10x02: Mighty Morphing Power of Three (Part 1)

The city of San Francisco grows restless at night as the cars on the Bay Bridge race each other, trying make it home in time for their favorite TV show or sports game, make it home in time for supper or make it home in time to see their little ones before they fall asleep. The honking and screeching of tires is normal in the city such as this but the city noise is disturbed by the shrieking of a man in pain accompanied by chanting.

"Evil eyes look unto thee
May they soon extinguished be
Bend thy will to the Power of Three
Eye of earth; Evil and Accursed."

The Charmed Ones stand before Javnah, Prue leading the charge with Piper and Phoebe flanked on both sides. Prue's palm emits a glow and shoots a dark energy from her fingertips. Screaming, Javnah falls backward onto the glowing platform as his body shrivels up and turns into a skeleton. His skeleton turns into dust and the magic winds blow them away. Prue's palm returns to normal as she lowers her arm.

"Cool." Phoebe whispers with excitement.

"Yeah, it wasn't cool when he almost turned you into a grandma, was it?" Piper scolds.

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." Phoebe rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, we'll do well to remember that next time another demon has you in their clutches." Prue says as she turns around to walk away.

"Your lives would be boring without me and you know it." Phoebe says as follows Prue and Piper joins them.

"Yeah, you wish." Piper scoffs, "The power of premonition and you didn't even see this coming."

"I saw it…" Phoebe tries to defend herself, "It just was too late to do anything about it."

"Sure." Prue says as she walks out of the ware house with her sisters following her. A black and white crow perched on the light post squawks loudly but the sisters didn't even notice.

"Can you take my van back to the restaurant please? No detours, straight back to Quake." Piper instructs, knowing how easily distracted Phoebe can be.

"I got it, Piper." Phoebe says, clearly getting tired of Piper's quips, "You don't have to treat me like a child."

Prue sits in her black convertible and starts it up. Piper joins her by sitting in the passenger seat of the car Prue looks out of the window at her sister and without an ounce of empathy in her voice and face, she says "Don't act like one and maybe, we might treat you like you're a grown woman."

"How am I supposed to get home after I drop off the van?" Phoebe asks.

"Grown woman task number 1: Figure it out." Piper says as she snickers and Phoebe shoots her an angry glance.

"I'll see you at home." Prue says as she peels off into the night.

Phoebe watches her drive off and frowns. She walks to the restaurant van, sits in and drives off towards the main street. The crow yelps once more and then takes flight, sailing towards the full moon hovering in the night's sky.

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A man stand across the street of the Halliwell Manor, donning a fedora and a long black coat. He gazes aimlessly at the house as a car pulls up right in front of him.

"Hey, man!" the guy says as he rolls down his window, "Did you call for an uber?"

The man without saying a word adjusts his hat and the moonlight shines upon his ring, a golden ring with two green stone settings. He opens the door to the backseat and sits down. He slams the door shut and the car drives away into the night.

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The sun rises quickly as it hovers over the water, casting the bright golden lights across the ocean. The Halliwell Manor basks in the glow of the rising sun, looking like modern art to the trained eye, but no one knows what type of evil lives within those walls.

Piper sits at the table in the kitchen drinking her coffee and reading the newspaper as Prue walks into the kitchen. Wearing a suit, she runs towards the coffee pot and pours herself a cup but there's barely enough.

"You couldn't make enough for the both of us?" Prue asks as she looks at her cup sadly.

"You usually wake up later than I do and go to work later in the day so I didn't think to make enough for two." Piper says with a smile.

"Well, thank you for being a team player." Prue says as she opens the fridge to take out the cream.

"That coffee should be enough to last you until noon so you're welcome." Piper laughs.

"If I make it till noon." Prue says as she stirs her cup of coffee and takes a sip, "Is this diesel?"

"Sure." Piper answers, "Wait, why are you up so early on a workday?"

"Ever since the Buckland takeover, we're being forced to come to work on time and actually do our job." Prue groans as she slides into her seat, "It's so infuriating."

"Why is it infuriating to do what you're getting paid to do?" Piper asks.

"Because I miss going to work on my own time, taking my lunch breaks for as long as I want; not to mention the auction items I was able to pawn off for cash on the side." Prue says.

"So basically the gravy train has stopped for you." Piper says.

"Basically." Prue whines, "Trade lives with me, Piper!"

"Nope. I like where I am right now."

"Why? How's work?" Prue asks.

"Chef Moore quit last week and now I'm in charge so I get to go to work whenever I please, I have all these busboys and chefs under my command and I basically do whatever I want." Piper brags.

"And when the gravy train stops for one sister, it begins for another." Prue says.

"Basically."

"I hate you." Prue grunts.

"You adore me." Piper laughs as she takes another sip.

"Good morning, sister witches!" Phoebe says as she marches into the kitchen with a browned bag and a cup of coffee.

"Where did you come from ?" Prue asks.

"Starbucks. There's nothing like Starbucks to get your day started." Phoebe smiles as she sits on the counter and opens her brown bag.

"You went to Starbucks and couldn't bring me a cup of joe?" Prue asks.

"We have to learn to be our own woman, remember? This is me being a grown woman." Phoebe says as she takes a sip of her coffee and smiles, "Being grown tastes real good"

"I hate you both!" Prue says as she grabs her cup and storms out of the kitchen.

"We love you too!" Phoebe and Piper yell after her.

"So when did you have time to come home and go to Starbucks all before 9am?" Piper asks.

"I just got home…" Phoebe says with a sinister smile.

"You slut." Piper says proudly as she stands up.

"Where are you going?" Phoebe asks.

"I have to show my face for at least an hour or else I'll lose my job." Piper says as she walks out of the kitchen.

"And then there was one." Phoebe sighs as she hops off the counter and drags herself out of the kitchen. A crow sitting on the window ledge watches as Phoebe walks out of the kitchen.

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In the Manor across the street, a young woman, sporting dark red wavy curls paces back and forth while another man with a dark brown hair sits in a seat calmly, watching the woman pacing.

"If you're aiming to hypnotize me Cynda, you're doing a great job." The man says.

"How long do we have to wait here, Marshall? Fritz has been gone for the last 24 hours and…"

"Gone to perform surveillance, my sweet sister and with that, he will bring us all the information we need to know about the sisters." Marshall says trying to appease his sister.

A crow flies through the open window and lands on the couch.

"Speaking of the devil…" Marshall says, breathing a sigh of relief.

The crow on the couch glows and morphs into another man with a dirty blondish afro, bearing a smile.

"Well, what did you find out?" Cynda asks.

"The eldest and middle sisters are both at work. Will be for a long time." Fritz says.

"And what about the youngest?" Marshall asks.

"She's home but she's very active." Fritz explains, "She won't be home for long. She'll feel the need to get out of the house."

"Good." Marshall says, "When she does, you will follow her and keep an eye on her. I'll keep my eye on the middle sister and you Cynda? You will try to go for the Grimoire."

Cynda smiles happily as she jumps up and down.

"Thank you, thank you!" Cynda squeals.

"You're welcome." Marshall bows in response, "Now, remember that failure is not an option so let's do well to execute this plan perfectly. We distract the sisters long enough to keep them out of the house while you try to get the Grimoire."

"Why do we have to look after Piper and Phoebe instead of Prue?" Fritz asks.

"Phoebe is most likely to return the house unannounced. That way we can be certain of how much time we do have. Prue works at the auction house and is furthest from the Manor compared to Piper." Marshall explains.

Fritz stands up and morphs his appearance to resemble a business man. Wearing a suit with glasses, he runs his fingers through his hair and smiles.

"How do I look?"

"This is not the time for that." Marshall says as he morphs into a young woman with long blonde hair and a slender figure.

"A woman, Marshall?" Fritz says as he laughs, "Really?"

"I'm undercover and this is the perfect look." Marshall says in a female voice, "Or no?"

"We're shapeshifters. You could've chosen any face to morph into but to each his own." Fritz says.

"Any sign of trouble, Fritz and you send the signal." Marshall says, "Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Let's go take care of business." Marshall says with determination in his eyes and smile.

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The Buckland's Auction house looks as busy as ever, with people moving around with a purpose through the halls. Prue, however sat in her dark office, blinds shut, feet up with a spoonful of Ben & Jerry's in her mouth, laughing at the video she watched on her laptop.

*Chime* "Ms. Halliwell, Rex would like to see you in his office."

"Oh crap!" Prue says as she jumps up and nearly falls off her chair. She turns on the lamps in her office and pauses the video on her laptop. She straightens her suit and fixes her short hair and then presses a button on her phone, "Tell him I'm on my way."

Prue grabs her purse and fishes for a mirror and lip gloss as she adds a few finishing touches to her face. She walks to her door and grabs the handle. She rubs her lips together, flips her hair and opens the door, walking out into the hallway casually as if she wasn't freaking out a few seconds before.

Moments later, she arrives at a big door with a sign which reads "REX BUCKLAND". Prue takes a deep breath and knocks on the door, loud enough to be heard but soft enough to not seem rude.

"Come in." a male voice with a heavy British accent can be heard saying.

Prue turns the knob and steps inside.

"Ah Ms. Halliwell!" Rex says as Prue shuts the door behind her, "Come, come! Have a seat!"

Prue walks to the seat awkwardly and sits down. Rex sat in front of a large window overlooking the city, which attracted a lot of sunlight in his office. She brushes her hair from her eyes as the light from the large window behind Rex accentuated the color of her blue eyes.

"Do you know why I have summoned you here?" Rex asks.

"Summon?" Prue asks.

"Yeah, it means to call for, invite..." Rex explains, much to his displeasure.

"Ah no. I don't know why you summoned me, Rex." Prue says.

"I brought you here to discuss your work performance in this company, Ms. Halliwell and I'm not sure if I like what I see." Rex says.

Prue rarely got nervous but her heart began to pound harder and harder against her chest whenever Rex was near. There was something about him that made her feel intimidated by him but Prue's gift was to never let it show.

"Uh, what do you mean by that?" Prue asks as she jerks her head to remove the single strand of hair dangling over her eyes.

"You've been working here for over a year now and you started out strong for the first few months. A lot of our highest and expensive items to be auctioned were secured and sold by you. The business accounts you secured were high profile and I am very impressed." Rex says with a smile.

Blushing, Prue tucks the hair behind her eyes and says, "Thank you. I try."

"Don't thank me yet." Rex says as his smile wanes, "Along with you as the highest sales person in this place was Roger Davidson but he started to get too comfortable in his job and started doing things he shouldn't have, things I'm pretty sure you're aware of. Your profile shows you getting too comfortable with your job and it started about six months ago."

"Rex, I…"

"I'm not done yet." Rex says, cutting her off, "The last client you had was four months ago, your portfolio has plummeted and I can't even see the last time you secured a client worth more than $10, 000. I am really trying to keep you here but you're not giving me a reason to. Now, I know you had a death in the family six months ago and maybe that affected your job but we need you back now, Ms. Halliwell. This is your second chance. Please don't let me down again."

Prue nods with gratitude as she stands up, "I won't.

She turns around and heads towards at the door and freezes in her tracks. She turns back and looks at her boss, "Just so you know, Rex, you're right. I haven't been doing as much as you know I can because I carry most of the load here and I don't really mind but I also want the recognition I deserve. If you want to fire me, go ahead and do so but you'd be losing a major asset to this company. My area of expertise ranges from Ming Dynasty to a signed Prince Purple Rain guitar. You name it, I can identify it. Now, I may not act like I do not want this job but best believe that I do. And one thing you should know is I am definitely right for it."

"You've got 72 hours to secure an account worth at least $50,000 or else, you'll see the same fate as Roger Davidson's" A smile spreads across Rex's face as Prue's scowl grows, "That will be all."

Prue rolls her eyes as she opens the door to step out.

"Oh, and Ms. Halliwell?" Rex says and Prue looks back, "It's Mr. Buckland to you. We like to maintain a little professional decorum in the workplace."

Prue takes a deep breath as she closes the door.

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Piper sits at the bar at Quake with a glass in her hand, watching her waiters running back and forth from the kitchen. Shrugging without a care in the world, she pulls out her phone and begins to scroll through her social media as a waiter comes to her.

"Uh, Piper?"

"What's up?" Piper asks without taking her eyes off her phone.

"It's the lunch rush and we need you back there." The waiter says.

"Need me back where? I'm the manager…"

"Who is also the chef, you know? The job you were hired to do?" the waiter says.

"Place the orders back there and I'll get to them when I can."

"What about right now?" the waiter asks and Piper shoots him a dirty look.

"I said…" Piper says, emphasizing her words, "I'll get to them when I can."

Whimpering, the waiter backs away and runs into the crowd.

"Hmmm." Piper sighs happily as she takes a sip of her drink. Phoebe emerges from the crowd and takes a seat at the bar.

"You look like you're living the life." Phoebe says looking around.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better." Piper says with a smile.

"How do you guys get any business around here?" Phoebe asks.

"That's a secret." Piper answers, "What are you doing here?"

"I got bored at home." Phoebe says, "I needed some fresh air. Being in the house 24/7 is too much pressure than I can handle, you know?"

"Sure…." Piper says in a non chalant manner, "I can't relate but sure."

"Piper!" another one of the waiters shouts from across the room! "There's a list of orders waiting for you."

"Alright, already!" Piper groans as she stands up, "Jesus!"

She looks at her sister and whispers, "I'll be right back."

Piper storms off and walks into the kitchen. The busboys and waiters roam aimlessly, waiting for their orders to be ready. Piper looks at the pile of orders stacked on the counter and sighs.

"You guys complain too much, you know that? Give me a minute alone in the kitchen while I take care of the meals." Piper says as she puts on an apron.

"But…" One of the waiters begins to protest but Piper shuts them down.

"Out!"

The staff begin to grumble as they march out of the kitchen and into the back of the restaurant. Piper shakes her head as opens the door to the back alley, waves her hand and freezes the entire staff. She takes out a piece of paper and she begins to read off it:

"Appease their mind and satisfy their mood
Conjure up the orders and create the food."

An orange and black glow sweeps across the kitchen as an entire table and trays of food magically appears, lined up in a row with their orders pinned beside them. Piper smiles as the entire staff unfreezes and she waves at them to come back in. As they march back into the kitchen, they look around, amazed and speechless at the abundance and quality of food before them.

"There you go!" Piper says as she takes off her apron and walks out of the kitchen.

"How do you think she does that?" One of the waiters asks a waitress to which the waitress shrugs in response.

"What happened back there?" Phoebe asks as Piper takes her seat and resumes scrolling through her phone.

"I cooked their food." Piper says with a smile, "Magically."

"Piper…" Phoebe says in a disapproving tone.

"What?"

"You know we're not supposed to use our powers in public." Phoebe says.

"I know. They were frozen when I cast the spell. They didn't see a thing." Piper says, "Besides, the Grimoire says we can use our powers any way we want as long as we don't kill mortals and expose ourselves so we're good. The customers are happy and I'm happy so we're good."

Phoebe looks around, watching the waiters and waitresses bringing out the food as the customers smile happily.

"If you say so." Phoebe mumbles to herself.

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Sitting in her office with the blinds open, Prue types on her laptop as she researches a couple of items lying on her desk. She grabs a book and begins to flip through the pages when her phone rings.

"Prue Halliwell's office."

"Wow, look at you sounding all professional on the phone."

"Andy?"

"I like hearing the polite side of you." Andy laughs on the phone.

"Well the polite side of me collects a paycheck from 9-5 so don't get used to her." Prue says, "How did you get my number?"

"Aren't you getting tired of asking me questions you should already know the answers to, Khaleesi?" Andy asks and Prue smiles.

"Right…detective."

"Yeah, I was just calling because it has been two weeks since I gave you my number and I have yet to receive a phone call so I thought it would be best to try my luck again." Andy says, "So what do you say to a dinner tomorrow night, say 8pm?

"Uh…" Prue says as she hears a knock on her door.

"Come in!" she shouts as the guest walks in. The man takes a seat in front of her, waiting patiently as Prue continues her phone call, "I'll think about it, Andy."

"Come on, Prue. I'm trying here. Nothing major, just a dinner with old friends catching up." Andy says.

"Fine, 8:00 it is." Prue concedes, "I've got to go, Andy."

"I'll come by to pick you up by 7:30."

"Sounds good." Prue says, trying to get off the phone, "See you later."

Prue places the phone on the receiver and stares at her guest sitting across the desk.

"How may I help you?" Prue asks.

"I was told that you might be able to help me." The man says as he pulls his ring off his finger. "I'll like to have this…" he pauses for a brief moment as he places it on the desk, "…appraised."

"Well, you'd be better off going to the appraiser." Prue says.

"I've been there. He said he'll need a week." The man says, trying his hardest to hide his smile, "And I just wouldn't feel right without it. It's a family heirloom."

Hesitating for a moment, Prue picks it up and begins to examine it.

"I think I've seen a ring similar to this before. The setting is quite old. At least 17th century." Prue says as she stands up and walks over to a shelf nearby and picks up a book, "The stones looks like crystallite. Keep in mind, this is just an educated guess."

"Please…" the man says as he interlocks his fingers with a smile, clearly impressed, "Guess away."

"If I'm not mistaken, it is a stone that the Egyptians believed would protect them against spells, curses, and evil spirits. This wouldn't be a wedding band by any chance, would it?"

"You tell me…"

Prue continues to examine the stone as she pulls a magnifying glass out and begins to take a closer look, "The stones are set in two's. The symbol of duality. Man, woman. Like in protection.

"And what does all of that tell you?"

"Where did you get this ring?" Prue says as she looks up at the man, "What did you say your name was?"

"I think you know what my name is…Prudence."

"Get out…" Prue says as she stands up and throws the ring on the table, "And stay away from us."

The man grabs the ring and puts it back on, "I'm staying at the Beaumark. What do you say you and your sisters join me for dinner? Let's say tomorrow night? We can talk."

"After how you abandoned us?" Prue says as her anger grows, shining in her tone, "How dare you?"

"Fiery temper. I like that." Victor says with a smile, "It reminds me of someone I know."

"I am nothing like you. I would never leave my responsibilities, my family."

"I can see we have some issues to work through." Victor says.

"Oh, we've got the whole subscription." Prue says furiously, "Now get out before I have you thrown out."

"Now, is that any way to talk to your father?" Victor says calmly with a smirk as he closes his blazer in contrast to Prue's enraged demeanor. Her face was visible torn as her jaw clenched and tears welled up in her eyes with exasperation. She watches as Victor strolls out of the office and closes the door gently behind him. She exhales sharply as she sits down and runs her fingers through her hair.

TO BE CONTINUED