars and Hydra attractions."
"Kingdom Keepers."
"No information."
Finn looked at Amanda who shrugged. "What I'd like to know is the whole powers situation," she said.
The Dillard answered, "A wave of magic crashed over the parks causing side effects to the public. Their magic was in the form of what they could imagine: powers. It became common, but they became targeted by Maleficent to join her army. Anyone that enters
the parks will be found by the green fairy."
Amanda and Finn stood there in silence. Finn wasn't sure what to think.
The Dillard asked, "Do you have any other questions?"
Finn got an idea. "Are you able to locate people with powers in the park right now?"
"Yes."
"Locate them then."
"There are two found. One is located in Ursula's land. Name: Unknown. Powers: Strength and flight. Currently making their way through the area. The other is located in Hydra's base 4270. Name: Unknown. Powers: speed."
Finn asked Amanda. "That has to be Charlene. If I got speed because I was thinking about the character then maybe the same thing happened to her."
"Update complete. One more has been found. They have entered Disneyland. Name: unknown Powers: unknown."
Finn looked at Amanda. "This isn't adding up." He told the computer. "Repeat none of this information to anyone."
The Dillard started to flicker. "Command overridden. Location being sent. Invalid meta in the vicinity."
Finn cursed. "So much for that." They tried to reach the doors, but everything went on lock down. The building closed its doors tight.
"You are to remain here," The Dillard said. "until Maleficent sends her guards to bring you in."
Finn hit his fists against the door, frustrated. "We need to get out of here."
Amanda eyes suddenly lit up like she got a brilliant idea. "We can get out of this. I have an idea."
Philby and Jess had no idea where to look for Amanda and Finn. Especially since the park didn't look like the park they knew. They felt lost the moment they stepped in. They found a place to hide- the old fire station which looked abandoned with its tattered
walls and crumbling cement. They stayed there and saw Killer Frost Willa walk past them. She seemed to be determined to find someone. Philby noticed that her hair was turning white.
"Willa somehow got powers. This park is changing her."
"So?" Jess said. "She's got a spell on her. We need to break it."
"What if she isn't the only one that got affected?"
"Is Maybeck going to be the Human Torch now or something?"
"You haven't seen any glimpses of the future."
"Probably because time here works differently. I can't dream of a parallel future."
"But as of right now this world is our future. I think you don't want to admit that your powers might be temporarily gone. Or permanently if we get stuck here forever."
"That's ridiculous."
"Is it? Because Willa just tried to skewer us with icicles."
Jess sighed. "I don't know what to think, okay? All I want to do right now is try calling everyone to see who picks up. Maybe someone knows something that's of value."
"Yeah, hopefully."
"You can do this," Amanda said. "You just have to stop thinking so much. Powers rely on instinct and letting go of the frustration."
Finn kicked the door. "Even if I can phase out of here, then what about you?"
"You'll figure it out."
"I don't want to leave you."
Amanda sighed. "I know, but we're in a bad situation. Either we both get kidnaped or just me. What would you rather have?"
"Neither," he said. Then he looked at the door.
That's what Finn was afraid of. If he were a hologram it would be easy. Maybe that's how he had to think about it. Maybe he had to think like a hologram.
He ran into the wall again rather than through it. He sat down on the platform facing his greatest enemy: the door. Surely there was a way out of there before Maleficent ruins everything.
"This is impossible," he muttered.
"Because you keep thinking it is. You need to get out of your head."
"If this were 2006, you would tell me to get my head in the game."
"Finn, shut up," Amanda said sitting next to him linking her arm with his. "We can figure this out."
"I know," he said. "We always do."
He held her hand which was colder than he expected. Come to think of it, the temperature did feel like it dropped a little quickly. Underneath he door he could see frost breaking through.
"Something isn't right," Finn said stating the obvious and pulling her up. They backed away from the door right as it burst open.
Out of everyone Finn thought he was going to see (like evil Elsa or heck even the snow queen lady from Narnia would've made more sense), Willa was not on the list. But there she was white hair and all holding a sharp icicle.
"You wouldn't be here to break us out, right?" Finn asked.
"What do you think the answer is?"
Nope, Finn thought. And then he and Amanda ducked behind the counters to avoid her icicles.
"Give yourself up. It'd be easier this way. Maleficent only wants one of you."
"Which one?" Amanda asked.
Willa laughed. "I know one of you has powers, and I think she should give herself up."
Amanda stood up before Finn could say anything against it. "Alright." she put her hands up in surrender. "You got me. Just leave Finn out of it."
"Smart girl," Willa said.
Finn stood up wanting to say something, but Amanda gave him a look as if to say don't ruin my plan.
Amanda walked over toward Willa.
Willa looked at Finn and frowned. "Shame. Better luck next time."
"I know the real Willa is in there," he said while wondering how much of Willa was still there.
"Always the optimist," she said. She looked at Amanda. "I don't know what you see in him. No matter."
Willa escorted Amanda out of the room and winked at Finn. "Until next time." She froze the door shut.
Whatever plan Amanda had, which Finn only assumed was for Amanda to find out what's actually going on in this park, he really hoped it would work. Because at that moment, Finn felt useless.
"Ay, yo, sea witch, come out and talk to us!" Maybeck said as they walked deep into Ursula's land. Her land felt like more of a cave because the deeper they went into the land, the darker and scarier it got.
They could hear Ursula laughing at them as they got closer to her lair. Finally, they stopped as they saw her appear from the darkness.
"Guests," she said. "What a surprise. It's be a while since I've had anyone visit."
"Well, we were in the neighborhood," Maybeck said.
"Why are you here?"
"We aren't from here," Charlene said. "Something happened to us on the Tower of Terror and when we walked out, the whole place was different. We need a way back."
She smiled like she had been hoping they'd bring the problem to her. "Why do you need my help? The tower did this. What can I do?"
"I'm not expecting you to do anything. I just think you know the answer. I think you know exactly what brought us here."
"I know a few things."
"Then tell us," Maybeck urged.
She laughed. "Oh, no. Who would I be if I gave information without getting anything in return?"
"What do you want?"
"I'll tell you everything you need to know about this place, where you are, and how to leave, if you get me Maleficent's staff."
"What do you want that's actually reasonable?"
"That's my price."
"I'll ask someone else then."
"No one else knows the answer," she said. "If I'm going to help anyone get free from here then I want to protect myself from that fairy."
Maybeck and Charlene looked at each other unsure what to do. "We'll get your stupid staff," Maybeck decided. They hoped it was the right move.
Finn placed his hands on the ice and tried to phase through it, but all he did was partially melt the ice. That wasn't too helpful. Theoretically he could run through the wall, but he hadn't been successful yet. He was afraid that he was going to be stuck
in a Hydra base forever.
"You can do this. Don't run into the wall again or else you might be dead before forever catches up with you," he said to himself. Too bad he wasn't really listening.
Finn stepped back as far away from the ice as he could. He had a feeling if he were really the flash in another universe that he would have some sort of team to help him figure this stuff out. He suddenly pictured Philby and him getting along from the
get go, and Willa was probably there to spread her knowledge of being a superhero. He doubted Amanda would ever be a damsel in distress. That was normally his position if he thought about it for too long.
This was the one-time Amanda needed him and he wasn't going to let her down. With whatever confidence he had left he ran towards the ice wall and went right through it. He stopped outside the door relieved that he finally did something. He secretly hoped
there was a way to keep his powers, but he doubted it.
Finn wasn't sure where to go once he exited the Hydra base. He knew Amanda was in trouble, but he didn't want to go in blind. He hated that Amanda just willingly gave herself up. As much as he wanted to spend the time trying to think of the perfect plan,
he knew he needed to find his friends. He figured if he'd leave Disneyland he could find them in DCA. He started to run through the gate, but had to run back because he found Jess and Philby walking out of the fire station.
Finn stood in front of them making them jump back.
"HOW?!" Philby exclaimed.
"You just appeared out of thin air!" Jess said.
"Wait a second," Philby said. "Willa has powers. Did you get powers too?"
"Yeah, but Amanda somehow lost hers and now evil Willa took her to Maleficent's castle," Finn said.
"You let Amanda do WHAT?!" Jess asked.
"Amanda chose to go with Willa because Willa assumed Amanda had powers," Finn explained what they found in the Hydra base on how Maleficent was looking for people with powers to join her army.
"So Amanda wanted to find out more, and she went with Willa to figure it out," Jess said trying to process what was going on. "I mean, it's a dumb idea. But she might be on to something. She might find a way out of here."
Finn looked up at the sky thinking he saw something. Before he could convince himself he was going crazy, Charlene landed on the ground. Maybeck ran after her through the archway.
"RUDE!" Maybeck yelled. "Why couldn't you have let me fly with you!?"
"Because that'll mess with my flight."
"NO, you're just ashamed of me!"
Philby cut in. "DOES EVERYONE HAVE POWERS? WHAT THE HECK! WHY DON'T I?!"
"Maybe it's because of who we dressed as?" Finn suggested. "I got speed. Charlene is like Supergirl."
"WHAT ABOUT ME?!"
"You dressed as the normal Clark Kent. Only Superman has powers."
"That's just dumb. And your theory doesn't explain why Amanda doesn't have powers. She was dressed as the Scarlet Witch."
Finn shrugged. "I don't know. We're in a parallel universe. Anything can happen."
"Wait a second," Maybeck said. "Where the heck is Amanda and Willa?! Don't tell me they pulled a Jess and got themselves captured."
"Willa turned into Killer Frost and took Amanda to Maleficent," Jess said.
"Perfect!" Maybeck said. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. "What?! We need to see Maleficent anyway to take her staff."
"Why would you need her staff?" Philby asked.
"Ursula said she'll help us get out of here if we give her Maleficent's staff."
"YOU MADE A DEAL WITH URSULA ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Philby screamed. "YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT."
"Charlene agreed too."
"HEY! Don't throw me under the bus."
"The only person able to throw anyone under a bus is you."
"You're an idiot."
Finn sighed. "Okay, so you guys are looking for a staff for Ursula so she could take over the park? You do realize how bad of an idea that is, right? She could use it to turn you into a fish or something."
"Or worse, I could make out with her," Maybeck snickered.
Finn wanted to smack him. But decided against it. Finn needed to focus on what to do. "Let's just focus on getting Willa back to normal and finding Amanda. Then we could worry about the backup plan of the staff."
"Backup plan?! It's a solid plan!"
"You're delusional if you think that's a good plan."
Jess shrugged. "I don't know. I think it would work."
Finn rolled his eyes. "Guys, we're making it the backup plan. This has been an official leader decision. NO STAFF."
"Fine," Maybeck grumbled. "It's the backup plan."
"So now that that's settled, I actually have an idea."
Finn's goal was to find Willa. Knowing that Amanda would probably be locked in a dungeon by now, he made sure that the others would find her and get her out of there. If they could all just stay together and try working together to get out of the dark
park, it might reverse everything.
Finn looked at the closed door to Maleficent's castle and knew that he could totally run through that wall if he was able to do it before. And if he didn't succeed he'd probably be dead and not have to witness the embarrassment.
He ran as fast as he could and sure enough he ran through the door and made his way through the castle.
When he reached the throne room and hid behind one of the pillars, he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he didn't think it'd look like it did in the movie. Everything was in ruins rather than it being an elegant throne room. Guards were near the
doors and in the center of the room. none even got close to either staircase leading up to Maleficent's throne. She sat there staring over her guards with grace, but also striking fear into them. They were waiting for her judgment. They were going
to listen.
Killer Frost (that was definitely not Willa anymore) stood next to Maleficent while watching the monsters below.
"They better come," Maleficent said.
"They will," Killer Frost promised.
Finn tried to think of an idea to lead Willa out of there, but he didn't have time to think of a brilliant plan because the pillar turned to ice and crumbled in front of him.
"Told you," Killer Frost said. She calmly walked down the steps that formed in front of her. "Didn't think you would get through the ice."
Finn looked at Maleficent. "Did you do this to her?"
Maleficent looked pleased with the accusation. "I would love to take credit, but this isn't my doing. I'm afraid your friend had some frustration deep inside for her to turn so evil."
Great, can't blame the green fairy, Finn thought.
"With that said," Maleficent grinned. "Lock him up."
"This will be an easy win."
"You want to fight?" Finn asked Killer Frost. "Gotta catch me first."
Killer Frost threw ice his way, but he was too fast. She ran out of the throne room down the hallway trying to follow Finn. Every time she would get close, he'd just run further away. Finally, he was outside of the castle in front of the old Walt Disney
statue which was now a Maleficent statue.
"Come on, Killer Frost, I thought you said this would be easy."
She shot ice at him, but it just hit the statue instead. The statue cracked and broke into pieces from the ice. She was starting to lose control because of her anger. Finn wasn't actually fighting back, but she was trying to give it her all.
She pushed out her hands and as Finn went to run the other way he tripped on the ice he didn't see and landed on the ground.
Killer Frost walked over as she said, "You might be fast, but you're just the same. You won't hurt me. You're still the nice Finn Whitman everyone loves. Look where being nice got you. Look where it got all of us. We never mattered. We were all being
used the whole time." She held her fist out as a three-foot icicle grew into her hand. "It's pretty cold, isn't it?"
Before she could skewer him, Finn seemed to disappear in front of her and grabbed the icicle before she could register what had happened.
"You're right," Finn said. "I'm not going to fight you."
"So you're just going to run away like a coward?"
"I'm not going to run away. The real Willa is in there. She's my friend, and she wouldn't let anything happen to me. But if she's really gone then go ahead."
"And do what?"
"Kill me. Right here and now. You won't miss me, right? I mean 'killer' is in your name. It shouldn't be that hard." He held out the icicle to her.
She hesitated and the grabbed the ice. He thought he was done for as she glared at him and gripped the icicle, but instead she shattered it. Her eyes stopped glowing blue.
Finn seriously thought he was going to die. "Willa?"
She threw her arms around him. "I'm so sorry!"
"It's not the first time I escaped death."
She backed away. "I don't know what happened. I was fed up with Philby and Jess and when I went to that party something weird occurred and it's like I lost control. Everything in me was willing myself to stop, but I couldn't."
"Willa, it's okay. It's not your fault."
"I didn't freeze Philby or anything, right?"
"No. . ."
Willa sighed in relief. "Okay that's good. My evil self was seriously thinking about it."
Finn didn't ask any more questions.
Charlene was having the time of her life beating up Maleficent's army like they were a bunch of flies that needed to be swat away. At one point she had gone through the entire hall while Maybeck and Jess stood there with their mouths open. Charlene shrugged
and continued on.
Charlene kicked the door down of the cell Amanda was in and Amanda was really confused.
"Do I even want to know?" Amanda asked.
"I'm Supergirl!" Charlene said.
"I made out with Supergirl!" Maybeck chimed in.
"Ignore him. He's being stupid. He thinks because he's the arrow right now that he's super awesome. But really he's super lame."
Jess gave Amanda a hug. "I SHOULD'VE STAYED WITH YOU AND THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!"
"Jess, you're going to suffocate me."
"Soz."
"Wait," Amanda said after Jess stopped trying to kill her with hugs. "Did you leave Finn to deal with Willa?"
"Yeah, why?" Maybeck asked.
"Willa's going to kill him. I can guarantee if we don't find them, then he's dead and then I'm going to go all Killer Frost on you guys."
"Finn was really convincing!" Maybeck said. "We didn't think he'd die!"
"Idiots," Amanda muttered.
"Wait!" Maybeck said. "I just remembered. We said the staff was the back-up plan, right? If Finn's in trouble then we would need the staff to save him, right?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds stupid."
"We need Maleficent's staff! Amanda and Jess can go make sure Finn isn't dead, and then you and I can go get the staff and get out of this Disney hell hole!"
"Wait what?" Amanda asked.
"YAY NEW PLAN!" Maybeck said. He grabbed Charlene's hand and led her away leaving Jess and Amanda alone.
"They're all a bunch of idiots," Amanda said. "Come on, let's go save Finn even if I don't have powers."
"He'll most likely kill himself with his own powers."
"Yeah, that's actually accurate."
Maybeck may have still be salty for not having any powers, but he knew that Maleficent's staff was the key. Well, unless Finn was right and Ursula was just using them. Eh, he was willing to make the risk.
Instead of thinking of a plan like a normal person, Maybeck walked on into the throne room taking everyone by surprise.
"YO, Mali, can I call you Mali? I'mma call you Mali. It's easier to say anyway. I need your staff."
Maleficent just glared at him. It seemed she was more confused than pissed off.
"Welp, I guess my girlfriend aka Supergirl is going to have to fight you for it."
"Maybeck, you're stupid."
"Just get the staff!"
Charlene flew to Mali and took the staff. Charlene and Maybeck ran for it.
"GET MY STAFF, YOU FOOLS!"
"That was your plan?!" Charlene scolded. "What were you thinking!?"
"I wasn't. And it worked. Like, STUPIDLY worked. We got the staff."
"I hate you."
When Charlene and Maybeck got to the others, the first thing they noticed was that Finn was alive. Philby was happy because Willa seemed to be back to normal. The mood was great. Unfortunately, the first thing Finn noticed was the staff and immediately
started to yell at Maybeck.
"You've got to be kidding me. You got the staff when I told you not to. That's the one thing I told you not to do! What's the point of being a leader if you don't listen to what I have to say!?"
"You weren't there. I had to make an executive decision. So now it's time to see your ex-girlfriend."
Finn took the staff from him. "I'm keeping the staff just for that comment." Finn started to walk away.
Maybeck looked at a new happy Willa. "So Killer Frost is gone?"
"For now," she said. "My days of evil are done."
"For now? Girl please don't turn evil again. That was scary."
Willa smiled. "There's always next Halloween."
Ursula's Land made Finn want to crawl in a hole and die. Which he was seriously debating to do once Amanda started asking questions like "What did Maybeck mean?" "Why aren't you answering me?" and "Finn Whitman if you don't answer me I'm going to-." He
handed the staff to Charlene once they were at the entrance.
"You're deal. You figure this out."
They all walked into the cave where Ursula resided. Ursula came out looking happy as could be. "Well, there's my staff!"
"Whoa, there, Fish face. We need to know how to get back to our world."
"First the staff."
"Info. Then Staff."
"FINe. Stupid kids," She said. "For any dimensional travel, lightning must hit the tower while you're in the elevator. That could happen from many reasons. If you want to go back, then you have to wait for a storm."
"Then why the powers?"
"Side effects. You're in a new dimension that's radiating magic. What did you expect to happen?" she said. "Staff. Now."
"We don't care what you do with it as long as you don't kill us."
"I don't care about you all. I just care about Maleficent."
"Whatever."
Charlene handed the rod over to Ursula who took it gladly.
The other keepers left her because Ursula is creepy and super power hungry.
Once they were safely out of the land, they all hid in Starbucks which somehow was still there in that dimension.
"Okay," Maybeck said. "How are we going to cause a lightning storm?"
"We could just sit here and wait," Jess suggested. "Dark Park. It should happen every hour."
"We can't rely on the instability of villains," Philby said.
"I was being sarcastic."
"Oh, right."
Jess rolled her eyes.
"Well, we're screwed," Maybeck said. "I vote to sacrifice Finn first. He wouldn't last long anyway."
"Why do you hate me?"
"Wait a second," Willa said. "We might have the answer right here! We don't need a storm. We need lightning."
"We can't get lightning," Maybeck said. "Unless we get a ton of electricity."
Willa sighed. "Oh my gosh you are so dense. If Charlene can fly, and I can create ice. Then what can Finn do?"
"Run away from all his problems? How is that any different than what he did in our world?"
"THE SPEEDFORCE, YOU IDIOT."
Finn looked at Willa. "I don't know how to throw lightning. What if I catch the building on fire?"
"Then we'll be trapped here forever. So no pressure."
"Wait, hold up," Philby said. "There's no way you can grab onto lightning. That's fiction."
"Yes, Philby," Finn said. "Fiction doesn't play into our lives at all. It's not like we're trapped in another dimension with a bunch of evil villains. It's not like any of us has powers."
"Okay! I get it!"
"You can do this," Willa said. "You can run so fast that by the time lightning strikes, you'll be inside the elevator and we'll all be back in our park."
"It's worth a shot," Finn said. "What other option do we have?"
One option Finn had was to wait for an actual lightning storm. His aim was terrible. He hit the Ferris wheel twice (when he was aiming for the water), and the roller coaster once (when he tried to aim for the Ferris wheel), and then he finally hit the
water (when he was supposed to).
The others weren't too optimistic. Finn was feeling the pressure.
"Remember, you have a limited amount of time to get to the elevator before the bolt hits it," Willa said.
"Okay."
"Don't mess up."
"No pressure."
Maybeck said, "Dude, it'll be fine." Though he had just told Philby that he thought they all were going to die.
"Thanks," Finn said.
"May the speedforce be with you."
When they all entered the elevator, Finn ran as fast as he could until he could reach back and grab lightning out of the speedforce. He threw it at the top of Tower of Terror and ran up the side of the building and into the open window with the others
sitting in the ride. It looked like they were stuck up there. He put on the seatbelt as time came into place and the lightning hit the building.
The ride was over. They all walked out hoping everything was back to normal. They looked at the building and the scaffolding was still there. The workers were repurposing the building for Guardians of the Galaxy. It was a shame, but they had their peace
with the Tower of Terror. The Guardians could have it.
Everyone was back to normal. No one had powers anymore expect for Jess and Amanda who were supposed to have powers. They all went their separate ways. Charlene and Maybeck headed to Starbucks. Willa and Philby were last seen holding hands as Philby asked
questions about what it was like to be a villain. Jess went off to find her true love. Finn and Amanda were tired of everything and went home because the night was insane.
And the all lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER. . .
Until.
Next.
Year.